David Scott Weaver - Songs of Hope and Resistance

​David Scott Weaver

Songs of Hope and Resistance
self-released; 2026

​​​By Dino DiMuro
​

I have a friend named Kelly who believes it's morally incumbent upon musicians, given our current regime, to make protest music. But let's be honest: some of us can pull it off, and some can't. David Scott Weaver is clearly the former, as he proves with his incisive yet humorous EP titled Songs of Hope and Resistance.

Weaver comes from Silver Spring, Maryland. He's an award-winning songwriter whose work spans several genres including Americana, Folk, Bluegrass, Gospel and Rock. We can add Protest to that list, and Weaver's country sound (bright, open arrangements with clearly-sung lyrics) lends itself to his insights and grievances. Some of his heroes include Tom Paxton, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, alongside contemporary voices like Crys Matthews and Steve Earle. Weaver has won several songwriting awards and has worked with John Jennings (producer for Mary Chapin Carpenter), Grammy winners Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, and songwriter Louisa Branscomb. 

Recording took place at The Bar in Gaithersburg, Maryland helmed by award-winning sound engineer Jim Robeson, with mastering at Nashville's Axis Studios.

In "Everything That Jesus Wouldn't Do" Weaver hits us with a languorous country arrangement right from the first slurred note, featuring most of his signature sounds: chiming acoustic guitar, pedal steel, fiddle and a small backing choir. There's no doubt who Weaver's talking about with "dropping bombs on kids" and "He lies, cheats and steals." But the line that really makes this song (except for the title) concludes each chorus: "(He) lives by the Golden Arch, not the Golden Rule." 

5-string Banjo takes center stage (with some cool mandolin later on) in "I Don't Want Your Billions, Mister" which is squarely aimed at the maker of Teslas, rocket ships and crypto coins. The structure here owes a bit to "May The Circle Be Unbroken" and the feel is definitely Woody Guthrie, who also apparently inspired the title of "Fight the Fascists" an all-out raucous rocker. According to the artist the structure is drawn from "Greenback Dollar."

"We Cannot Bend" is certainly not referencing guitar notes, as a weeping dobro guides us through the song. Here we have a rallying cry in the face of "the pain they inflict / Upon the poor, the meek, the sick / Don't recognize what we've become / So much cruelty just leaves you numb." It's sweet and sad like the best folk protest music, with harmony vocals worthy of Joan Baez sung by Beth Nielsen Chapman. "I Still Have Hope" is a surprising Reggae track by way of John and Sean Lennon, where the upbeat arrangement matches the optimistic lyrics. The chorus sounds a bit like "Living in Hope" by The Rutles. The concluding "Thoughts and Prayers" was produced by Cathy Fink, and is sung by Crys Matthews. The interplay of her powerful vocals with incisive lead electric guitar and fulsome chorus singers makes this a great swan song.

As I mentioned, some artists can "do" protest music way better than others, and Weaver has got to be at the top of the list.

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