Adam Harris Published

PREMIERE: Watch Robert Tinnell-Directed Video for “Coal Country” by Charles Wesley Godwin

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Get a first glimpse at the new video for “Coal Country.”

West Virginia native singer, songwriter and performer Charles Wesley Godwin appeared on Mountain Stage in March of 2019, supporting his full-length album Seneca. His song “Coal Country” has a new video, directed by “Feast of the Seven Fishes” filmmaker Robert Tinnell, that West Virginia Public Broadcasting is premiering exclusively here.

"I consider "Coal Country" to be one of the cornerstone songs on Seneca. I'd wished for a long time to have the ability to make a music video for it and thanks to Robert Tinnell, Jason Walker and Franz Vorenkamp, that wish became reality. This has been a very special project and I believe it packs one hell of a punch in four and a half minutes." – Charles Wesley Godwin

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Director Tinnell had this to say regarding the video:

“The moment I started hearing tracks from the Seneca album I knew I wanted to try and work with Charles.  I was finishing up my feature film, FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES, and readying it for release and was looking for a passion project.  By chance I met Charles and we hit it off. Given our shared respect for both our families’ involvement in mining it was only natural that we chose Coal Country for the film. My director of photography, Jason Walker, is a driven perfectionist, and was pushing me at the time to find a project that would enable him to experiment with some looks and techniques he wanted to try, and so I very much had his ambitions in mind when I was plotting out my approach to the video.  I immediately reached out to editor and image specialist, Franz Michael Vorenkamp, to see gauge his interest in the project and to my relief he jumped in enthusiastically.  He worked obsessively not only on the cut but on the imagery itself to great effect.”

Tinnell is a writer/director/producer with experience in a variety of media. He most recently adapted his Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel, FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES, into a feature film starring Madison Iseman, Skyler Gisondo, Joe Pantoliano and Paul Ben-Victor.  His West Virginia-based production company, Allegheny Image Factory, creates content across a variety of platforms, including feature films, television programs, commercials and branded content.

Godwin credits the many locations for helping shape the video’s character. “We simply could not have pulled this film off without the support of the West Virginia Tourism Office and the good folks at Cass Scenic Railroad, The Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley, Ben Townsend of Questionable Records Studio in Elkins, The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad, and Thurmond in the New River Gorge. Access to those locations allowed us to develop a vibe for the film that is both epic and authentic.”

Godwin has some East Coast tour dates scheduled through January before he heads overseas for a month-long run of shows in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. View his entire performance schedule here.

You can hear Godwin’s performance on Mountain Stage in Episode #942.