Hundreds of Previously Unreleased Tracks Come Together on North Carolina Flood Relief Album ‘Cardinals at the Window’

Following the devastation of two hurricanes, artists are coming together to throw benefit concerts and donate money. In this instance, some put together a massive album for flood relief in North Carolina. With 136 tracks of previously unreleased music, the album, called Cardinals at the Window, brought together artists like Waxahatchee, Sharon Van Etten, Phish, and many more.

The project was put together by Libby Rodenbough, David Walker, and Grayson Haver Currin. Each have personal ties to western North Carolina, where much of the flood damage occurred. According to a report from Indy Week, the proceeds will be evenly split between three local organizations— Rural Organizing and Resilience (ROAR), the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, and BeLoved Asheville. 

“We started asking folks about it on the Saturday after the storm and by the following Wednesday I had lost track of everybody who’d signed up,” Rodenbough told Indy Week. “I think it has something to do with how this area gets sneakily into people’s souls, even if you’ve just passed through.” 

Cardinals at the Window Benefit Album Features Live Tracks, Unreleased Music, and Dozens of Artists

Many of the artists who contributed to Cardinals at the Window are from the hard-hit areas of western North Carolina. Indigo De Souza, Angel Olsen, Karly Hartzman of the band Wednesday, and Ryan Gustafson of The Dead Tongues live in or are from those affected areas.

Other North Carolina-based contributors include American Aquarium, Superchunk, The Avett Brothers, Iron & Wine, Sylvan Esso, Sonny Miles, Magic Tuber Stringband, Eric Bachmann, Little Brother, and H.C. McEntire.

Meanwhile, artists from places like Tennessee and elsewhere also contributed. However, they paid tribute to North Carolina in the songs they chose to record or cover.

“There were just so many folks who, like us, had witnessed the destruction of these holy places from the outside and felt their hearts trying to break out of their chests,” Rodenbough continued in a press release. “They also feel what I feel, that these mountains are the cradle of some deep and ineffable magic.”

Rodenbough also brought attention to the “exploitation of land and people” in the affected areas, stating in the release, “This is a region that has suffered in the name of human progress for a long time. I hope we’re going to take this opportunity to start building a different kind of world in Western North Carolina and beyond.”

Featured Image via BandCamp