Session #61 - Joe Troop

This Westy Session stars Joe Troop performing his songs, “Horizon” and “Monte oscuro,” alongside a 1991 Vanagon GL with the shimmering waters of Santa Margarita Lake in the background.

Joe Troop is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The founder of the Grammy-nominated string band, Che Apalache, Troop’s music is deeply embedded with and inspired by his activism. After spending the last year learning direct action from stalwart progressive organizers, the radical folk singer is now channeling that energy into his first solo album, Borrowed Time. The record was co-produced with Jason Richmond (The Avett Brothers, Branford Marsalis) and features music luminaries like Béla Fleck (who produced Che Apalache’s Grammy-nominated album), Abigail Washburn, Tim O’Brien, and Charlie Hunter. The worldly songs and instrumentals are influenced both by Troop’s time living abroad as well as his upbringing as an openly gay bluegrass musician in rural North Carolina.