Meet Charity Gilbert

Artform: Music
Issues addressed in artwork: environmentalism, substance use disorder, mental health

Charity Gilbert, 22, of Oneida, performs and composes music. She was selected as a Firestarter for her songs, which center the first-person perspective of a young East Kentucky woman who processes her own place-based experiences of recovery, class differences, Appalachian identity, and environmental destruction. She connects these experiences with the broader social systems.

Charity writes music based on her personal experiences growing up in and now actively shaping Eastern KY, with themes that resonate universally and build empathy and empowerment. A few songs that stand out to Charity’s nominator are “Muddy Water,” a song that explores Charity’s intimate experiences from the recent EKY floods, while communicating the resilience and identity of Appalachian women (“Can’t no muddy water wash an East Kentucky woman away”). Another song “Progress” questions broader systems of capitalism, including the coal, timber and other development industries’ hold on eastern KY, and calls the listener to action (“And for some there might never be justice / So the rest is left up to you and me”).

Charity says of her work, “I come from an Appalachian County in Eastern Kentucky and my community is what has most heavily influenced my work. The disparities in the region and the connection to pharmaceutical companies pushing drugs into the region and extractive industries heavily impacting the environment are things that have impacted my community heavily, so they are very present themes in my music. I began writing music around 2016 and it began as an outlet for my struggle with mental health. From there, it grew to become a way to share my voice and to give a voice to those around me by shedding light on the issues impacting my family and broader community. Songwriting has changed my life entirely and given me a way to speak on what matters.”

She continues, “I’ve never strictly thought about my art as being feminist, but there are themes of feminism in the way my music values equality. Some of the songs I have written share stories of women and their realities, mental health, and other issues. I have also written a handful of songs from an LGBTQ+ perspective, but most are not yet released. When it comes to questioning norms, however, my music is heavily focused on bringing light to oppressive systems and bringing justice to people, to the land, and to everyone around me. I don’t mind singing the hard things out loud, because they are real things people live with every single day.”

She says she wants people to know that while she is from Eastern KY and Appalachia, the stories she shares from her community, life, and family are not the stories of all Appalachian people. While her voice is from a rural, white Appalachian woman’s perspective, she doesn’t speak for the entirety of the region. There are other voices to be heard.

In response to receiving the Firestarter Award, Charity says, “I am so honored to receive this award! When I think about the other amazing folks who have received this award in the past, I feel so grateful to have my name with so many other phenomenal women who are doing such beautiful work. I’m so grateful that the music I share is being recognized, and that I can continue to use my music to speak truth and fight for important issues.”

Charity’s music shares perspectives and calls-to-action that work against the dominant political, economic, and social norms, especially in her region. In her nominator’s words, “She is a bold, feminist voice for change and justice.”

Explore Charity Gilbert’s music on YouTube and Spotify.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@charitygilbert9496
Instagram: charitysings2001