Joe Troop's bluegrass isn't just fiddles and banjos. It's a protest.
Written by Jane Sathe for The Daily Progress
02.27.2026
If the phrase "protest music" brings to mind acoustic folk from the 1960s or electric punk from the 1970s and 1980s, Joe Troop suggests reaching back even earlier in American musical history to find an authentic voice for singing truth to power.
Troop found the fresh and direct delivery he'd been seeking in "Appalachian bluegrass, a rural art form." Troop, a North Carolina musician who sings and plays banjo and guitar, will be sharing his songs for social justice with his latest band, the Truth Machine, on Sunday evening at the Front Porch in Charlottesville.
"I wrote a lot of music that you could call music for social justice or music for political protest," Troop told The Daily Progress. "It goes back to the fact that [bluegrass] is the people's music, and the people most affected by the draconian policies we're seeing."
Troop said bluegrass emerged as "live-and-let-live music" from rural communities that faced poverty, discrimination, environmental and financial exploitation and diminished opportunities but rose above adversity through unity, Troop said. "There's acceptance of migrants and acceptance of queer folks. The theme of migration is very central to what I'm doing, and peace in the face of Christian nationalism."
Joining Troop in the Truth Machine are Lu Furtado on guitar and vocals, Malia Furtado on fiddle, Olivia Fernandez on mandolin and vocals, and Jimmy Washington on bass and steel guitar. Charlottesville audiences will recognize Malia Furtado for her work at the Front Porch, Troop said.
The band has been together for about two years, and Troop said he is heartened to see accomplished young musicians embracing the power of political satire.
"It's a new ensemble, but it's a seasoned group of young but mighty performers," he said. "That's an inspiring thing for me, to work with young musicians."
"There's a lot of humor and a lot of serious context," Troop said of the band's approach. "It's a really funny show; it's not heavy-handed. It's a place to get out of the negative head space, because there are a lot of reasons to be hopeful."
Troop's approach is simple: make audiences think and laugh together in the company of others. Bringing people together in the same room to listen to the same music offers plenty of space for civil differences of opinion. Enjoying an evening of music in spite of differing views, or coming away more enlightened or informed by hearing someone else's position, offers respect as an alternative to name-calling.
"It's not as simple as one song," Troop said. "People can come and reach their own conclusions. One of the things the band addresses is media literacy. It's hard in this propagandized social media world to see what's true and what's not."
Troop believes that finding common ground can help listeners from diverse backgrounds discuss tough topics, and that music can play a unifying role. The Truth Machine's philosophy opposes racism and promotes women's rights and acceptance of differences.
"A lot of us understand that we don't have to agree on everything, but we don't have to tolerate sadistic violence," he said.
One source of common ground Troop addresses in the Truth Machine's music is recognizing the use of "wedge politics" and "a continuation of the same old tactics" to pit people against each other. He sees "identity politics" in the nation being used as a way "to sort of distract from the fact that billionaires are leaching us dry."
"The class divide is the big issue of our times," Troop said. And that's exactly where he believes the unifying power of bluegrass makes all the difference.
"A lot of the history of bluegrass was people who were unionized from the factory sector, or from small farms," he said. "[Bassist] Jimmy [Washington] is both a musician and a farmer, and his livelihood has been affected by these policies."
Troop said he welcomes audience members of every political stripe.
"Come expecting a good time. No one's going to be chastised if they don't agree with everything," he said. "We believe that there could be a different future for this country."
