Photographer Credit: Mallory Cash Photo
April 27, 2023 – Old Crow Medicine Show has released a powerful protest song “Louder Than Guns” in partnership with 97Percent, a bipartisan gun safety organization working to create researched-backed policies supported by both non-gun owners and gun owners. Recorded in the aftermath of the Covenant School shooting last month, the song was penned by bandleader Ketch Secor, who is a father of two and co-founder of The Episcopal School of Nashville. Furthering his commitment to the cause, Secor also will join 97Percent’s advisory board.
Watch the “Louder Than Guns” video via YouTube
Guns are now the leading cause of death among children in the United States, and more than 349,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine in 1999. Following the devastating shooting in Nashville last month, Ketch Secor was compelled to speak out in an effort to unite Nashville’s music community in the fight for gun reform. He penned a compelling guest essay for The New York Times, spoke with Rolling Stone, CNN’s The Assignment with Audie Cornish and The CBC, and will appear in a live taping of KCRW’s Left, Right & Center in Washington, D.C. tonight.
On writing the song, Secor says: “When the lives of 6 teachers and students were snuffed out in a couple minutes at Covenant School in Nashville, I knew I had to speak out, and so I sought every opportunity to do so. I wrote the song ‘Louder Than Guns’ and recorded it just a week after the funerals for the slain. Before we recorded the track, I carved their names in my fiddle – Hallie, Evelyn, William, the three 9-year-olds, and Mike, Cynthia, and Katherine, the three educators. I dedicate this song to them because I swore when the shooting came to Nashville I was going to work my hardest to make it the last stop on this runaway train of murders, gun violence, and terror. I stand up not knowing the answers as to how this will be done. I am a musician, not a politician. But I will use my voice from now on to demand the change our communities deserve; won’t you join us in Old Crow Medicine Show and take a stand in your community, too?”
Yesterday, 97Percent and Wunderman Thompson launched the “Aim For Change” campaign, which takes aim at gun safety by giving a voice to a group usually shut out of the conversation: gun owners. “Aim for Change” is a petition featuring four gun reform laws that 97Percent’s research shows are supported by gun owners.
Secor explains the band’s partnership with 97Percent: “We’re proud to partner with 97Percent, an organization focused on pragmatic, impactful solutions that both non-gun owners and gun owners want, because we recognize the huge importance of getting through the gridlock on the issue of gun violence. Parents across America must set the example for politicians; the time is now for the Left and Right to come together at the bargaining table. As 97Percent believes, we’re never going to make progress without engaging gun owners. Old Crow hopes our partnership will be a calling to gun owners and sportsmen. The time to act is now and both sides simply must come together before the next innocent lives are lost.”
97Percent Executive Director Mathew Littman adds: “We are thrilled to have Ketch join our advisory board. As he wrote in his New York Times op-ed, country music has a unique opportunity to bring gun owners to the table. Our research shows the majority of gun owners support specific gun safety laws, but the loudest voices dominate the conversation. ‘Louder Than Guns’ speaks to rising above the noise, and Ketch wanted to point his fans toward a tangible way to incite change. Our Aim for Change campaign is a way to do just that. We’re extremely grateful to Ketch for spreading the word and for our future collaboration.”
About Old Crow Medicine Show:
Entering their 25th year, the GRAMMY Award-winning band Old Crow Medicine Show merges profound introspection with the rapturous string band revival sound that has made them one of the most influential and respected groups today. Their critically acclaimed seventh studio album Paint This Town released last year, hitting #1 on the Americana Radio Albums Chart and debuting at the top of Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums Chart. The band appeared on NPR’s World Cafe and CBS Saturday Morning, and garnered widespread praise from press including Associated Press, Consequence, SPIN, Rolling Stone and NPR Music who raved, “If this is any indication of what Old Crow Medicine Show still has in store so many recordings in its career, we should count ourselves lucky.”
About 97Percent:
97Percent is a bipartisan group of gun owners and non-gun owners united in our mission to reduce gun-related deaths in America, while respecting the Second Amendment. We believe the way to do that is by changing the conversation around gun safety to include gun owners, conducting innovative research, and leveraging technology to make our communities safer. Our name was inspired by a 2018 Quinnipiac University poll, which found that 97% of Americans support universal background checks: a critical gun safety policy that has yet to be made into federal law. While individual polls vary, support levels hover around 90% – a figure that represents unprecedented agreement on a topic generally viewed as intractable. We are committed to making progress on solutions that both non-gun owners and gun owners want to make our country safer. Learn more at www.97percent.us.
Follow Old Crow Medicine Show:
Website – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter
L-R: Dante’ Pope, Mike Harris, Morgan Jahnig, Cory Younts, Ketch Secor, PJ George, Mason Via
Photographer Credit: Mallory Cash Photo
