Sustain Music and Nature, a U.S. nonprofit that makes music a force for nature, proudly announces its upcoming Songscape series will feature five time platinum selling and Grammy-nominated Scottish Singer-Songwriter KT Tunstall. Showcasing the public lands of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska in a retreat commencing on National Public Lands Day (24 September), KT’s song and the accompanying music video, shot by outdoor adventure videographer Chris Shane, will premiere globally in 2023.
Sustain’s Songscapes are retreats that create partnerships between land agencies and musicians. Through the hospitality of host environmental organizations, artists are immersed in the beauty and history of our public land heritage. Bands use this retreat time to create a song inspired by the land and their experiences, and then the song is shared with fans to inspire and encourage others to value these landscapes. Through new music, KT, Sustain, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service‘s Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge will team up to build critical awareness and support for continued conservation and stewardship of these wildlife and landscapes.
Located on the traditional homeland of the Alutiiq people, on an island archipelago in the Gulf of Alaska, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge spans almost two million acres. Its mountains rise 4,000 feet from craggy coastlines, misty fiords, and deep glacial valleys. Kodiak Refuge is an important home to salmon, the legendary Kodiak brown bear, and more than 200 species of resident and migratory birds. The refuge lands, waters, and wildlife are some of the most iconic in Alaska and in the National Wildlife Refuge System, and offer unique experiences, inspiration, sustenance, and connection for local residents and visitors from around the world. The refuge hopes to inspire new audiences through this cooperative project, and is coordinating with community organizations and the regional Alaska Native corporation, Koniag, Inc., to share highlights of this special place with KT.
KT Tunstall's music career launched into the international spotlight with the hit singles “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and “Suddenly I See”. She quickly became known for her empowered female-rocker style, pioneering looping skills and great storytelling. She’s released seven albums internationally with her most recent titled NUT, which is the last part of a trilogy of albums based on the Soul, the Body and the Mind.
She’s also worked passionately for environmental causes throughout her career and has made efforts to neutralize her own carbon footprint, including donating a percentage of her first album sales towards reforestation in Scotland, working with the EIA and ‘Reverb’ in the Peruvian Amazon jungle to highlight illegal logging, and spending time in the Arctic on the Cape Farewell expedition to highlight Climate Change. In 2011, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Environmental Science from her University, Royal Holloway in London.
“I’m a dreamer, and I’ve always been a dreamer. I need to feel a constant sense of exploration in life. Solitude, wilderness, and Nature are all pathways to creative thought for me. This trip to Alaska with Sustain Music & Nature is an absolute experience of a lifetime where my strong passions for music, the outdoors and journaling all come together,” says KT.
“Music reaches people on an emotional level and provides a platform to highlight environmental issues as well as public lands across the US that need support. We’re grateful that KT Tunstall’s talent will bring attention to Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in a way that no other medium can,” explains Harrison Goodale, Co-Founder of Sustain Music and Nature.
KT will also be documenting her Songscape retreat and songwriting process through her love of journaling. Launching on National Public Lands Day (9/24), fans will be able to order an Alaska inspired KT x Ruff House blank journal, a collaboration with Kansas-based woman-owned and run letterpress print shop, Ruff House. With each journal sale, $1 will be donated to Sustain Music & Nature. More info at www.ruffhouseprintshop.com/kt-tunstall
Songscape: Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is the eighth Songscape produced by Sustain Music and Nature, following recent productions with Beebe at Colorado and Utah’s Green River, Ben Sollee at New Jersey’s Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, and Conner Youngblood at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Salt Lake City. Proceeds from the finished song will support Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge and Sustain.
