Barbara Kingsolver and Kathy Mattea present “A View from the Mountaintop” at the Bijou Theatre on March 11

Tickets go on sale TODAY, February 3 through KnoxvilleTickets.com, KnoxBijou.com, or by calling 684-1200

KNOXVILLE, TN: At 5 p.m. on March 11, 2012, renowned author, Barbara Kingsolver, and Grammy-award winning singer, Kathy Mattea, will combine their talents to present “A View from the Mountaintop,” an evening of spoken word and song at the Bijou Theatre that celebrates their shared Appalachian heritage and casts a spotlight on mountaintop removal mining, a controversial practice that has destroyed over 500 mountains across Appalachia and presents a looming threat to Tennessee’s mountains on the Cumberland Plateau. Tickets will go on sale Friday, February 3 at 10:00 AM through KnoxvilleTickets.com, KnoxBijou.com, the Tennessee Theatre box office, and by calling (865) 684-1200. Tickets are $25.00 plus handling costs.

Kentucky native, Barbara Kingsolver, has been named one of the most important writers of the 20th Century by Writer’s Digest. Her novel, The Poisonwood Bible, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Other works include: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and The Lacuna. In 2000, Kingsolver was awarded the National Humanities Medal, our country’s highest honor for service through the arts.

Kathy Mattea, a native of West Virginia, has won two Grammys and has twice been named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association. Her recordings intertwine Celtic, gospel, and bluegrass influences with the folk and acoustic music that have always served as her artistic anchor. Her most recent CD, the Grammy-nominated, Coal, celebrates the culture of Appalachia.

The evening is sponsored by LEAF (Lindquist Environmental Appalachian Fellowship) a non-profit, non-denominational fellowship of Tennesseans whose faith leads them to take action for Tennessee’s environment. LEAF seeks to protect Tennessee’s highest ridgelines by working for the passage of the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act that is currently under consideration by the Tennessee Legislature. For more information on mountaintop removal and its impact in Tennessee: www.tnleaf.org