The Pinkerton Raid: Wiggins Special (Freedom Ain't Free)

Durham, North Carolina based roots band The Pinkerton Raid tell the tale of driver and mechanic Charlie Wiggins, who was faster than anyone in the 20 sand 30s, but was not allowed to race in the Indy 500, which was a whites-only event back then. He prepped the car for Bill Cummings in 1934 who won that year's edition. The KKK really hated that. Wiggins Special (Freedom Ain't Free) also looks at the construction of the Interstate 70 highway near the circuit in 1943, that split the communities of Martindale-Brightwood, a split that can still be felt today. It's a nifty metaphor for dividing people and hurting them in the process.

The Pinkerton Raid: raising funds for their new album "The Highway Moves the World"

Chicago roots rock band The Pinkerton Raid: are almost there with their crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.com to cover the costs for their fifth full-length The Highway Moves the World. They are aiming to raise $16,500 and are currently at $16,253. The stretch goal is $20,000, with extra money being used to create music videos. Jesse James DeConto, the band's songwriter:

The title is about my mother's sacrifice, how she drove up and down the East Coast for years, taking care of business in New Hampshire, her parents in Florida, her kids and grandkids in between, how because of her love for me and my children, my whole family ended up in North Carolina, all five of us siblings, and then our partners, and our own kids.

The Pinkerton Raid: "Jefferson Davis Highway" video

North Carolina's finest roots band The Pinkerton Raid have made a video for Jefferson Davis Highway, a song that honours Southern anti-racism activists like “Superwoman” Bree Newsome, the anti-racist defenders of Charlottesville, VA, and the people of Durham, NC. It resulted in the removal of a Confederate monument in the band's hometown back in 2017. The song can be found on their 2018 album Where the Wildest Spirits Fly.

» pinkertonraid.com

HCTF review of Where the Wildest Spirits Fly.

The Pinkerton Raid: Dream the Sun

North Carolina's finest roots band The Pinkerton Raid have gone through numerous lineup changes over the the years, but their stand-out storytelling capabilities always remained intact, thanks to the band's songwriter Jesse James DeConto. On the new single Dream the Sun he looks back at his sister Katie's troubles with starting her own businesses, a stressful period in her life with a happy ending. She got a tattoo of underneath a mountain range with the sun just before it rises to celebrate: "Dream quieter. Dream quieter. // Dream the sun before it rises. // Dream, the sun will rise".

The next studio album will focus on songs about family and when this first taste is an indication of what's in store, it could be even better than their previous one Where the Wildest Spirits Fly.

The Pinkerton Raid: Where the Wildest Spirits Fly

Roots rockers The Pinkerton Raid revive the art of the singalong on their new album Where the Wildest Spirits Fly, filled with brand new songs about hope against all odds ("cough*, 45 and all that), nightly road trips guided by the stars, and chance meetings with small town locals. Jesse James DeConto, the band's songwriter, is a freelance journalist and he has a good eye for a story, wrapping it in poetic imagery.

Where the Wildest Spirits Fly is a collection of heartfelt Americana. The Durham, NC based band, projects a sad kind of optimism, longing for a better past and not entirely sure if those days may come again in the future. Recommended if you like Wilco and The Band.