Kathy Mattea releases her 17th album, Coal, a collection of songs paying tribute to her West Virginian family heritage in the region's coal mining culture. Mattea's grandfathers were miners, and her mother worked for the union. The album features traditional and contemporary songs, many by songwriters with Appalachian roots. Songs by Jean Ritchie, Billy Edd Wheeler, Hazel Dickens, Si Kahn, Utah Phillips, Merle Travis and Darrell Scott are on the CD produced by Marty Stuart. Mattea released the music on her own Captain Potato imprint.