Were really excited to be welcoming indie folk rockers and NPR darlings Thao and the Get Down Stay Down to Mountain Stage this July 28th. Take a look at the video and you'll see why. See our growing list of live shows here. More about this sensational group below:

"On the heels of a successful North American spring tour that included sold-out stops in New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver and Los Angeles, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down will hit the road this summer for additional performances including stops at the Austin City Limits Festival, Mountain Stage, Bumbershoot, Outside Lands and a free show at NYC’s Pier 84. SF Weekly praises Thao’s live show, noting that “Nguyen exploded with energy,” while Guitar World calls the group’s show “electrifying.” Based in San Francisco after growing up in Falls Church, VA, Thao Nguyen first picked up a guitar at age 12. She has worked with a long list of acclaimed artists including Andrew Bird, Mirah, Laura Veirs and producer Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens) and has recorded a pair of critically acclaimed records for Kill Rock Stars, 2008’s We Brave Bee Stings and All and the aforementioned 2009 release Know Better Learn Faster with her backing band the Get Down Stay Down. Since her last album Thao has worked with the artist advocacy non profit Air Traffic Control and has volunteered extensively with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. Last year year, in addition to recording her forthcoming album, Thao has toured the U.S. with the nationally syndicated NPR program Radiolab."

Just a reminder that this Sunday's LIVE Mountain Stage show at the Clay Center will be Charleston's first crack at our brand new 30th Anniversary shirts, designed by West Virginia artist Brian Pickens.

Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin will be there for a special extended duo performance, along with Aoife O'Donovan, Marti Jones & Don Dixon, and Ari Hest. Ticket information is available here. We'll see you at the show!

Mountain Stage continues this week with another premiere broadcast, recorded at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston. You’ll hear a provocative set from renowned singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. You’ll also hear hitmaker Paula Cole make her second appearance on the show, reminding audience members how and why her music gained such a large and devoted audience. The Overmountain Men are there, along with Paleface, and The Sea The Sea, who make their Mountain Stage debut. Mira Stanley, ½ of The Sea The Sea, grew up coming to the show alongside her father, Mountain Stage band leader Ron Sowell. Their new album was recorded with acclaimed producer (and Ani DiFranco bassist) Todd Sickafoose.

You can listen to their song “Watertreader” right now, via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

Click here for a list of times and stations where you can listen.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr for more.

Thanks for supporting Mountain Stage!

This week’s all new broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features guitar icon Robben Ford, along with the Led-Zep-meets-James-Brown stylings of Vintage Trouble. You’ll also hear sets from veteran singer-songwriter Steve Forbert, along Mieka Pauley, and atmospheric pop group Milo Greene.

Click here to check out the episode's playlist, and to learn more about the artists on the show. And preview Robben Ford’s fantastic set here, via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week: "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky." 

We'll be back next week with another all new episode. Take a look at our entire broadcast schedule here. Thanks for supporting Mountain Stage!

We're thrilled to have kings of Texas swing Asleep at the Wheel on this week's premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce. One of the tightest bands in all of popular music, the Wheel showcases fiddle, pedal steel, vocalist Elizabeth McQueen, along with the singing and guitar playing of the group's leader for over 40 years - the larger-than-life Ray Benson.

You'll also hear from the beloved and widely respected Irish group Lunasa, along with Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Brooklyn-based string band The Down Hill Strugglers, and singer-songwriter Kate Campbell. Click here to check out the episode's playlist, and to learn more about the artists on the show. And preview Asleep at the Wheel's fantastic set right now, via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week: "Hesitation Blues." 

We'll be back next week with another all new episode. Take a look at our entire broadcast schedule here. Thanks for supporting Mountain Stage!

This week’s Mountain Stage is a special edition from our archives. Recorded on January 19, 1995, you’ll hear from beloved folk singer, songwriter, and song stylist Richie Havens. This episode had been scheduled for rebroadcast on April 26 for many weeks now – so it was a sad and unfortunate coincidence that Haven passed away this Monday. Special thanks are due to host Larry Groce and engineer Patrick “P-Train” Stephens for getting this episode ready for air – there’s a lot of work involved, as shows from this era are stored on delicate digital audio tape.

You’ll also hear performances from Barenaked Ladies, Rusted Root, Taj Mahal and Baaba Maal. Both Barenaked Ladies and Rusted Root were relatives unknowns at the time of the original ’95 broadcast – although BNL had already found major success in Canada. They went on to find significant Mainstream success in America too, along with Rusted Root, whose song “Send Me On My Way” seems to have never quite disappeared from radio, movies, or television. They open their Mountain Stage set with a that song – which says all you need to know about the progress of their career at the time this episode was recorded.

  Click here to view the complete playlist from the show. And click here for a preview: Richie Havens singing “Nobody Left to Crown,” from this week’s episode.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage.

This week's premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage features indie country heavyweights Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale. Friends for over thirty years, the pair have finally released their first album together as a duo, appropriately called Buddy & Jim. You'll also hear from Canadian alt-country star Corb Lund, the sibling harmonies of the Chapin Sisters, Kentuckian Sturgill Simpson, and West Virginia's own country jazz trio Blue Yonder.

Click here for a list of stations that carry Mountain Stage.

Click here to read more about each artist appearing on the show, and preview the broadcast right now via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week - Buddy & Jim's take on the classic "The Train that Carried My Gal from Town."

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage.

On this week's premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage, you can hear the latest return of our sweetheart, Kathy Mattea. Canadian alt-country siren Kathleen Edwards will also be there - she's achieved a lot of success since her last appearance on the show, and it was a real pleasure to hear her once again. Hard-edged singer-songwriter Bonnie Bishop makes her very first appearance on Mountain Stage, along with our longtime friend Kim Richey. Any you'll also hear a set from Carrie Ann Hearst and Michael Trent, who make up the sensational roots music duo Shovels & Rope.

Click here to find a complete list of stations that carry Mountain Stage. And preview the broadcast via our Song of the Week - Kathy Mattea performing the Billy Edd Wheeler classic "Coal Tattoo." More photos from the show are below. Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage.

This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features desert rockers Calexico, our old friends Camper Van Beethoven, Bonnie Prince Billy, Bahamas, and Piney Gir. Click here to see a complete list of our stations. And click here to preview this week's show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week: Calexico's "Splitter."  

We hope you can listen. Click here to see the playlist, and to learn more about the artists featured in this episode. And by all means, enjoy our 625 pixel wide photos, shot by our long-time Mountain Stage photog Brian Blauser. Many thanks to our IT pro Chad for making larger images possible on our website.

Mountain Stage is back on your radio this weekend with a show featuring Americana stalwart Robert Earl Keen in his tenth appearance on the program. You’ll also hear from indie stringband Black Prairie, which combines former Bearfoot singer Annalisa Tornfelt with 3/5ths of The Decemberists. Powerhouse vocalist Shelby Lynn delivers a fearless solo set, and Rhett Miller plays a few solo songs, along with tunes from his band The Old 97’s.

Click here to see a list of stations where you can listen.

Preview the show via our Song of the Week – Robert Earl Keen’s “Who Do Man.” 

One of the nation’s finest musical storytellers, Robert Earl Keen bridged the gap between country and folk, setting the stage for a style that became known as alt-country. Over his three-decade career, the much-loved Texas singer/songwriter’s songs have been recorded by artists including Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, George Strait, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and the Dixie Chicks. In 1994, “Gringo Honeymoon” telegraphed the upcoming Americana genre. “Ready For Confetti,” released in 2011, is the second project produced by veteran Lloyd Maines. Keen wrote nine of the 11 songs while on the road - a first - performing 180 dates a year. The disc reached the No. 1 slot on the Americana chart and was listed as one of author Stephen King’s “2011 Pop Culture Favorites” in Entertainment Weekly.

Comprised of Decemberists’ members Chris Funk, Nate Query and Jenny Conlee, and fellow Portland musicians Annalisa Tornfelt and Jon Neufeld, Black Prairie came together as a way for the musicians to explore instrumental string band music during The Decemberists' downtime. Now a full-fledged group, the band’s new release, “A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart,” takes on styles ranging from harmony-laden pop to Band-influenced Americana, bluegrass and old time string band music.

The release follows up the band’s debut, "Feast of the Hunters' Moon." In early 2012, Black Prairie collaborated with the Oregon Children's Theatre, composing music for the play "The Storm in the Barn." The group’s “Singers” EP series features collaborations with singer/songwriters including The Shins' James Mercer, Sallie Ford, Martha Scanlan and Langhorne Slim.

 The front man and main songwriter of the hard-charging, rock 'n' roll quartet the Old 97's, Texas native Rhett Miller is also an accomplished solo artist. In addition to his nine studio albums with the 97's, he has released four solo albums. In addition to his music being featured in countless films and television shows, Miller has appeared in an episode of the NBC hit series “30 Rock” and the Old 97's were prominently featured in the Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy, “The Break Up.”

Primarily known for his songwriting and inspiring live performances, Rhett is also a critically-acclaimed author whose work has appeared in several books and such well-known periodicals as “Rolling Stone,” “McSweeney's,” and “The Atlantic.” After issuing a live recording of his favorite cover songs, it titled “The Interpreter Live at Largo,” he released “The Dreamer” in 2012.

A passionate singer who is at home in a variety of genres, Shelby Lynne has had a long, storied career. In 2001, when she won a Grammy for “Best New Artist,” she had already released six albums and had been recording for more than a decade. After three successful country releases, she issued the Western Swing and big band styled “Temptation” and 2000's appropriately titled “I am Shelby Lynne” that helped her break through to the roots rock/alt-country audience. In 2008, she recorded  “Just a Little Lovin’,” a gorgeous tribute to Dusty Springfield. Her latest release, “Revelation Road,” was awarded four stars by American Songwriter and MOJO.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage! Connect with us on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter for the latest.

Finally, Mountain Stage has come back to Charleston, for a show featuring one of history's most unique and witty singer songwriters: Loudon Wainwright III. Tickets for this even remain - get yours online, by phone (800.594.TIXX) or in person at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston.

We'll also be joined once more by Paula Cole (whose brand new video you can view above), Overmountain Men, Paleface, and The Sea The Sea.

Hometown favorite Mira Stanley of The Sea The Sea was runner-up in last year's Symphony Idol contest, has been the featured vocalist in Bob Thompson's annual Joy to the World concert, and just so happens to be the daughter of our own Ron Sowell. Together with bandmate Chuck Costa, they recently put finishing touches on an album recorded with Todd Sickafoose, who has worked with Andrew Bird, Anais Mitchell, Ani DiFranco and others. 

David Childers of Overmountain Men penned the Avett Brothers tune "The Prettiest Thing," and fellow Overmountain Man Bob Crawford has a long history playing bass with the Avetts. And keeping the Avett connection alive, Paleface wrote "Dancin Daze," which was recorded on the Avetts' Four Thieves Gone album, and are credited with familiarizing the band with the aftermath New York City's storied "anti folk" scene.

Click here to read more about each artist set to appear on this show. We'll see you there!

Mountain Stage returns to your radio this weekend with yet another premiere broadcast. Recorded live at the Culture Center theater in late 2012, you’ll hear from the Robert Cray Band, along with Shemekia Copeland, Kelly Hogan, and Caravan of Thieves.

Click here to see a list of stations and times where you can tune in. And if there’s another song you’re hoping to hear, you can take a look at the show’s playlist.

Robert Cray first cut his teeth as a member of Albert Collins’ backing band, and it wasn’t long after that that Cray’s own recordings were helping to fuel the ‘80s blues revival. With blues as a foundation, he has since explored R&B, soul, jazz and gospel; winning five Grammy Awards. 2009's “This Time” reunited him with longtime friends and bandmates Richard Cousins and Jim Pugh. His current release with his band is titled “Nothin But Love.” Preview a song from The Robert Cray Band’s performance here, via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

Shemekia Copeland opens the second hour of the broadcast. Often billed as the new queen of the blues, Copeland has been performing since she was eight - when she appeared onstage with her father at Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club. Years later, she served as the opening act for her father’s band, eventually inking a deal with Alligator Records. “Never Going Back,” issued in 2009, featured members of the Derek Trucks band and eclectic guitarist Marc Ribot Her current release, “33 1/3” - her age at the time the disc was released - was produced by The Wood Brothers’ Oliver Wood.   

You’ll also hear from Kelly Hogan. With a resume that includes fronting bands The Jody Grind and Rock*A*Teens, as well as singing alongside artists including Neko Case, Mavis Staples, Jakob Dylan, Andrew Bird and the Drive-By Truckers, the Chicago-based Georgia native has become one of the most in-demand singers in roots music.

Her current solo release, “I Like to Keep Myself in Pain,” features Hogan interpreting tunes written for her by M. Ward, Vic Chesnutt, Andrew Bird and more, under the direction of Booker T. Jones.

Caravan of Thieves open the show. Based around the husband-wife team of Fuzz and Carrie Sangiovanni, Caravan of Thieves began as “a romantic, bohemian vision of a couple making music on the road and avoiding responsibility as much as possible.”

Expanding the group to include violinist Ben Dean and double bassist Brian Anderson, the band quickly won praise for its unique blend of gypsy swing and popular music. Naturally, their Mountain Stage set includes a note-for-note cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Follow Mountain Stage on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr for the latest. As always, thanks for listening!

Greetings, music lovers - Mountain Stage travels to Morgantown this weekend, where our guests will be Robben Ford, Vintage Trouble, Steve Forbert, Milo Green, and Mieka Pauley. Get your tickets now, either online, by phone (304.293.SHOW) or in person at the Creative Arts Center box office.

 One a sideman for the likes of Miles Davis, Charlie Musselwhite, and Joni Mitchell; Robben Ford went on to found the fusion band The Yellowjackets. His latest is Bringing it Back Home.

Inspired by soul icons like Otis Redding, Ike & Tina Turner, and Ray Charles, Los Angeles quartet Vintage Trouble's edgy soul quickly propelled the group to large stages, opening for Lenny Kravitz, Bon Jovi, Brian May (Queen), Van Hunt and The Cranberries. Led by singer Ty Taylor, former frontman for mid-‘90s R&B group Dakota Moon, the group’s self-released debut “The Bomb Shelter Sessions” debuted in the UK Top 40 and won the band the 2011 Classic Rock Award for “Best New Band.”

Mississippi-born Steve Forbert is a folk-rocker whose career has spanned decades and included numerous major label outings. His current release, “Over With You,” is Forbert’s first studio album in three years, and features contributions from cellist Ben Sollee and Ben Harper on guitar.

We'll also be joined by indie pop group Milo Greene, and singer-songwriter Mieka Pauley. The show starts at 7. Thanks for supporting Mountain Stage.
 

Mountain Stage returns with yet another premier episode this weekend, featuring Canadian institution Bruce Cockburn in his 13^th appearance on the show, along with Iris DeMent, Carrie Rodriguez, Trixie Whitley, and Brooke Waggoner. Click here for a complete list of stations that carry Mountain Stage, along with times when you can tune in. And Preview this week's show via our Song of the Week – this time, it’s Iris DeMent with a song from her first collection of original material in 16 years, “Go On Ahead and Go Home.”

One of Canada’s best loved - and most awarded - artists, Bruce Cockburn has 20 gold and platinum releases and has won 13 Juno Awards in Canada. In addition to being an excellent guitarist and a distinctive singer, Cockburn is one of contemporary music’s more consistent and prolific songwriters. His latest, “Small Source of Comfort” included the track “Call Me Rose,” written from the point of view of former President Nixon who receives a chance at redemption after being reincarnated as a single mother living in a housing project with two children.

Born in Arkansas and raised in Southern California, Iris DeMent grew up immersed in gospel music and traditional country. Her 1992 debut, “Infamous Angel,” quickly established her as an artist to watch. Her 1994 follow-up, “My Life,” earned a Grammy nomination in the “Contemporary Folk” category. DeMent sang four duets with John Prine on “In Spite of Ourselves” and, and in 2004, she recorded an album of gospel songs, “Lifeline,” which included her rendition of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” In 2010, the Coen Brothers chose that song for the closing credits in their remake of “True Grit.” Her latest is “Sing The Delta.”

After studying classical piano for nearly 20 years, Brooke Waggoner earned a degree in music composition and orchestration, hoping to score films and orchestrate her own projects. With a sweet voice and piano playing that’s a cross between Little Richard and Rachmaninov, the Louisiana native’s songs tell of a "lone 22-year-old girl, sagas of daily life and bits of poetry." In 2009, after moving to Nashville, Waggoner received the “Emerging Artist” award at the Nashville Music Awards. Her latest release, “Go Easy Little Doves,” gathers melodies and compositions that she’s collected over the past decade.

After collaborating with veteran songwriter Chip “Wild Thing” Taylor on four albums of duets, singer/violinist Carrie Rodriguez struck out on her own. Attending both Oberlin College and Berklee School of Music, Rodriguez immersed herself in Boston’s bluegrass-jazz scene. In 2001, she was “discovered” by Taylor while playing at an Austin record shop. In addition to her work with Taylor, Rodriguez has toured with Lucinda Williams and Alejandro Escovedo, and released eight records in as many years. Her latest is “Give Me All You Got.”

Born Belgium into a family immersed in art and music, Trixie Whitley’s early years were split between Belgium and New York City. At age 11, she was touring Europe with several theater companies and, at age 14, with the renowned dance company, “Les Ballets C de la B,” as an actor, singer, dancer, and musician. Returning to New York, she recorded her first EP, “Strong Blood,” produced with Me’shell Ndegeocello and Dougie Bowne, in the spring of 2008. That summer, she performed at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. In 2010 and 2011, Whitley toured with Daniel Lanois’ group Black Dub. Her second solo EP is “The Engine.”

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr for the latest. Go out and see some live music wherever you are, just as soon as you can.

Mountain Stage hits the road this weekend for a show at the Paramount Theater Bristol, TN/VA, Sunday at 7 p.m. We'll be joined by legendary country-swing band Asleep at the Wheel, along with Lunasa, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Kate Campbell, and The Downhill Strugglers.

Read more about the show here. A few tickets for this show still remain - get yours online, by phone (423-274-8920) or in person at the Paramount Box Office, (Tue-Fri 9am-5pm). 

A special thanks to our friends at the Birthplace of Country Music for hosting us. We'll see you at the show.

Mountain Stage returns to your radio this weekend with a premiere episode, featuring Mike Doughty, the Iguanas, Charlie Mars, Jeffery Foucault, and A City on a Lake.

Click here for a complete list of stations that carry Mountain Stage, along with times when you can tune in.

Preview this week's show via our Song of the Week - this time, it's Mike Doughty performing a solo acoustic cover of one of his very favorite songs - John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads." And get an extended preview of Doughty set above, via our latest "Backstage at Mountain Stage" video.

Before embarking on a solo career, singer-songwriter Mike Doughty was the frontman for the group Soul Coughing. Formed in 1992, the group released three CDs for Warner Bros before disbanding in 2000. Doughty - who had been writing a column for New York Press - began playing solo shows and released “Skittish,” a solo disc that he had recorded five years before.

He also contributed vocals to BT's club hit "Never Gonna Come Back Down" and collaborated with They Might Be Giants’ John Flansburgh on a CD that accompanied an issue of McSweeney's “Quarterly Concern.” In 2002, Doughty released the live “Smofe + Smang: Live in Minneapolis” and a book of poetry titled “Slanky.”

In 2011, Doughty issued “Yes and Also Yes” on his own Snack Bar label. The following year, he released the live “The Question Jar Show” and “The Flip Is Another Honey” which featured Doughty covering artists from Thin Lizzy to Randy Newman. That same year, he published “The Book of Drugs,” a memoir about his life with Soul Coughing and his struggles with addiction. 

From  New Orleans, The Iguanas have long been one of the region’s most popular live bands, combining styles that range from blues, R&B, Zydeco, Cajun, Tex-Mex and roots rock & roll. Not long after San Francisco guitarist Rod Hodges formed the group in 1989, he rediscovered the conjunto music that was a part of his mother's Mexican heritage and took up accordion.

Vocalist/saxophonist Joe Cabral’s first musical experience was playing in his father's Mexican band. In college, he discovered New Orleans R&B and the honking saxophone style. Bassist Rene Coman is a native of New Orleans whose recording credits include Alex Chilton and Guitar Slim Jr. The group’s 1993 debut was released on Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville label. The group’s latest release, “Sin to Sin,” is the first since 2008's “If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times.”

Mississippi-based troubadour Charlie Mars’ career has run the gamut from major label releases and high-profile opening slots for the likes of REM and Steve Earle to under-the-radar, self-released efforts.

Following up 2009's attention-grabbing “Like A Bird, Like A Plane,” his current release “Blackberry Light” draws inspiration from famed producer Daniel Lanois while the songs take lyrical cues from such literary heroes as Haruki Murakami, Cormac McCarthy, Walker Percy, and Denis Johnson.

Longtime disciple of the rich and strange music that sings behind the American veil, Jeffery Foucault has spent the last decade mining the darker seams of country and blues, producing a string of spare and elemental albums of rare power while garnering accolades across the United States and overseas for a tersely elegant brand of songwriting set apart by its haunting imagery and weather-beaten cool.

His latest project, “Horse Latitudes” was recorded alongside a folk supergroup that featured Eric Heywood, Billy Conway, Jennifer Condos and Van Dyke Parks.

With Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex Wong at the helm, A City on a Lake also features singers Ari Hest and Ximena Sarinana. Over the past few years, Wong has produced and written with cutting edge artists including Vienna Teng, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Melissa Ferrick and Delta Rae.

His compositions have been featured in film and television projects such as “The Last Song,” “One Tree Hill,” and “The Lincoln Lawyer.” Wong has performed as one half of the duo The Paper Raincoat with singer/songwriter Amber Rubarth and scored the innovative theatrical work “Everyman For Himself” which won an LA Weekly Theater Award for “Best Original Music.”

Thanks so much for listening to Mountain Stage. Follow us @mountainstage on Twitter for the very latest.

Mountain Stage is back this week with a special encore episode of live performance radio.

Recorded at the Culture Center Theater in partnership with FestivALL Charleston, you hear from beloved folk singer Dar Williams, Texas troubadour Ray Wylie Hubbard, power pop pioneers The dB’s, the musical hijinks of the New Rope String Band, and Mountain Stage NewSong Contest winner Arthur Alligood.

Click here to see the playlist, and click here to find a complete list a stations and times where you can listen in your area.

One of the most popular and frequent guests to the Mountain Stage, Dar Williams emerged in the 1990’s to become one of New England’s most important folk singers. Known for mixing the poignant with her own peculiar take on the world, she’s crafted a style all her own.

She appears alongside her own band, with a set drawn from her tenth studio album, In the Time of Gods. You can catch a preview of her performance via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week – “I Have Been Around the World.” 

We’ll also be joined by Texas singer-songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard.

No stranger to Americana audiences, Hubbard might best be described as an amalgam of Guy Clark and John Lee Hooker. A high school classmate of Larry Groce, Hubbard found success early in his career by penning the proto-country party anthem “Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers.” He’s remained an in-demand producer, writer, and performer ever since. And Hubbard fans take note: if you’re hoping to hear “Snake Farm,” you’re in luck. Snake Farm. It’s a reptile house.

Mountain Stage is also thrilled to be joined by newly-reunited power pop pioneers The dB’s.

Best described as the band that filled the gap between Big Star and REM, the music the dB’s created in the early 1980’s helped change the course of guitar-driven power pop for years to come. (And the band’s members, including Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby continued on with successful careers in their own right.) Their critically acclaimed release Falling Off the Sky is the band’s first new album with the original lineup in 30 years.

The New Rope String Band returns to Mountain Stage from the UK, having already become something of a FestivALL tradition.

Gifted musicians, singers, songwriters – and clowning vanguards, all at the same time – the New Rope String Band combines superb musicianship with masterful comedic timing. There are elements of circus, vaudeville, slapstick, and the Python-esque absurd, along with beautiful acoustic music from a variety of traditions. And also – a Theremin.

Finally, you'll hear from Tennessee-born singer-songwriter Arthur Alligood. 

Alligood won grand prize honors at the 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest for performing songwriters. His prize included a session with producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz) along with in-demand session musicians Jim Keltner on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Michael Ward on guitar. The resulting album, One Silver Needle was released to high praise on the NewSong Recordings label.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in.

Connect with Mountain Stage on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more about upcoming shows.

Thank you for listening to Mountain Stage!

Music lovers, this is but a brief reminder that a few tickets remain for the this Sunday's Mountain Stage show featuring the all-star duo of Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, along with Corb Lund, the Chapin Sisters, Sturgill Simpson, and West Virginia's own Blue Yonder. Click here to read more about each artist.

If you love country music - if you have ever, at any point in your life, described yourself as a lover of "hardcore" or "real" country, you own it to yourself to make it to this show. Get your tickets right now online, by phone (800.594.TIXX) or by making the short walk to Taylor Books in downtown Charleston.

This week’s special encore broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features Americana star Justin Townes Earle, with songs from his latest acclaimed album “Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now.”

You’ll also hear from the roots music icon Rolling Stone magazine called “a genre unto himself,” the great Alejandro Escovedo.

Singer-songwriter Elizabeth Cook makes her third appearance on the show since first visiting us in 2000.

And the Quebe Sisters band make their first visit to Mountain Stage, complete with triple fiddles and triple harmonies to match.

And the unofficial-official dean of West Virginia songwriters Todd Burge makes an appearance, along with his friend, the in-demand multi-instrumentalist Billy Matheny.

Scroll down to see more photos of the show. And click here to find a list of our stations. Preview this week’s show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

Follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr) for the latest.

Click here to view the playlist.

See our entire broadcast schedule.

This Sunday, Mountain Stage is back with folk icon Arlo Guthrie, along with his family band Boys Night Out.

Iconoclastic singer-songwriter Paul Thorn opens the show with a special solo set, Broadway star and Huntington native Michael Cerveris, brings his Americana sound to his hometown, and soulful country-pop newcomers Delta Rae make their first appearance on the show.

For decades now,  folk singer, songwriter and raconteur Arlo Guthrie has performed the heavy task of carrying on the legacy of his father, Woody Guthrie, while earning a place as a highly regarded musician in his own right. This year, Arlo is celebrating what would have been his father's 100th birthday. He joins us for a special, hour-long extended set.

We’ll also be joined on the Group W bench by singer-songwriter Paul Thorn. The son of a Pentecostal preacher, the nephew of a pimp (so the story goes) former boxer turned musician, Paul Thorn has earned a loyal following over the years through his signature blend of the sacred and profane. His most recent album, What the Hell is Going On? follows his highly regarded Pimps and Preachers and features Thorn's take on songs written by everyone from Lindsay Buckhingham to Buddy Miller.

Hailing from Durham, NC, DeltaRae fuses alt-pop band with rich Carolina soul. Recently signed to Sire/Warner, the group has four lead singers and incorporates all aspects of Americana into a joyful, passionate performance. Delta Rae has been headlining shows on both coasts, and released their debut Carry the Fire earlier this summer.

Finally, you’ll hear from Huntington native Michael Cerveris. An established, Tony-award winning actor who has played John Wilkes Booth in Assassins, and originated the title role in the Broadway hit “Tommy.” As a rock musician, he fronted the British band Retriever and was guitarist-vocalist on Bob Mould's Dog and Pony Show tour. Some of his earliest experiences of professional theater were thanks to the Marshall Artist Series (in particular first national tours of Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell), so his appearance onstage at the Keith Albee for Mountain Stage celebrating MAS has a special personal meaning for him.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in.

Connect with Mountain Stage on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more about upcoming shows. Thank you for supporting Mountain Stage.

A quick and important reminder to pass along - our April 7th show at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon is nearly sold out. This is one of only a handful of dates Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn are playing together, and one of fewer still in such a small, intimate venue. The show will also feature bluegrass A-listers The SteelDrivers, up-and-coming NPR favorites The Stray Birds, and other acts TBA. Read more about the lineup here 

Get your tickets now online, by phone (800.594.TIXX) or in person on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College. 

We hope to see you there.
 

Mountain Stage returns this weekend with a broadcast featuring the sultry vocals of Joan Osborne, cutting-edge progressive acoustic music from The Punch Brothers, jam band royalty Leftover Salmon, worldly singer-songwriter Sylvie Lewis, and alt-country newcomer Lera Lynn.

Click here to find a list of stations and times where you can listen, and click here to view the playlist for this week’s show.

Kentucky native Joan Osborne has sold millions of albums and garnered multiple Grammy nominations throughout her career, which began while she was attending NYU’s film school. Inspired by singers like Billie Holiday and Etta James, Osborne’s gutsy, passionate vocals turned “One Of Us,” a track from her major label debut, into a massive MTV and radio hit.

Her latest release, “Bring It On Home,” is a collection of classic blues, R&B and soul songs. You can catch a preview of her performance via our song of the week: Osborn singing the Slim Harpo classic “Shake Your Hips.”

Depending on how you count it, this is The Punch Brothers third appearance on Mountain Stage. A bone fide acoustic super group led Chris Thile, along with a staggering lineup including guitarist Chris Eldridge, a founding member of the Infamous Stringdusters who occasionally sits in with his father’s band, The Seldom Scene; bassist Paul Kowert, who studied under Edgar Meyer at the Curtis Institute of Music; banjo player Noam Pikelny who has collaborated with the likes of John Cowan and Tony Trischka; and violinist Gabe Witcher who has recorded with Willie Nelson, Beck and Randy Newman. The group’s current release is titled “Who’s Feeling Young Now?”

Embarking on their first full-fledged tour since 2004, jam-band mainstays Leftover Salmon are back with their first new album in 8 years, produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin. Flaunting an unmistakable, fluid and rootsy sound that fuses improvisational fervor to a dizzying combination of bluegrass, Cajun, Southern rock, boogie, Caribbean, Latin, and jazz influences, Leftover Salmon has earned a legion of diehard fans, critical accolades, and a reputation as one of the most engaging concert experiences to ever hit the road. Founding member Vince Herman was on Mountain Stage just a year ago, with his solo project, Great American Taxi.

Armed with a musical education that took her from studying cello in Switzerland, opera in the U.K. and songwriting, piano and guitar at Boston’s Berklee School of Music, Sylvie Lewis creates timeless, gentle songs for the ages. Along the way, Lewis became obsessed with classic songwriters and jazz artists like Cole Porter, Noel Coward and Oscar Peterson, informing her music with a feel from another generation. Now living in Italy, Lewis is currently working with L'orchestra di Piazza Vittorio on their radical revision of Mozart's "The Magic Flute."  Her new CD is titled “It’s All True.” 

Finally, you’ll hear from Lera Lynn, who kicks off the show. A winner of the 2011 Chris Austin Songwriting Competition held at Merlefest for her song, “Bobby, Baby,” Athens, GA-based artist Lera Lynn also walked away with “Best Americana Artist” at her hometown’s 2011 Flagpole Music Awards. Her debut “Have You Met Lera Lynn?” has been met with wide acclaim, earning her spots on the road this summer alongside fellow guests Joan Osborn and The Punch Brothers.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.  

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage.

This week's special encore broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded live at the Paramount Theater in the border town of Bristol TN / VA, in partnership with our friends at the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance. You’ll hear from country music icon Marty Stuart and his band, The Fabulous Superlatives; newcomer John Fullbright, The McCrary Sisters, experimental alt-folk-pop from The Pines, and bluegrass heavyweights Blue Highway.

Click here to find a list of stations and times where you can listen.

As a part of the New Traditionalist movement, Marty Stuart was instrumental in changing the sound of New Country music. Dubbed the “Hillbilly Crusader,” after long stints with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash, Stuart struck out on his own, adding a rockin’ twist to traditional country.

His 2010 release Ghost Train (The Studio B Sessions) features his band The Fabulous Superlatives and realizes Stuart’s vision of making a record that “upholds traditional country music.” His latest release, Nashville Volume 1: Tear the Woodpile Down continues down the same heart worn path. Hear Marty discuss his new album, and share his take on the state of country music in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video. And you can preview Marty's performance via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week: "California Blues."

After playing in fellow Oklahoma singer-songwriter Mike McClure’s band for a year, John Fullbright has become the most talked about young musician in Oklahoma. Prior to the 2009 Folk Alliance conference in Memphis, Fullbright, still in his early 20s, recorded a live CD at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City. Already he has received endorsements from many great musicians, including fellow Oklahomans Jimmy Webb, Kevin Welch, and Tom Skinner, and Mountain Stage favorite Jimmy LaFave.

Led by Benson Ramsey - son of noted guitarist/producer Bo Ramsey - and David Huckfelt, The Pines share a musical language rooted in the songs and songwriters of their native Iowa. The group’s brand of stark country is fleshed out with masterful guitar work, beautiful vocals and keyboards (provided by Benson’s brother Alex). The two front men began their musical partnership in Arizona, where they both lived in a Mexican barrio.

Now living in Minneapolis, the band has created a buzz around the Twin Cities and across the Upper Midwest. After signing with Red House Records in 2007, The Pines issued its debut, “Sparrows in the Bell” which was named one of the top roots releases of the year by “Q Magazine.” The Pines’ latest release is titled “Dark So Gold."

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage!  

This Sunday’s Mountain Stage event featuring Calexico, Camper Van Beethoven, Bonnie Prince Billy, Bahamas, and Piney Gir is SOLD OUT. If any additional tickets become available, they will be placed on sale beginning at 5 pm at the Culture Center. Follow Mountain Stage on Twitter for the latest about this.

Listen to the broadcast of this show on the radio beginning April 5^th.

Thanks so much for your continued support of Mountain Stage in Charleston. See you next week!

As Mountain Stage kicks off its 30^th season, we have more exciting live show news to pass along.

Just this morning, we announced that on March 10, Mountain Stage will be returning to the Birthplace of Country Music in Bristol for a show featuring the famed western swing, boogie and roots music outfit Asleep at the Wheel. They recently celebrated their 40^th year together, releasing the appropriately named album Reinventing the Wheel, and producing a critically acclaimed musical play staring the band, called A Ride with Bob.

Larry Keel & Natural Bridge will also be there. Joyfully riding the changing tides of traditional bluegrass, country, jam rock, roots reggae, and indie rock, flat picker Larry Keel has earned a place as a mainstay act among Americana and acoustic music fans.

They’ll appear alongside white-hot Irish acoustic band Lunasa, and Brooklyn-base string band The Downhill Strugglers.

Tickets for this show are on sale now online, by phone (423.274.8920), and in person at the Paramount box office, 518 State Street, Bristol.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage features guitarist and songwriter Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes. You’ll also hear from Canadian alt-country-rock institution The Cowboy Junkies, who make their 9^th appearance on the show, along with Vermont singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, and Australian rock icon Paul Kelly.

Click here to see when and where you can listen. Click here to stream our Mountain Stage Song of the Week, The Cowboy Junkies performing “Damaged From the Start.” And if there’s a tune you’re hoping to hear, check out this week’s playlist.

The sprightly Anais Mitchell kicks off the show. She is backed by her own band for songs from “Young Man in America,” which finds Mitchell taking on the voices of multiple characters, both men and women; and features cameos by guitarist Adam Levy and Punch Brothers’ Chris Thile.

You’ll also hear from Australian songwriting institution Paul Kelly. A storyteller on a par with the likes of Ray Davies, he has amassed a catalog whose quality and variety are unmatched - all the while remaining a beloved cult figure in the U.S. Dubbed “Australia’s Rock Icon” by Rolling Stone Magazine, in 2004, he began staging “A-Z concerts” which found him performing 100 of his songs over four nights - in alphabetical order.

The Cowboy Junkies make their 9^th visit to Mountain Stage. More than 25 years after their formation, The Cowboy Junkies are more active than ever. Over an 18 month span beginning in 2010, the band released four new studio albums. Renmin Park, Demons, Sing in My Meadow and The Wilderness comprise what the band calls “The Nomad Series,” a loosely-connected cycle of recordings inspired by everything from a life-changing trip to China, to their collective love for singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt. The resulting work has been called some of the best of their career.

Finally, you'll hear from guitarist and singer-songwriter Rich Robinson. As the guitarist for popular rockers the Black Crowes, Rich Robinson had achieved the American Dream before he was 25. Then, a divorce and the band’s unexpected hiatus ushered him into a painful, introspective period. The result was his first solo release, “Through a Crooked Sun,” a lyrically personal album which evidences a musical and spiritual awakening that addresses family, fame and fear. 

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage!  

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded live in on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan in the sunny town of Buckhannon. You’ll hear from contemporary folk master Martin Sexton, Canadian duo Whitehorse, bluegrass band NewFound Road, soulful jammers the Ryan Montbleau Band, and hometown favorite Belinda Smith.

Click here to find out when and where you can listen. And preview this week’s show via our Song of the Week. This time, it’s Martin Sexton with a solo acoustic cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” complete with some very convincing beat boxing towards the end of the performance.

If there's a song you're hoping to hear, check out the playlist.

A native of Syracuse, NY, Martin Sexton relocated to Boston where he began making his mark in the city’s vibrant coffee house and club scene. A self-produced CD landed him a deal with Atlantic Records where he released a pair of critically acclaimed discs, one of which featured bassist Tony Levin and original E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious.

Sexton’s songs, which tap the American musical landscape - soul, gospel, R&B and country - inspired a Billboard Magazine writer to call Sexton "the finest new male singer-songwriter of recent memory." Following up 2010's Sugarcoating, Sexton issued an EP titled Fall Like Rain. None other than John Mayer described Sexton as "the best live performer I've ever seen." 

Combining the unique talents of Canadian singer-songwriters Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, Whitehorse is greater than the sum of the parts. Individually, Doucet and McClelland have been recognized with awards and nominations from the Juno Awards, the Canadian Folk Music Awards, the Hamilton Music Awards, the Independent Music Awards and Polaris. Together, they create vital music that plays off of their personalities and chemistry.

One of the most exciting bluegrass bands of the new millennium, NewFound Road has shared the stage with a diverse array of artists including Oscar winner The Swell Season, Joe Diffie, Hall of Famer Mavis Staples, Grammy nominee Ryan Shaw and folk icon Judy Collins. In addition to powerful singer Tim Shelton, the group includes mandolinist Joe Booher, bassist/brother Jamey, and banjo/guitarist Josh Miller.

Once an acoustic solo artist, Ryan Montbleau released One Fine Color, his first full band project in 2006. Following an acoustic tour that Martin Sexton and Montbleau did together as solo performers, Sexton hired the entire group to back him this spring and summer on a tour that included a run of shows opening stadium gigs for the Dave Matthews Band. In addition, Sexton produced the band’s latest CD, Heavy on the Vine.

A Dove Award Winning songwriter and singer, WV native Belinda Smith moved to Nashville in 1997 to pursue a career in songwriting. Since then, she has charted multiple No. 1 songs, BMI play awards and owns an award winning publishing company, 7th Row Music. Her songs have been recorded by artists ranging from FFH to Ty Herndon. She is also the founder and president of Belinda Smith Creative, an online company providing creativity mentoring for writers.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage!

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded in Athens Georgia, and features Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, with a guest appearance from Mike Mills from REM. Also on this show is legendary lyricist, musical arranger and all-around character Van Dyke Parks. This episodes feeds to our stations this Friday, May 4. Click here to see the playlist.

Right now, you can preview Patterson’s performance via our Backstage at Mountain Stage vid, where he talks about how his solo project differs from his work with the Truckers. And you can also stream the song “Pride of the Yankees” from our upcoming broadcast.

Patterson Hood’s last solo album, Murdering Oscar was released in 2009, and his latest, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, is set to be released in the near future. Patterson brought along a band he dubbed “The Downtown Rumblers” (which included several members of the Drive-By Truckers) to help capture the quieter textures of his solo work.

Mike Mills of REM made an unannounced guest appearance, joining Patterson for his closing song, “After It’s Gone.” The two live in Athens, Georgia, and are both involved in a project that promotes the preservation of their downtown. Needless to say, the audience ate it up.

For music fans who pay attention to album credits, the name Van Dyke Parks is nothing short of legendary. As a session musician, composer, arranger, lyricist, and singer, he's contributed significantly to several decades' worth of inimitable masterpieces credited to other artists, as well as releasing notable projects of his own.

Working with a wide array of musicians, from The Byrds and Sonny and Cher to Ry Cooder and Vic Chesnutt, Parks is perhaps best known for collaborating with Brian Wilson on the storied classic SmiLE. In 2011, Parks released his first new music in more than 15 years, a series of singles that features the artwork of artists including Art Spiegelman and WV’s Billy Edd Wheeler.

Singer-songwriter Teitur kicks off the show. Hailing from Denmark's Faroe Islands, a small, remote group of islands between Iceland and Scotland, Teitur Lassen issued his debut, Poetry & Aeroplanes, on Universal Records in 2003.

Supporting the disc, he was featured on MTV’s “You Heard It First,” VH1 and CNN, and his songs were included on the soundtracks of the films My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Aquamarine. He also toured with Rufus Wainwright, Aimee Mann and John Mayer. His latest is titled Let the Dog Drive Home. 

Born and raised on the Georgia Sea island, St. Simons, Caroline Aiken’s first musical influence was Emma Lee Ramsey of the Georgia Sea Island Singers. She moved to NY in the late ‘60s and joined the rock band Father Time.

From there, music took her to California during the early ‘70s, to South America, Seattle, east to Greenwich Village and, in the early ‘80s, back to Atlanta. It was then that she heard the Indigo Girls - still teenagers - singing a CSNY song in an alley behind the club Good Old Days. Aiken invited them onstage and sang on their first recording.

Dubbed the “the William Faulkner of Southern music,” Randall Bramblett came to prominence in the ‘70s as a member of the fusion band Sea Level. Since then, his credits include work with Steve Winwood, Gregg Allman, Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson.

Called “one of Georgia’s musical treasures” by Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools, Bramblett is a multi-instrumentalist who excels on keyboards, saxophone and guitar, and a respected songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Widespread Panic, and Delbert McClinton.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage!

This week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage features power pop masters Fountains of Wayne, along with Marc Broussard, Amanda Shires, Grace Weber, and Ben Lee.

Click here to find a station and time where you can listen in your area. If there’s a song you’re hoping to hear, check out the show’s playlist. And click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming broadcasts.

Anchored by the singer-songwriters Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, Fountains of Wayne was founded in 1996 and released its self-titled debut on Atlantic Records the same year. They scored one of the most memorable hits of the early 2000’s, were nominated for Grammys, and have spent countless nights on the road cultivating their sound. The band’s latest release, Sky Full of Holes is their first since 2007.

Marc Broussard also stops by, with his acclaimed brand of bayou soul. His vocals call to mind performances by heavyweights like Otis Redding, Al Green, John Hiatt and Dr. John. Coupled with his powerful stage presence, he became a favorite of the nearly sold out Charleston audience.

You can catch a preview via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week, and you can also hear him talk to host Larry Groce about his roots and influences, and see some footage of his performance in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video.

We'll also be joined by young Texas singer-songwriter and fiddler Amanda Shires. If you've been listening to Jason Isbell's excellent new album Here We Rest, then you've already heard Amanda sing and play. Her CD Carrying Lighting has garnered rave reviews as well, and she most recently wrapped up recording sessions for the latest release from Justin Townes Earle.

You'll also hear a set from Brooklyn-by-way-of-Milwaukee singer-songwriter Grace Weber. She's already performed on "Showtime at the Apollo," played the Kennedy Center, and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her jazz infused pop has also caught the eye of Billboard Magazine, which dubbed her an "artist to watch." Her latest album is Hope & Heart.

Finally, you hear a rare set from singer-songwriter Ben Lee. Lee first gained America's attention in the late 90's, at a time when loud alt-rock was dominant. Ben Lee does not make loud alt-rock. So if you happened to see one of his videos on TV at the time, chances are, you still remember it. His latest album Deeper to Dream, is his most personal yet.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!

This week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage features the New Orleans jazz ensemble The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, along with roots music luminary Darrell Scott, Irish-American supergroup Solas, singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave, and newcomer Rosi Golan.

Click here to find a station and time where you can listen in your area. If there’s a song you’re hoping to hear, check out theshow’s playlist. And click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming broadcasts.

Highly regarded as a performer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter, Darrell Scott has seen his songs covered by more than 70 artists, including the Dixie Chicks, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, Faith Hill, Guy Clark, Sam Bush, Tim McGraw, Kathy Mattea and Garth Brooks. A Kentucky native, Scott excels on dobro, mandolin and guitar, and earned a degree in poetry from Tufts University. He has played on hundreds of sessions, and in 2001 was named “Songwriter of the Year” by the Nashville Songwriters Association.

In 2010, Scott joined Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, along with Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin and Byron House. His new album Long Ride Home features contributions from some of country music’s most experienced session players, including West Virginia Music Hall of Fame member Charlie McCoy. Hear him discuss this and more in our latest "Backstage at Mountain Stage" video.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is perhaps the only group that can claim to have shared stages with the Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, 2 Live Crew, and the Black Crowes. They're credited with revitalizing the brass band tradition in New Orleans, spreading it around the world, to more than 30 countries on five continents.

They’ve been featured guests on albums by David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Dr. John and the Modest Mouse; and the city of New Orleans now has an official Dirty Dozen Brass Band Day.

The group is celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now, and preparing for the release their new album Twenty Dozen on May 1. You can hear a preview of their performance via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

Celtic supergroup Solas has been called “the first truly great Irish band to arise from America.” Leader Seamus Egan was a teen prodigy who recorded his first album at age 16 and toured with Ralph Stanley and Peter, Paul and Mary. He formed Solas in 1994, and their current lineup includes co-founder Winifred Horan, guitarist Eamon McElholm, Mick McAuley, Eamon McElholm, and Niamh Varian-Barry.

Solas fans include Bela Fleck, Emmylou Harris and rap producer Timbaland, who sampled a Solas track on his radio hit “All Ya’ll.” Their latest is Turning the Tide.

For eight years, the Texas singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimmy LaFave honed his skills by hosting open mike nights in Austin. With a grassroots approach that blends country, blues, folk and rock 'n' roll, LaFave was named Best Singer-Songwriter at the Austin Music Awards, and veteran rock critic Dave Marsh called him “One of America's greatest voices."

LaFave was a participant in the "Ribbon of Highway - Endless Skyway” tour which paid tribute to the spirit of Woody Guthrie, and featured on the resulting live double album. In 2007, LaFave’s showed off his country side on Cimarron Manifesto. His latest release is Favorites 1992–2001. Every the charmer, LaFave, who is a Texan by way of Oklahoma, begins his set by welcoming the West Virginia audience to the Big 12.

Israeli born singer-songwriter Rosi Golan didn’t pick up a guitar until she was 19, when she heard a radio commercial advertising a sale at her local Guitar Center. Since then, she’s amassed quite an audience, thanks to songs from her debut The Drifter & The Gypsy being featured on One Tree Hill and Private Practice, and in the film Dear John. Recently, Golan sang “Set The Fire To The Third Bar” with Snow Patrol on the band’s recent appearance on David Letterman. Her current release is Lead Balloon.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!

This week’s special encore broadcast of Mountain Stage features country music legend Billy Joe Shaver, banjo man Noam Pikelny, Nashville singer-songwriter Matraca Berg, the Caleb Klauder Country Band, and Canadian fiddler April Verch. Click here to find a station and time where you can listen in your area. If there’s a song you’re hoping to hear, check out the show’s playlist. And click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming broadcasts.

Billy Joe Shaver is the original Honky Tonk Hero. Revered by everyone who’s anyone as one of the greatest songwriters of the 20^th century and beyond, Shaver first came to the attention of music lovers when Waylon Jennings filled nearly an entire album with Shaver’s songs.

In his 6^th appearance on the show, Shaver plays a few old favorites, but also shares a few new tunes: The autobiographical “Wacko From Waco,” which chronicles a much-publicized shooting that Shaver was involved in, and the tell-it-like-is anthem “The Get Go.” As always, you can catch a preview of his performance via our Mountain Stage song of the week, the bittersweet “Live Forever,” which Shaver wrote with his late son, guitarist Eddy Shaver.

You’ll also hear from Noam Pikelny & Friends. A charter member of Punch Brothers, in 2010 Steve Martin awarded Pikelny the first ever “Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass,” describing Pikelny as “a player of unlimited range and astonishing precision.” Pikelny brings songs from Beat The Devil and Carry A Rail, along with his friends, fellow Punch Brothers Gabe Witcher and Chris Eldridge, bass player Mark Schatz.

You’ll also hear from country singer-songwriter Matraca Berg. One of Nashville’s most revered and sought-after songwriters, Matraca Berg’s tunes have been recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Reba McEntire, Dusty Springfield, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Suzy Bogguss, Pam Tillis, and Martina McBride.

You’ll hear her play her song “Strawberry Wine,” which was a career-defining hit for Deana Carter in the 90’s, and “You and Tequila,” which was recently taken to the top of the country charts by Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter. Berg is backed on guitar by her husband Jeff Hanna, who also happens to be a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

The April Verch Band and the Caleb Klauder Country Band round out the show. Building on Klauder’s intense love of honky-tonk, rockabilly, outlaw and early country, and infusing the songs with Caleb's dry, dusty voice and mature songwriting, the Caleb Klauder Country Band is a rising star in today's Americana pantheon. You can read more about Klauder here.

April Verch is a young, yet internationally renowned Canadian fiddler, singer, songwriter and stepdancer who roots music luminary Dirk Powell called “… a rare mix of all the technique and super-flashy things, along with the deep soul and tradition that comes from having grown up with the music.” Her 8^th album, That’s How We Run, braces southern mountain and old time music with her plucky Canadian roots.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!

Mountain Stage returns to your radio this weekend with another premiere episode of live performance radio. You’ll hear from oddball rockers Dr. Dog, indie-folk sensation Mountain Goats, the multi-talented Nellie McKay, road warriors Red Wanting Blue, and stringband Spirit Family Reunion. Click here to see a list of stations and times where you can listen in your area. If there’s a song you’re hoping to hear, view the playlist by clicking here. And as always, you can preview the show via the Mountain Stage Song of the Week – This time, it’s Dr Dog, with their psychedelic jam “Turning the Century.”  

Founded by guitarist Toby Leaman and drummer Scott McMicken, the Philadelphia-based Dr. Dog is part of a long tradition of D.I.Y. pop oddballs who blend classic rock sounds with lo-fi recording techniques and an apparent disregard for current trends. Through the years, the band’s lineup has included more than 20 members and, at one time, included a one-string guitarist in a skintight skeleton costume and a member whose sole task was to dance in the crowd dressed in a tuxedo.

The group’s 2002 release, Toothbrush, found its way to Jim James of My Morning Jacket who asked the group to open for MMJ’s first tour. In 2007, We All Belong earned the group opening slots for Wilco and the Raconteurs, and landed them on a number of late-night television shows. Dr. Dog’s current release it titled Be the Void.

While living in California and working as a psychiatric nurse, John Darnielle began recording as the Mountain Goats in 1991. In more than two decades, the singer/songwriter has released a varied body of work that has taken him from an intentionally hiss-filled cassette releases to a more polished album for the 4AD label. The Sunset Tree, released in 2005, featured covers that were individually hand-painted by Darnielle, and, in 2011, All Eternals Deck was recorded in four different studios with four different producers. His current release - his 16th to date - is titled Transcendental Youth.

Born in London and raised in bohemian Harlem by her actress mother, vivacious and multi-talented Nellie McKay quickly set a new standard for diversity and creativity. Just 27, her resume would be impressive for someone twice her age.

To date, McKay has done Brecht on Broadway, opened for Lou Reed at Carnegie Hall, sung Woody Allen movie songs at the Hollywood Bowl, dueted with Eartha Kitt and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, and played Hilary Swank’s sister in the 2007 film “P.S. I Love You.” Her 2004 debut was a two-CD set on Columbia Records that drew comparisons to Randy Newman, jazz vocalist Blossom Dearie and Cole Porter. In 2010, she released, Home Sweet Mobile Home, featuring production from her mother Robin Pappas and creative input from David Byrne.

Led by singer-songwriter Scott Terry, Red Wanting Blue is proudly based in Columbus, Ohio, but is sometimes referred to as “America’s local band.”

With the aid of positive word of mouth and an unwavering perseverance, Red Wanting Blue has established a devoted following in and around the Midwest where the band regularly fills clubs reserved for bigger names. Red Wanting Blue’s latest studio recording From the Vanishing Point has been called the band’s coming-of-age album and, and is its first to be recorded for a label after several self-released records. The record debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart, another testament to the band’s loyal and growing fanbase.

Based out of Brooklyn, Spirit Family Reunion plays music heavily influenced by traditional mountain string band music, with drums, an occasional accordion and lots of soul. The band has already performed at the Newport Folk Festival and opened for the late Levon Helm and the Alabama Shakes. Drawing comparisons to Felice Bros and Old Crow Medicine Show, the band cut its teeth performing on the street corners, farmer's markets and subway stations of New York City while its songwriting was nurtured during the band's year-long residency at the Lovin' Cup Café. The group’s debut album is titled “No Separation.” 

Thanks again for your continued support of Mountain Stage. Follow us on Twitter for the latest news about the show. Stay connected with the show on Facebook, and check out our Tumblr for additional photos and music.

Advance tickets for this Sunday's Mountain Stage show featuring the Robert Cray Band have sold out. If any additional tickets become available -- and they usually do -- they will be placed on sale beginning at 5 pm at the Culture Center. Follow Mountain Stage on Twitter for the latest about this.

This is our last show of 2012, and it's going to be great. Along with Cray, you'll also hear sets from blues great Shemekia Copeland, Kelly Hogan, and Caravan of Thieves. There's a lot more coming in 2013. Click here to see our current schedule of live shows. Thanks for supporting Mountain Stage!

Mountain Stage returns this week with a premier episode featuring the acclaimed Americana-Mexican fusion band David Wax Museum. You’ll also hear from guitarist-singer-producer Chuck Prophet, sweet harmonies from duo Barnaby Bright, an acoustic set from Grammy-winner Jesse Harris, and folk mainstay Lucy Kaplansky makes her tenth appearance. Click here for a complete list of stations where you can listen to Mountain Stage, and click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming episodes. And preview this week’s broadcast via our MountainStage Song of the Week. This time, it’s Lucy Kaplansky's heartbreaking goodbye to her Mother, “Sleep Well.”

Named “Americana Artist of the Year” at the the 2010 Boston Music Awards, David Wax Museum creates a vibrant hybrid of traditional Mexican folk and American music. While attending college in Missouri, David Wax spent summers working in rural Mexico, and finished his degree at Harvard before heading back to the Mexican countryside to study its rich folk music tradition on a year-long fellowship. Together with Suz Slezak, the pair uses Latin rhythms, call-and-response shouts, accordion and donkey jawbones to create a sound that is truly unique to the American continent.

Based out of his California, singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Chuck Prophet has worked with and had songs recorded by a who's who of music luminaries, including Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Kim Richey, Heart, Mofro, and Kelly Willis. Among his most notable collaboration is with roots music great and “genre unto himself” Alejandro Escovedo, who has co-written his last few albums with Prophet. Often compared to heavyweights like Tom Petty, Alex Chilton and Ray Davies, Prophet’s latest, Temple Beautiful, showcases his own signature blend of rock, folk and punk.

Raised in Chicago by a piano-playing mathematician and a homemaker, Lucy Kaplansky began singing in bars when she was a teenager. When she was just out of high school, she moved to New York City where, along with Suzanne Vega, The Roches, Steve Forbert, John Gorka, and Shawn Colvin, she became part of the renaissance of the Greenwich Village folk scene. A Renascence woman, Kaplansky has also earned a doctorate in psychology and started a private practice. In addition to her six solo releases on Red House Records, Kaplansky was a member of folk supergroups Red Horse (with Gorka and Eliza Gilkyson) and Cry Cry Cry (with Dar Williams and Richard Shindell). Her latest release is titled Reunion.

Guitarist and songwriter Jesse Harris first came into prominence on Norah Jones' 2002 Grammy-winning Come Away With Me. The success of Jones' debut helped bring Harris' songwriting abilities to the music community's attention and led to his collaborations with other contemporary artists as well as a label deal for his band, the Ferdinandos. The soundtrack to Ethan Hawke's "The Hottest State" featured versions of Harris' songs by performed by artists including Willie Nelson, Bright Eyes, The Black Keys, Feist and Emmylou Harris. His latest - and 11th - release, “Sub Rosa,” was recorded in Rio de Janeiro with a group of stellar Brazilian musicians who weave Brazilian-influenced arrangements into Harris’ understated folk-pop.

Barnaby Bright - Since the release of its 2009 debut, “Wake the Hero,” the duo known as Barnaby Bright - Nathan and Becky Bliss - has garnered high praise for its songwriting and sound. The group’s music - which features guitars, harmonium, banjo, ukulele, thumb pianos and stunning harmonies - has been featured on television shows including “ER” and “Days of our Lives.” The follow-up EP, “Gravity,” was named one of the “Top 100 Records of the Year” by Amazon.com. The pair average 40,000 miles and 200 shows a year, and were recently among the finalists at the 2012 Mountain Stage NewSong competition held at Lincoln Center in NYC.

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This week’s encore episode of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features roots rock songwriting icon Dave Alvin, along with contemporary jazz and blues singer Catherine Russell, insurgent country and Americana artist Will Hoge, Boston-based singer-songwriter Catie Curtis, and folk mainstay Eliza Gilkyson.

Click here for a complete list of stations where you can listen to Mountain Stage, and click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming episodes.

A true icon of roots music, this was Dave Alvin’s 6^th appearance on Mountain Stage. From his early work with his brother in The Blasters to his eclectic career as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Alvin has had richly varied musical path. After The Blasters, Alvin was briefly the lead guitarist for seminal L.A. Punk Band X before releasing a series of solo albums in the 80’s and 90’s that are widely regarded as classics.

In 1989, Alvin scored a hit when he penned the Dwight Yoakam chart topper “Long White Cadillac,” which you’ll hear on this week’s Mountain Stage. You’ll also hear “Harlan County Line,” a song that gained a lot of attention after being prominently featured in the season finale of the TV show Justified. 

You’ll also hear from singer-songwriter Will Hoge. Situated somewhere between heartland rock, soul, and country, Hoge’s powerful voice, songwriting chops, and relentless touring schedule have earned him great deal of respect among his peers. His song “Even If it Breaks Your Heart” has become a radio hit for the Eli Young band, and his new album Seven has secured Hoge multiple trips to the Opry stage of late. You can hear Will Hoge talk about his career so far, and see clips of his performance in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video above.

Boston-based singer-songwriter Catie Curtis also appears. Her career has spanned 2 decades, and she’s earned both popular and critical praise. She was called a “folk-rock goddess” by the New Yorker, and is regarded as one of New England’s finest live performers. Her new release, Stretch Limousine on Fire features a cameo by Mary Chapin Carpenter and 10 original songs that explore the passing of life’s events. She’s backed by her friend Jenna Lindbo on keys, along with the Mountain Stage band.

Finally, you’ll hear from singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson. Politically-minded and poetically-gifted, Gilkyson has become one of the most respected musicians in roots, folk and Americana circles. The Grammy-nominated artist has appeared on Austin City Limits, and toured with Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

In February of 2003, she was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame, alongside Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, Nanci Griffith, Billy Joe Shaver, Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and others. She’s backed for her performance by the Mountain Stage band.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!

A quick bit of exciting live show news to pass along, folks. We’re happy to announce that when Mountain Stage returns to Morgantown on January 20, we’ll be welcoming Texas singer and songwriter Robert Earl Keen, and Grammy-winning vocalist Shelby Lynne. This will mark Lynne’s third appearance on the show, and Keen’s tenth. Tickets to this show are available now by phone (304.293.SHOW), online, and in person at the CAC box office in Morganown.

One of the most important and beloved singer-songwriters to emerge from Texas in the 1980’s, Robert Earl Keen finally earned commercial success in the late 1990’s with his album Picnic – and also, with little help from the greatest dysfunctional family portrait ever put to song. His latest album, Ready for Confetti was produced by the great Lloyd Maines, and has been called “his most inspired and focused project in nearly 20 years.”

One of the finest singers working in any genre, Shelby Lynne’s first record deal came not long after an appearance on Ralph Emory’s Nashville Now in 1987. A chart-climbing duet with George Jones followed, along with a series of records that touched on everything from traditional country and slick country pop to western swing. And even though she won the Best New Artist Grammy in 2001, Lynne has purposefully stood apart from the mainstream. Her two most recent albums were released on her own EVERSO records label, including her latest, the self-produced Revelation Road.

Rhett Miller and Black Prairie will also be there. We hope to see you, too. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest. Thanks for supporting Mountain Stage.

This week’s special encore broadcast features Booker T. Jones, pop and jazz group Lake Street Dive, singer-songwriters Kenny White and Jill Sobule, and folk-pop trio The Spring Standards, all recorded live at the Creative Arts Center on the campus of West Virginia University.

Click here for a complete list of stations where you can listen to Mountain Stage, click here to see this episode’s playlist, and click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming episodes.

Booker T. Jones is truly one of the most important musicians, songwriters and producers in all of American popular music. From his early work as one of the architects of the soul sound at Stax records, to the tunes he cut with Booker T. and the MG’s, to his production work with legends like Bill Withers – it is difficult to overstate the impact Booker T. Jones has had on the American soundscape.

During his Mountain Stage set, Jones plays a few of his well know favorites, touches on some of his work with heavyweights like Bob Dylan and Albert King, and shares some of the new songs he’s cut with contemporary artists like the Roots and the Drive-By Truckers.

And in this week’s Backstage at Mountain Stage video, you’ll get to see Jones talk about how as a teenage high school student in Memphis, he wound up on some of the 20^th century’s most iconic recordings, including our Song of the Week, “Green Onions.”

Fresh off their first appearance at South By Southwest, Lake Street Dive (NOT “drive”) are, as Mountain Stage producer Adam Harris likes to say, “pretty hot right now.”

The four members the band met when they were students at Boston’s New England Conservatory. Jazz-schooled and DIY-motivated, what originally began as a “free country” project was eventually overcome by the band’s penchant for classic pop and groove-driven jazz.

Drummer Mike Calabrese and trumpet-wielding guitarist Mike Olson highlight the vocals of jazz-inspired singer Rachel Price and bassist Bridget Kearney. Kearny, who is also one of the band’s key songwriters, previously appeared on Mountain Stage with her other band, the bluegrass-inspired Joy Kills Sorrow.

Singer-songwriter Kenny White kicks off the show. For  many  years,  White  was  a  fixture  in  the  NY  studio  scene,  writing  and  producing  hundreds of commercials for TV and radio. His  relationships  with  Marc  Cohn  and  Shawn  Colvin  led  to  his  producing  Colvin’s  Grammy-nominated, I Don’t Know Why and to his involvement in Cohn’s wildly successful self-titled debut record.

White’s Mountain Stage set includes two of the funniest tunes you’ll hear in a while: one about two very unlikable lovers, and another that explains in no uncertain terms how to write a successful pop love song. One of the secrets: First you sing high, and then you sing higher. 

Jill Sobule returns to Mountain Stage. Since first stirring the pot in the mid-90’s with her alternative hit “I Kissed a Girl,” Sobule has maintained vibrant career and loyal following.

In recent years, Sobule has received even more attention for all but single-handedly pioneering the idea of fan-funded projects – a concept that’s now widely utilized by her fellow musicians. In 2009, she raised over $85,000 from 500 fans to help record her album California Years.

Also returning to the Mountain Stage are the young ethereal indie-pop ensemble The Spring Standards. All three members - James Cleare, James Smith and Heather Robb originally played together when they were in high school. A few years later, they all found themselves living within a few blocks of one another in New York City.

The band’s full-length debut, Would Things Be Different was released in 2010 and led to an appearance on Conan O’Brien, and tours alongside Squeeze, The Old 97s, Marc Broussard, Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, and Ha Ha Tonka.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!

Mountain Stage is thrilled to be returning to our home at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston this Sunday, where our guests will be Bruce Cockburn, Iris DeMent, Carrie Rodriguez, Brooke Waggoner, and Trixie Whitley. Tickets are still available – get yours online, by phone (800.549.TIXX) and at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston. After this, there’s only one more show to go in 2012, at the Culture Center Theater on December 9^th. Find out more info here, and don’t forget to check our growing lineup of 2013 shows. Tickets are already moving fast.

One of Canada’s best loved - and most awarded - artists, Bruce Cockburn has 20 gold and platinum releases and has won 13 Juno Awards in Canada. In addition to being an excellent guitarist and a distinctive singer, Cockburn is one of contemporary music’s more consistent and prolific songwriters. Beginning as a melodic and meditative folkie, he gradually progressed to constructing beautifully textured compositions that champion political, environmental and Native American causes. 2005's  “Speechless,” Cockburn’s first-ever instrumental release, showcased his outstanding guitar work next to guests including Gary Burton, Edgar Meyer, Mark O’Connor and producer T-Bone Burnett. Issued in 2006, “Life Short Call Now,” boasted horns, a 27-piece string section and backing vocals from Ani DiFranco while 2011's “Small Source of Comfort” included the track “Call Me Rose,” written from the point of view of former President Nixon who receives a chance at redemption after being reincarnated as a single mother living in a housing project with two children.

Born in Arkansas and raised in Southern California, Iris DeMent grew up immersed in gospel music and traditional country. Her 1992 debut, “Infamous Angel,” quickly established her as an artist to watch. Her 1994 follow-up, “My Life,” earned a Grammy nomination in the “Contemporary Folk” category while 1996's “The Way I Should” addressed political as well as personal themes and also earned a Grammy nomination. In the meantime, her song “Let The Mystery Be” was sung by David Byrne and Natalie Merchant on MTV Unplugged. Her song “Our Town” was featured in the series finale of “Northern Exposure” and Merle Haggard - who called DeMent “the best singer I've ever heard” - asked her to be his pianist on a tour with his band The Strangers. DeMent sang four duets with John Prine on “In Spite of Ourselves” and had a minor role in the motion picture “Songcatcher” as well as contributing a song to its soundtrack. In 2004, she recorded an album of gospel songs, “Lifeline,” which included her rendition of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” In 2010, the Coen Brothers chose that song for the closing credits in their remake of “True Grit.” Now, 16 years after the last collection of DeMent originals, “Sing The Delta” features a dozen of her songs.

After studying classical piano for nearly 20 years, Brooke Waggoner earned a degree in music composition and orchestration, hoping to score films and orchestrate her own projects. With a sweet voice and piano playing that’s a cross between Little Richard and Rachmaninov, the Louisiana native’s songs tell of a "lone 22-year-old girl, sagas of daily life and bits of poetry." Influenced by artists as diverse as Simon and Garfunkel, Electric Light Orchestra and Rodgers & Hammerstein, she attempts to “connect the 'classical world' with the 'mainstream world'.” Waggoner was a finalist in MTVU's “Best Music on Campus” competition and was a semi-finalist in the “John Lennon Songwriting Contest.” Her 2008 release, “Heal for the Honey” was nominated for “Best Folk/Singer Songwriter Album of the Year” at the Independent Music Awards. In 2009, after moving to Nashville, Waggoner received the “Emerging Artist” award at the Nashville Music Awards. Her latest release, “Go Easy Little Doves,” gathers melodies and compositions that she’s collected over the past decade.

After collaborating with veteran songwriter Chip “Wild Thing” Taylor on four albums of duets, singer/violinist Carrie Rodriguez struck out on her own. Attending both Oberlin College and Berklee School of Music, Rodriguez immersed herself in Boston’s bluegrass-jazz scene. In 2001, she was “discovered” by Taylor while playing at an Austin record shop. In addition to her work with Taylor, Rodriguez has toured with Lucinda Williams and Alejandro Escovedo, and released eight records in as many years. Issued in 2010, “Love & Circumstance” was a set of cover songs by artists that influenced her and featured cameos by Bill Frisell, Buddy Miller, Greg Leisz, and Crooked Still vocalist Aoife O'Donovan. That same year, Rodriguez released a “greatest hits” compilation of her work with Taylor titled “The New Bye & Bye.” The following year she and Romantica frontman Ben Kyle released “We Still Lover Our Country.”

Born Belgium into a family immersed in art and music, Trixie Whitley’s early years were split between Belgium and New York City. At age 11, she was touring Europe with several theater companies and, at age 14, with the renowned dance company, “Les Ballets C de la B,” as an actor, singer, dancer, and musician. At the same time, Whitley became the youngest resident DJ in Europe, embraced by Belgium’s Museum of Modern Art and spinning at raves, festivals, and parties in Brussels, Paris, New York City, and Amsterdam. Returning to New York, she recorded her first EP, “Strong Blood,” produced with Me’shell Ndegeocello and Dougie Bowne, in the spring of 2008. That summer, she performed at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. In 2010 and 2011, Whitley toured with Daniel Lanois’ group Black Dub. During the “Black Dub” recording sessions, she recorded her second EP, “The Engine.” In late 2011, she released “Live at the Rockwood Music Hall.” She continues to collaborate with some of the world’s finest musicians and producers, including Marc Ribot, Robert Plant, Stephen Barber, Marianne Faithfull, Joe Henry, Craig Street, and Malcolm Burn

This week, Mountain Stage returns with another all-new episode, recorded on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown. You’ll hear mellow soul and folk from Ben Taylor, jazz singer Kat Edmonson, roots music ensemble The Trishas, renowned banjo and dulcimer player Bob Shank, and indie-folk newcomer Logan Venderlic.

Click here for a list of stations and times where Mountain Stage can be heard in your area. If there’s a song you’re hoping to hear, check out the performance playlist. And as always, you can preview the show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week – this time, it’s Ben Taylor with “It Really Doesn’t Matter to You.”

After traveling the world, from Tibet to the Darien Rain Forest, Ben Taylor initially aspired to become a gardener. However, In the end, music won out. After all, as the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, Taylor’s life has been steeped in music. On “Listening,” the follow-up to 2008's “The Legend of Kung Folk Part 1," his wit and skill as a singer-songwriter are evident in songs he calls “organically handcrafted.”

Taylor seamlessly melds a melange of styles - folk, pop, soul, urban, reggae and country/western - with melodies that the BBC called “heart-melting.” Taylor has been featured in “People Magazine,” “Vogue” and appeared on the cover of “Rolling Stone.” He has toured with Sheryl Crow, Blues Traveler and Ziggy Marley.

After quickly becoming one of the most talked about singers on the crowded Austin music scene, classic jazz singer-songwriter Kat Edmonson is making her mark nationally. Thanks to her acclaimed 2009 debut, “Take to the Sky,” she landed gigs singing with Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett.

After recording a version of the classic Christmas duet “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with Lovett, the two performed it on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Her sophomore release “Way Down Low” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and a Boston Globe reviewer called it “one of the greatest vocal albums I’ve ever heard.”

The buzz surrounding The Trishas is reserved for groups that bring a special chemistry to the stage, which was obvious the first time Jamie Wilson, Liz Foster, Kelley Mickwee and Savannah Welch shared a stage together.

Just three years later, the three have toured with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Todd Snider, Raul Malo and Ray Wylie Hubbard, co-wrote songs with Bruce Robison, Kevin Welch (Savannah’s father), Jason Eady and Jim Lauderdale, and found time to release their full-length debut, “High, Wide & Handsome.” Guests on the CD include Kenny Vaughan, Harry Stinson, Viktor Krauss and Tammy Rogers.

Hailing from St. Marys, Pleasants County, Logan Venderlic issued a pleasantly quirky set of indie pop songs that led Yahoo Music to name him one of the top artists for the first half of 2012. His CD alternates between love songs for the troubled and folk-punk that recalls The Clash. His paean to his hometown, “Jerkwater Town,” offers up the mixed emotions that many young West Virginians have about their home state, although he comes to the conclusion: “I could never stay away for too long - the mountains are calling me back.”

Renowned banjo and dulcimer player Bob Shank from Bruceton Mills, WV performs songs from his newest release "Don't Worry About the Moon." The work features new and original compositions recorded in his home studio.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage. Keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr for the latest news, information and stories.

Hello, music lovers. Sara Watkins' recent Mountain Stage performance will begin streaming at NPR Music tomorrow.

In the meantime, you can preview her set via YouTube, and catch a brief backstage interview where she talks about her new album Sun Midnight Sun, and how working with new musicians helped her capture an edgier sound while staying true to her acoustic roots.
 

Mountain Stage is thrilled to present another premier broadcast of live performance radio this weekend, featuring iconic country singer and songwriter Rodney Crowell, along with Americana star Sara Watkins, bar room rockers Lucero, The Lost Brothers, and Doug Paisely. Click here to see a list of stations and times where you can listen in your area. Click here to take a look at the playlist. And preview our broadcast via our Mountain Stage song of the week: Sara Watkins original song “You and Me.” 

The standard bearer of country’s new traditionalist movement of the mid-‘80s, Rodney Crowell has contributed to some of modern country’s finest moments. After being discovered (and signed) by Jerry Reed in the mid-‘70s, Crowell went on to play (and write songs) for Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band. Next, he wrote for and produced (and married) Rosanne Cash.

In 1980, Crowell’s songwriting career took off when he scored a string of No. 1 hits for bands like the Oak Ridge Boys, Crystal Gayle and Bob Seeger. Finally, in 1988, Crowell’s own release, “Diamonds and Dirt,” connected with five consecutive No. 1 singles. The following year, "After all This Time" won a Grammy for “Best Country Song.”

 Subsequent projects have included the Cicadas, penning the first hit for his wife, singer Claudia Church, and his 2001 release “Houston Kid.” Crowell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. His latest release, “Kin: Songs by Mary Karr & Rodney Crowell,” finds Crowell writing with fellow Texan and “The Liar’s Club” author Mary Karr. Crowell recently authored his autobiography titled “Chinaberry Sidwalks.”

Steadily playing hundreds of dates a year over the past decade, Memphis alt-country rockers Lucero have gone from an earnest indie band to a major label act. Formed by Ben Nichols in the late '90s, Lucero issued its first CD in 2001. Their 2003 release That Much Further West earned the group a spot on Rolling Stone's Hot List.

Released in spring of 2005, Nobody's Darlings was produced by legendary Memphis musician-producer Jim Dickinson. Meanwhile, that same year, director Aaron Goldman mixed archival footage with footage shot during the recording of the album, for his documentary on Lucero titled Dreaming in America.

In 2009, Nichols released a solo EP The Last Pale Light in the West and Lucero issued its major label debut, 1372 Overton Park which found the band incorporating more of a Memphis soul sound. In addition to working with Lucero, Nichols also released a solo record in early 2009 and co-stars in MTV’s $5 Cover, a series about the Memphis music scene. The band’s current release, Women & Work, released on Dave Matthews’ ATO Records, was described by longtime critic Thom Jurek as “all killer, no filler.”

After spending nearly two decades as one-third of the Grammy Award–winning Nickel Creek, singer, songwriter, and fiddler Sara Watkins often draws comparisons to Alison Krauss - who produced Nickel Creek’s debut in 2000. Watkins first solo disc, released in 2009, was produced by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, and featured cameos by Gillian Welch, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ keyboardist Benmont Tench, Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas; and bluegrassers like Tim O’Brien, Chris Eldridge, Ronnie McCoury and her Nickel Creek bandmates.

In the past three years, Watkins has toured the world as guest fiddle player and vocalist with the Decemberists as well as joining Garrison Keillor on his nationwide Summer Love performance tours. Watkins and her brother Sean regularly host the Watkins Family Hour at the L.A. club Largo, which often includes surprise cameos from friends and colleagues. She is currently touring with Jackson Browne, supporting her new release Sun Midnight Sun.

While Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland are not technically brothers, as The Lost Brothers, the pair draws influence from family bands such as The Kinks and The Everly Brothers. Originally from Ireland and now based in London, the group recorded its debut, “Trails of the Lonely,” in Portland, OR, and has become popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

The band received lavishly praised from the U.K. press (NME, and The Irish Times) and has performed in Glastonbury, Texas, New York, Portland, Toronto, Paris, and Ireland. The duo’s second album, “So Long John Fante,” is something of a tribute to author John Fante’s Depression-era work and was recorded in Nashville.

Born in Toronto, alt-country singer-songwriter Doug Paisley’s music is steeped in history. He spent 10 years paying in a Stanley Brothers tribute band, and released two albums of classic country covers before stepping out with his own songs to support Bonnie Price Billy. His latest album, “Constant Companion” received a four star review from Rolling Stone, and features contributions from Feist and The Band’s Garth Hudson.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for the latest news, backstage photos, and stories.

Mountain Stage returns to our home away from home at the Creative Arts Center in Morgantown this weekend, for a show featuring Mike Doughty, The Iguanas, Charlie Mars, Jeffery Foucault, and A City on a Lake. Tickets are available, and we’d love to see you there. Order yours online, by phone (304.293.SHOW) or pick tickets up in person at the Creative Arts Center box office. Tickets are $18 in advance, and $23 on the day of the show.

Before embarking on a solo career, singer-songwriter Mike Doughty was the frontman for the group Soul Coughing. Formed in 1992, the group released three CDs for Warner Bros before disbanding in 2000. Doughty - who had been writing a column for New York Press - began playing solo shows and released “Skittish,” a solo disc that he had recorded five years before. He also contributed vocals to BT's club hit "Never Gonna Come Back Down" and collaborated with They Might Be Giants’ John Flansburgh on a CD that accompanied an issue of McSweeney's “Quarterly Concern.” In 2002, Doughty released the live “Smofe + Smang: Live in Minneapolis” and a book of poetry titled “Slanky.” In 2011, Doughty issued “Yes and Also Yes” on his own Snack Bar label. The following year, he released the live “The Question Jar Show” and “The Flip Is Another Honey” which featured Doughty covering artists from Thin Lizzy to Randy Newman. That same year, he published “The Book of Drugs,” a memoir about his life with Soul Coughing and his struggles with addiction.

From New Orleans, The Iguanas have long been one of the region’s most popular live bands, combining styles that range from blues, R&B, Zydeco, Cajun, Tex-Mex and roots rock & roll. Not long after San Francisco guitarist Rod Hodges formed the group in 1989, he rediscovered the conjunto music that was a part of his mother's Mexican heritage and took up accordion. Vocalist/saxophonist Joe Cabral’s first musical experience was playing in his father's Mexican band. In college, he discovered New Orleans R&B and the honking saxophone style. Bassist Rene Coman is a native of New Orleans whose recording credits include Alex Chilton and Guitar Slim Jr. The group’s 1993 debut was released on Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville label. The group’s latest release, “Sin to Sin,” is the first since 2008's “If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times.”

Mississippi-based troubadour Charlie Mars’ career has run the gamut from major label releases and high-profile opening slots for the likes of REM and Steve Earle to under-the-radar, self-released efforts. Following up 2009's attention-grabbing “Like A Bird, Like A Plane,” his current release “Blackberry Light” draws inspiration from famed producer Daniel Lanois while the songs take lyrical cues from such literary heroes as Haruki Murakami, Cormac McCarthy, Walker Percy, and Denis Johnson.

Longtime disciple of the rich and strange music that sings behind the American veil, Jeffery Foucault has spent the last decade mining the darker seams of country and blues, producing a string of spare and elemental albums of rare power while garnering accolades across the United States and overseas for a tersely elegant brand of songwriting set apart by its haunting imagery and weather-beaten cool. His latest project, “Horse Latitudes” was recorded alongside a folk supergroup that featured Eric Heywood, Billy Conway, Jennifer Condos and Van Dyke Parks.

With Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex Wong at the helm, A City On A Lake also features singers Ari Hest and Ximena Sarinana. Over the past few years, Wong has produced and written with cutting edge artists including Vienna Teng, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Melissa Ferrick and Delta Rae. His compositions have been featured in film and television projects such as “The Last Song,” “One Tree Hill,” and “The Lincoln Lawyer.” Wong has performed as one half of the duo The Paper Raincoat with singer/songwriter Amber Rubarth and scored the innovative theatrical work “Everyman For Himself” which won an LA Weekly Theater Award for “Best Original Music.”

Thanks again for supporting Mountain Stage. Click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming live shows. We’ll see you there.

This week’s premier broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded just a few weeks ago at the Paramount Theater in Bristol TN / VA, in partnership with our good friends at the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance.

You’ll hear from Wanda Jackson, Connie Smith, JD McPherson, Pokey LaFarge and Larry Cordle. Click here to see a list of times and stations where you can listen. And preview this week’s show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week. This week, it’s Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Larry Cordle, with “Hello, My Name is Coal.”

The undisputed queen of rockabilly, Wanda Jackson has successfully rejuvenated her career numerous times over the years. When she was 15, Jackson won a local talent contest in Oklahoma City which led to a regular radio show - and being discovered by country singer Hank Thompson.

After charting a hit with Thompson’s band, she signed to Capitol Records in the mid-‘50s and stayed with the label for nearly two decades, charting both country and rockabilly songs. Jackson returned to the studio in 2010 with Jack White-produced The Party Ain’t Over,” a nod to her 1958 hit “Let’s Have a Party.” Her latest release, “Unfinished Business,” is Jackson’s 31st studio release and marks the producing debut of singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle.

Dolly Parton once said, "There’s really only three female singers in the world: Streisand, Ronstadt and Connie Smith. The rest of us are just pretending." In June of 1964, Connie Smith, who was raised near Hinton, WV, with 13 siblings, was signed to RCA Records by Chet Atkins.

Her first recording session yielded the No. 1 hit "Once a Day." The song was the biggest country record in 1964 and earned Smith the honor of being named Billboard’s "Most Promising Female Singer of 1964." Over the next decade, Smith charted 10 Top 5 singles, nine Top 10 entries and 27 other chart hits. Married to country star Marty Stuart, Smith put her career on hold for several years to concentrate on raising a family. Her new album, “Long Line of Heartaches,” is her 53rd release to date, her first since 1996 and only her second since 1978.

Coming off a string of sold-out west coast shows and his national television debut on “Conan,” Oklahoma-based retro-revivalist JD McPherson is riding a wave that includes a four star review from Britain’s “Mojo” magazine for his debut, “Signs and Signifiers,” and hitting No. 1 on the Americana Radio chart.

Hailing from Broken Arrow, OK, the visual artist dove head-first into old school R&B and self-directed a video of the single, “North Side Gal,” which has racked up more than 625,000 views. McPherson has been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and KCRW’s “Today’s Top Tune.”

Larry Cordle was born and raised on a small family farm in eastern Kentucky, not far from his childhood friend and neighbor, musical prodigy Ricky Skaggs. Upon hearing Larry’s song, “Highway 40 Blues,” Skaggs promised that he would one day record it. In the summer of 1983, it was the number one song in the nation, helping to launch Larry’s songwriting career and skyrocketing Skaggs’ already solid country music career.

At last count, Cordle’s songs have appeared on projects that have sold a combined total of more than 55 million records, by artists such as Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins and many others. His latest album is Pud Marcum's Hangin'.

From St. Louis, Missouri, Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three's creative mix of early jazz, string ragtime, country blues and western swing rings true and fine, making them among the most innovative of all the purists performing American roots music today. A lot of performers are content to play old material, reworking the tunes to give them new life or to stamp them with personal style. But this group, led by guitar-plucking troubadour Pokey LaFarge, achieves timelessness with original songs while honoring the legendary artists of yesterday through covered tunes.

Accompanied by The South City Three, Pokey uses his booming voice as an instrument with an incredible range; one moment he shouts a line and the next he croons above his parlor guitar. In 2009, Pokey began working with The South City Three, a trio made up of fellow St. Louis musicians Joey Glynn, Adam Hoskins and Ryan Koenig.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for the latest news, backstage photos, and stories.

As you might have heard, Beth Orton has decided to cancel tomorrow night's performance on Mountain Stage. But the show must go on – and go on it will with our friend Chuck Prophet.  

 No stranger to Mountain Stage audiences, this will mark Prophet's fifth appearance on the the show – you can listen to his 2010 performance here, when he stopped by in support of his album Let Freedom Ring. Based out of his native California, prophet has worked with, and had his songs recorded by a who's who of music luminaries, including Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Kim Richey, Heart, Mofro, and Kelly Willis. Among his most notable collaboration is with roots music great and “genre unto himself” Alejandro Escovedo, who has co-written his last few albums with Prophet.  

And you may have even noticed his song “You Did” during the closing credits of HBO's True Blood:
 

Many thanks to Chuck for agreeing to swing by our show on a moment's notice. It's going to be a great night of music in Charleston, with Lucy Kaplansky, David Wax Museum, Jesse Harris, and Barnaby Bright. We'll see you there! 

It is with great enthusiasm that Mountain Stage reminds everyone that this Sunday, October 28th, we return to our home at the Culture Center Theater for our first show in a very long time. And we’d also like to remind you we’ll be spending even more time in Charleston in the very near future – click here to see our upcoming schedule of live shows that feature Robert Cray, Calexico, Kathy Mattea, and more.

But back to the matter at hand! This Sunday, we’ll be joined by Beth Orton, David Wax Museum, Lucy Kaplansky, Jessie Harris and Barnaby Bright. Tickets are available online, by phone (800.549.TIXX) and in person at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston. As always, they’re a mere $15 in advance, and $25 at the door.

With a diverse career that has mixed acoustic folk with trip-hop and electronica, U.K. singer/songwriter Beth Orton’s music has earned critical and popular acclaim. Her music has been featured in films and on television programs including “Felicity,” “How to Deal,” “Charmed,” “Dawson's Creek,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Grey's Anatomy.”

Orton came to international attention when she joined forces with British acid/house/remix pioneer William Orbit in the duo Spill and on his 1993 release “Strange Cargo 3.” But it was her 1996 full-length solo debut, “Trailer Park,” that brought her to the attention of the Americana scene. Since then, she has collaborated with ex-Whiskeytown frontman Ryan Adams and the Chemical Brothers. After a six-year hiatus from recording Orton signed to Anti Records and released “Sugaring Season” in 2012.

Named “Americana Artist of the Year” at the the 2010 Boston Music Awards, David’s Wax Museum’s creates a vibrant hybrid of traditional Mexican folk and American music. NPR described the group as “pure, irresistible joy” while Time.com praised the group for its “virtuosic musical skill and virtuous harmonies.”

While attending college in Missouri, David Wax spent summers working in rural Mexico with the American Friends Service Committee. He finished his degree at Harvard before heading back to the Mexican countryside to study its rich folk music tradition on a year-long fellowship. Utilizing Latin rhythms, call-and-response shouts, accordion and donkey jawbones, the band was featured on an NPR segment about Mexico-centric indie rock.

Its performance at the 2010 Newport Folk Festival was hailed by “All Songs Considered” as one of the weekend’s highlights. The band’s latest release, “Everything Is Saved,” has earned rave reviews from The New Yorker, Paste Magazine, and a nod from Time Magazine as one of the Top 10 acts of this year’s SXSW music conference, and an appearance on NPR’s World Café.

Raised in Chicago by a piano-playing mathematician and a homemaker, Lucy Kaplansky began singing in bars when she was a teenager. When she was just out of high school, she moved to New York City where, along with Suzanne Vega, The Roches, Steve Forbert, John Gorka, and Shawn Colvin, she became part of the renaissance of the Greenwich Village folk scene.

Although The New York Times said it was “easy to predict stardom for her,” Kaplansky earned a doctorate in psychology and started a private practice. Eventually, Colvin lured Kaplansky back to music and produced her 1994 debut “The Tide.” In addition to her six solo releases on Red House Records, Kaplansky was a member of folk supergroups Red Horse and Cry Cry Cry. Her latest release is titled “Reunion.”

Guitarist-songwriter Jesse Harris first came into prominence on Norah Jones' 2002 Grammy-winning "Come Away With Me." The New York native grew up studying classical piano and teaching himself guitar. Club dates in his late teens led to a deal with EMI and a 1995 album recorded with vocalist Rebecca Martin under the group name Once Blue. Harris went on to form the more organic Ferdinandos and through that band developed a working relationship with Jones.

The success of Jones' debut helped bring Harris' songwriting abilities to the music community's attention and led to his collaborations with other contemporary artists as well as a label deal for the Ferdinandos. The soundtrack to Ethan Hawke's "The Hottest State" featured versions of Harris' songs by performed by artists including Willie Nelson, Bright Eyes, The Black Keys, Feist and Emmylou Harris. His latest - and 11th - release, “Sub Rosa,” was recorded in Rio de Janeiro.

Since the release of its 2009 debut, “Wake the Hero,” the duo known as Barnaby Bright - Nathan and Becky Bliss - has garnered high praise for its songwriting and sound. The group’s music - which features guitars, harmonium, banjo, ukulele, thumb pianos and stunning harmonies - has been featured on television shows including “ER” and “Days of our Lives.”

The follow-up EP, “Gravity,” was named one of the “Top 100 Records of the Year” by Amazon.com. Traveling to Europe, the U.K. and throughout the U.S., Nathan and Becky average 40,000 miles and 200 shows a year. Barnaby Bright (a medieval term for the summer solstice) was among the finalists in the 2012 “Mountain Stage Newsong” competition held at Lincoln Center in NYC.

Mountain Stage returns this week with the second of our two shows recorded at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Recorded just feet away from Lake Superior, you’ll hear from Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen, Jonathan Edwards, Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, Gretchen Peters, and Chip Taylor featuring Paal Flaata.

Click here to see a list of stations and times where you can tune in. And click here to preview this week’s show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week. This time, it’s Hillman & Pedersen taking on the bluegrass standard “The Old Crossroads.”

As members of the Byrds, the Dillards, the Desert Rose Band, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen have been part of the very fabric of American Music for nearly a half-century. In the early ‘60s, Chris Hillman switched from mandolin to bass to take a job in the original Byrds lineup.

Serving time with the Byrds (including the Gram Parsons’ incarnation) and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Hillman played an important role in the evolution of folk- and country-rock and, more recently, the “Americana” movement. In the early ‘80s, Hillman joined forces with Pedersen who, for decades, was one of the top session singers and instrumentalists in the Los Angeles area, and guitar master John Jorgenson in the successful Desert Rose Band.

By the mid-‘90s, Hillman and Pedersen were performing as an acoustic duo and recorded several projects together. Their latest record, “At Edward’s Barn,” continues their long-running love for country and bluegrass music.

Born in Aitkin, MN, folk and country singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards may be best known for his Top 5 hit "Sunshine." After growing up in Virginia and studying art in Ohio, Edwards and his blues band Sugar Creek moved to Boston in the late ‘60s.

Opting to try a career as a solo artist, “Sunshine” made its way onto his solo debut as an afterthought. “Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy” followed in 1972 as did singing backup on Emmylou Harris’ 1976 LP “Elite Hotel.” He recorded his 1976 release “Rockin' Chair, with Harris' Hot Band.

After touring with a national production of the musical “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” Edwards joined the bluegrass group the Seldom Scene for 1983's “Blue Ridge.” After moving to Nashville, his 1989 album “The Natural Thing” spawned his biggest country hit, "We Need to Be Locked Away." In 2011, Edwards returned with the studio album “My Love Will Keep.”

Comprised of powerhouse singer - and Wheeling, WV, native - Mollie O’Brien and guitarist Rich Moore, this pair is no mere “folk duo.” Described as “national musical treasures... and truly among the best out there keeping American music alive and vital” by renowned roots rocker Dave Alvin, their repertoire spans the range of American music from ragtime, jazzy blues, gospel to Dixieland, tango and saloon cabaret.

The instrumentation on their debut “Saints and Sinners” includes with tuba, bouzouki, accordion, fiddle, trumpet, trombone, oboe, and steel guitar. Mollie, one of acoustic music’s premiere vocalists, started her career in a duo with her brother Tim O’Brien.

Respected by songwriters, musicians and critics alike, Gretchen Peters’ tunes have been covered by a who’s who of country artists including Trisha Yearwood, Pam Tillis, George Strait, Martina McBride and Patty Loveless.

Born in Westchester County, NY, she moved with her mother to Boulder when she was in her teens. In the late’80s, she relocated to Nashville to pursue songwriting. In 1995, Peters won a Grammy for “Song of the Year” with her hit "Independence Day" (recorded by Martina McBride).

At the Country Music Awards that year, the song won the same award, as well as a CMA Video of the Year in 1994. She also co-wrote "Rock Steady" with Canadian pop-rocker Bryan Adams which was covered by Bonnie Raitt. After a tumultuous year in her personal life, she released “Hello Cruel World” in 2012.

Singer, songwriter, and producer Chip Taylor has penned some of the most memorable songs in music history including “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning” and “Try - Just A Little Bit Harder.” When Chet Atkins heard some of Taylor’s country songs, he quickly started recording them with artists he was producing.

Taylor is also credited with discovering, then co-producing both James Taylor and Neil Diamond. He released six solo albums in the ‘70s and ‘80s, including “Chip Taylor's Last Chance” which “Rolling Stone” named as one of the best country albums of 1973. A true renaissance man, Taylor also finished third in Las Vegas’ World Black Jack Championship, was a professional golfer, and one of the foremost thoroughbred horse race handicappers on the east coast.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for the latest news, backstage photos, and stories.

After a dip into the archives, Mountain Stage is back this week with another premier broadcast. Recorded in a tent on the North Shore of chilly Lake Superior in partnership with our good friends at the North House Folk School, you’ll hear from Minnesota’s own Trampled By Turtles, Low, the band Minnesota featuring Peter Himmelman, and Barbara Jean.

Click here to see a list of times and stations where you can listen. If there’s a specific song you’re hoping to hear, take a look at the playlist. And preview the show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week – this time, it’s LOW’s “Silver Rider,” which recently found a wider audience thanks to Robert Plant’s acclaimed Band of Joy album.

A bluegrass band gone bad, Duluth’s Trampled By Turtles “approaches the banjo and mandolin with a level of brash recklessness ... that would make Bill Monroe and Joe Strummer proud.” Formed in 2003, the members were raised on punk ‘n’ roll but gravitated to traditional instruments to craft a pedal to the metal style of “bluegrass that meets Basement Tapes-era The Band with a fistful of gunpowder tossed into the wood-burning stove.”

And we should tell you from the outset that TBT’s set features one of the most electric Mountain Stage audiences in ages. They were on their feet for the entire set, clapping, cheering, dancing – and if you’ve ever wondered if the audience mics are actually on, listen this week and wonder no more.

Another band from Duluth, LOW was formed in 1993 by the husband-and-wife team of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. Low’s sparse, understated “rock” was initially something of a reaction to the grunge music that was in vogue at the time.

The group’s resume includes recording with Bongwater member/Shimmy Disc producer Kramer and later signing to the Sub Pop label, a slot on the Joy Division tribute A Means to an End and having its version of “Little Drummer Boy” featured in a Gap commercial. Then, none other than Robert Plant covered two Low songs on his 2010 solo album Band of Joy earning a Grammy nomination for his interpretation of Low's "Silver Rider.”

A collaboration between lauded singer-songwriter Peter Himmelman, and acclaimed screenwriter-filmmaker David Hollander, Minnesota is a departure from Himmelman’s usual sound. The resulting record, produced by Hollander, has been described as ethereal, deep and moving.

“'Minnesota’ represents the whole experience,” Hollander says. “It’s not a Peter Himmelman solo album, or ‘A Film by David Hollander’; it’s a larger collaboration, well beyond the two of us. We pushed each other out of our comfort zones and into new territory.” Himmelman adds: “I was sometimes frustrated by the new approach, but a great producer – and David qualifies as that – can make you become yourself again.”

Calling the rugged grandeur of Lake Superior's North Shore home for the last several years, Barbara Jean has developed her craft through constant live performance and has struck out on her own to take her debut record, "The Great Escape" to fans all across the Midwest. Classically trained on the viola at the University of Minnesota, and self-taught at the banjo, her voice and songs transcend tradition with a mix of Americana, Appalachia, and an insightful vulnerability in lyric and delivery.

After winning the songwriting competition in 2011 at Big Top Chautauqua and making honorable mention in the 2012 Telluride Troubadour Contest, Barbara Jean has shared bills with such notable acts as Trampled By Turtles, The Pines, Low, and Jonathan Edwards.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for the latest news and backstage photos and stories.

Just a quick reminder, folks – this Sunday, Mountain Stage will make the short trip to the campus of Ohio University in Athens. Our guests include the incomparable country singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, Memphis roots rock powerhouse Lucero, singer-songwriter Sara Watkins (formally of Nickel Creek), The Lost Brothers, and Doug Paisley.

Tickets for this show are still available, but moving fast. Get yours online, by phone (740.593.1780) or in person at Templeton Blackburn Memorial Auditorium box office.

 Click here to see our rather extensive, and still growing live show schedule.

See you at the show.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special archive edition, recorded in April of 2003. You’ll hear from legendary folk singer and activist Joan Baez, along with the incomparable Guy Clark, Roseanne Cash, Josh Ritter, and Tracy Grammer. Click here to find a list of times and stationswhere you can listen in your area. And preview the show via our Mountain Stage song of the week – this time, it’s Joan Baez singing the traditional tune “Lily of the West (Flora).”

Joan Baez needs little introduction to anyone who has listened to American Music over the past 50 years. In fact, even that’s an understatement, because Baez’s legion of fans is worldwide, and it started with her appearance as a teenager at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival. Besides having a voice that’s earned millions of fans and spawned thousands of imitators, Baez is known almost as well for her social and political activism. As host Larry Groce said in his original introduction to this set, which was recorded in April of 2003, “I wish I could be the first to introduce you to her, but I’m pretty sure I’m not.”

Guy Clarkwas born in Texas and moved to California for a while as a young man before relocating to Nashville in 1971. He stepped into the spotlight in the early 70’s with songs like “L.A. Freeway” and “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” both recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker. Over the years, drawn from the 20 albums Clark has released on his own. Clark was a good friend and road buddy of Townes Van Zandt – the two toured together, and even visited Mountain Stage together. Clark has appeared on the show ten times, always bringing a handful of new songs that are as well crafted as the guitars he also makes. A Guy Clark tribute album, This One’s For Him, featuring a who’s who of Americana artists was released this year, and recently named Album of the Year by the Americana Music Association  

Josh Ritter had just released, or rather re-released his album The Golden Age of Radio when he appeared on Mountain Stage in April of 2003. He had recorded and released the album himself in 2000, but it was picked up by Signature Sounds and given a more national release in 2002. Ritter left his native Idaho for Oberlin College, where he studied folk music and opened for Joan Baez. He’s a serious prose writer as well as songwriter, and he published his first novel Bright’s Passage in 2011 - a story about a West Virginia man around the time of the first World War. His latest studio album is 2010’s So Runs The World Away. Earlier this year he released an EP called Bringing In the Darlings.

Contemporary folk singer Tracy Grammer began her journey in music with her partner Dave Carter, and the duo made three albums before Carter’s untimely death in 2002, which was less than a year before this episode was originally recorded in April of 2003. She’s continued as a solo performer and released three albums on her own, but she often records and performs Carter’s songs – in fact, all of the songs in this set were written by him.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in. Connect with Mountain Stage on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for news about upcoming shows.  

Thank you for listening to Mountain Stage! 

We’ve made several exciting additions to our fall and winter schedule that we’d like to pass along.

First, on November 11, we’ll travel once again to Morgantown, where we’ll be joined by Mike Doughty. Formerly the frontman of the jazzy experimental rock band Soul Coughing, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mike Doughty cut his first solo record while that group was still together.

Soul Coughing disbanded in 2000, but Doughty's 2005 album Haughty Melodic spawned his hit "Looking at the World Through the Bottom of a Well." An avid blogger with a wry sense of humor, the title of his new album, Yes And Also Yes was taken from the headline of his profile on an online dating site. We’re not making this up.

Tickets for this show are already on sale, online, by phone (304.293.SHOW) and in person at the CAC Box Office in Morgantown. Four more acts will be added to this show in the very near future. Watch this space for the latest.

On December 9, we’ll return to our home at the Culture Center Theater here in Charleston, where our guests will be the Robert Cray Band, Shemekia Copeland, and Kelly Hogan.

As one of the foremost names in blues music for decades now, Robert Cray needs no introduction. He’s out on the road with his band again, but this time with a refreshed lineup that includes bassist Richard Cousins, whose original tenure with Cray included his landmark Strong Persuader and Don’t be Afraid of the Dark albums; along with longtime Cray keyboardist Jim Pugh, and drummer Tony Braunagel (who has worked with Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, B.B King and many more).

“Blues is one of the foundations of our music, but it’s not all that we play,” Cray says. “When I first started playing guitar, I wanted to be George Harrison – that is, until I heard Jimi Hendrix. After that, I wanted to be Albert Collins and Buddy Guy and B.B. King. And then there are singers like O.V. Wright and Bobby Blue Bland. It’s all mixed up in there.” Cray’s latest album is This Time.

Blues singer  Shemekia Copeland  is a force of nature. With a voice like a blast-furnace, her music has the kind of timeless power and a heart-pounding urgency that few can achieve. Born in Harlem, New York, in 1979, Copeland actually came to her singing career slowly. Her father, the late Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Clyde Copeland, brought her on stage to sing at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club when she was just eight.

At the time, Shemekia’s embarrassment outweighed her desire to sing. But when she was fifteen and her father’s health began to fail, her outlook changed. At only 19, Shemekia stepped out of her father’s shadow with the Alligator release of 1998 debut recording, Turn the Heat Up! She’s just released her brilliant new album, 33 1/3, which was produced by Oliver Wood for Telarc records.

 Tickets for this show are available now online, by phone (800.549.TIXX), and in person at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston. 

 We’ll be adding a couple more acts to this show in the future. Check back with us for the latest, right here, on Twitter, and via Facebook.  

 See you at the show. 

This week’s premier broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce is the second of our two shows recorded on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. You’ll hear from legendary multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, along with singer-songwriter Tift Merrit, bluegrass band Bearfoot, Steve Brown & The Bailers, Pat Fitzgerald and Robin Dale Ford, and a special appearance by Susan Grace.

Click here to find as station and time where you can listen in your area.

Texas-born, North Carolina-raised singer-songwriter Tift Merritt makes her fourth appearance on Mountain Stage in Fairbanks. She burst on the alt-country scene ten years ago with her solo debut Bramble Rose, and with an assist from fellow North Carolinian Ryan Adams, she signed to Lost Highway Records.

After her 2004 release Tambourine was nominated for a Grammy, Merritt moved to Paris where she wrote the material for 2008's Another Country. Her latest, Traveling Alone is on North Carolina-based Yep Roc. Hear her talk about the new record with Larry Groce in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video above, and preview her performance by listening to this week's Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

An eclectic multi-instrumentalist of the highest order, David Lindley performs music that mixes and matches a dizzying array of influences. Known for his many years as the featured accompanist with Jackson Browne, and leader of his own El Rayo-X, Lindley has long championed the concept of world music.

Using an array of instruments including lap steel, the Turkish saz and Middle Eastern oud, Lindley effortlessly combine American folk, blues and bluegrass traditions with African, Arabic, Asian, Celtic, Malagasy, and Turkish musical sources. The list of Lindley’s sessions is as diverse as his musical influences, including Little Feat, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Carlene Carter, the Bangles, Emmylou Harris, Holly Cole and the Blind Boys of Alabama. His latest is Big Twang.

You’ll also hear from Bearfoot, in one of their final appearances featuring their current lineup. Winners of the fiercely competitive Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition in 2001, the band came to Nasvhille by way of its native Alaska.

After their 2009 debut Doors And Windows debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Magazine’s Bluegrass chart, founding members Angela Oudean and Jason Norris recruited Todd Grebe, another Alaskan transplant, and singer-songwriter Nora Jane Struthers and bassist P.J. George. Their latest, American Story, weaves together styles ranging from string band and hardcore bluegrass to acoustic pop. 

Alaskan favorites Pat Fitzgerald & Robin Dale Ford also appear. Collectively and separately an integral part of the Alaskan music scene for more than two decades, Pat Fitzgerald and Robin Dale Ford are part of their state’s unique musical landscape. Pat was a drummer for the seminal Alaskan rock band The Glass Bead Game while Robin, playing banjo, was part of the old-time and bluegrass revival.

After she picked up the electric bass, the two collaborated in a number of bands including Stir Crazy, The Flyers, The Firewalkers and their current group, DANG! At the same time the couple maintained solo acoustic careers and, in the late ‘90s, began touring the U.S., Canada as an acoustic duo. 

You’ll also hear from Alaskan favorites Steve Brown & The Bailers, and Susan Grace. Led by singer-songwriter Steve Brown, this popular Alaska band features acoustic guitars, mandolin, upright bass, and percussion. They were asked to appear on Michael Feldman’s “Whad’ya Know?” when the show traveled to Fairbanks, and remain a staple at fairs and festivals. 

Alaskan native Susan Grace draws inspiration from the natural beauty, spirit and community found in the 49th state. Often referred to as Alaska's Joan Baez, Mountain Stage was thrilled to have Grace as a special guest.

Find a time and radio station inyour area where you can tune in. Connect with Mountain Stage on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more about upcoming shows.  

Thank you for listening to Mountain Stage! 

A little over a month ago, Mountain Stage traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska to record two shows, as guests of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. We were truly honored that they thought so highly of Mountain Stage that they sent our team – and our equipment – 4000 miles away. By every measure, it was no easy task.  

But how time flies. This Friday, the first of these two shows feeds to our stations. You'll hear from Hot Club of Cowtown, Horse Feathers, Tim Easton, the Whipsaws, and Melissa Mitchell. Click here to find alist of stations and times where you can listen in your area, and take a look at the playlist by clicking here. 

Hot Club of Cowtown closes the show. A perfect fusion of hot jazz and western swing, Hot Club of Cowtown was inspired by legendary jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli's Hot Club of France, and the Western swing influence of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.

Since their 1998 debut, the group has become a favorite at festivals in this country and overseas, opening stadium shows for Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. You can preview their performance via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.  

You'll also hear from chamber-folk band Horse Feathers. Based out of Portland, Oregon, Horse Feathers centers around singer-songwriter Justin Ringle and a rotating cast of supporting musicians adding strings, horns woodwinds and brass.

Influenced by both the stark folk music of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska and the post-classical work of Scandinavian composer Max Richter, the band signed with the Kill Rock Stars label in 2007 and released the stunning House with No Home which became one of the highest-selling debuts in the label’s history. Thistled Spring, released in 2010, marking the group's first release without Broderick. The band's fourth and current CD is titled Cynic’s New Year.  

Before pursuing a solo career, Tim Easton was a member of Ohio bands Kosher Spears and the country-rocking Haynes Boys. Striking out on his own, he found a home at New West Records, and toured and mentored with the likes of Lucinda Williams and the Flatlanders.

For his fifth release, Porcupine, Easton, recruited some former bandmates from Ohio and traveled to Nashville where he also tapped the considerable talents of noted guitarist Kenny Vaughn. Now living in Joshua Tree, Easton is also a visual artist who had a showing at this year’s SXSW conference.  

Anchorage bar room favorites The Whipsaws also appear. Formed in the mid-2000's, The Whipsaws and have earned praise from seasoned vets like Lucinda Williams, and toured the Lower 48 3 times, with the high point being appearances at SXSW. Its final SXSW gig was backing Tim Easton (who guested on 60 Watt Avenue) at the Continental Club with Lucinda Williams joining in.  

Melissa Mitchell kicks off the show. A native of Kasilof, Alaska, singer-songwriter Melissa Mitchell has performed with artists including Jewel, Mason Jennings, the Indigo Girls and Greg Brown. In 2005, she became a volunteer for the Arts in Corrections Program at California’s Folsom Prison and on Thanksgiving eve of that year performed in a nationally broadcast concert with Michael Franti - the first live concert at the prison since the 1968 performance by Johnny Cash.  

Find a time and radio station inyour area where you can tune in. Connect with Mountain Stage on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more about upcoming shows.  

Thank you for listening to Mountain Stage! 

Mountain Stage is gearing up for a long series of shows this fall, and thanks to the magic of the Internet, you can preview a few of the acts set to appear.

Now while we don’t like to play favorites, after a long summer and thousands of miles traveled, we’re seriously looking forward to our home show in Charleston on October 28, when we’ll be joined by Beth Orton, Jesse Harris, and David Wax Museum. And as luck would have it, thanks to our friends over at NPR Music, you can stream Beth Orton’s highly anticipated new album Sugaring Season in its entirety this week. And if you want a preview of the upcoming live show, you can watch her recent All Songs Considered Tiny Desk concert (sorry, no embed).

And speaking of David Wax Museum – since appearing on the show last March, the duo’s unlikely blend of Mexican folk music and Americana has earned them all sorts of attention, including this write-up and interview in the New York Times.

On October 14 Mountain Stage will make the short trip to the lovely campus of Ohio University in Athens, where we’ll be joined by Rodney Crowell, Sara Watkins and Memphis-based country rockers Lucero. You can preview their new album Women and Work, as well as get a behind-the-scenes look at what the band’s been up to via the video above.

On October 21 we’ll be up in Morgantown, at West Virginia University’s Creative Arts Center, where we’re excited to have powerhouse vocalist Brandi Carlile with us. If you’re wondering what she might have in store for us, take a look at her recent Tiny Desk Concert. Tickets are going fast.

Also appearing on the same stage is Ben Taylor. Check out the new Amanda Demme-directed video to his song “Oh Brother” above.

And finally, Mountain Stage is thrilled to be returning to the historic Keith Albee Theater in Huntington on November 4. Dr. Dog, the Mountain Goats, Spirit Family Reunion and Red Wanting Blue will be there. We’re happy to report that you can listen to the Mountain Goats new album in its entirety over at Rolling Stone.com.

It’s going to be an exciting fall. Tickets to these shows and more can be purchased by following the links on our Live Show Schedule page. Several acts will be added to all of these shows in the upcoming days and weeks, so watch this space. We hope you can join us!

Mountain Stage is back this week with another premier episode of live performance radio.

Recorded at the Culture Center Theater in partnership with FestivALL Charleston, you hear from beloved folk singer Dar Williams, Texas troubadour Ray Wylie Hubbard, power pop pioneers The dB’s, the musical hijinks of the New Rope String Band, and Mountain Stage NewSong Contest winner Arthur Alligood.

Click here to see the playlist, and click here to find a complete list a stations and times where you can listen in your area.

One of the most popular and frequent guests to the Mountain Stage, Dar Williams emerged in the 1990’s to become one of New England’s most important folk singers. Known for mixing the poignant with her own peculiar take on the world, she’s crafted a style all her own.

She appears alongside her own band, with a set drawn from her tenth studio album, In the Time of Gods. You can catch a preview of her performance via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week – “I Have Been Around the World.” 

We’ll also be joined by Texas singer-songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard.

No stranger to Americana audiences, Hubbard might best be described as an amalgam of Guy Clark and John Lee Hooker. A high school classmate of Larry Groce, Hubbard found success early in his career by penning the proto-country party anthem “Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers.” He’s remained an in-demand producer, writer, and performer ever since. And Hubbard fans take note: if you’re hoping to hear “Snake Farm,” you’re in luck. Snake Farm. It’s a reptile house.

Mountain Stage is also thrilled to be joined by newly-reunited power pop pioneers The dB’s.

Best described as the band that filled the gap between Big Star and REM, the music the dB’s created in the early 1980’s helped change the course of guitar-driven power pop for years to come. (And the band’s members, including Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby continued on with successful careers in their own right.) Their critically acclaimed release Falling Off the Sky is the band’s first new album with the original lineup in 30 years.

The New Rope String Band returns to Mountain Stage from the UK, having already become something of a FestivALL tradition.

Gifted musicians, singers, songwriters – and clowning vanguards, all at the same time – the New Rope String Band combines superb musicianship with masterful comedic timing. There are elements of circus, vaudeville, slapstick, and the Python-esque absurd, along with beautiful acoustic music from a variety of traditions. And also – a Theremin.

Finally, you'll hear from Tennessee-born singer-songwriter Arthur Alligood.

Alligood won grand prize honors at the 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest for performing songwriters. His prize included a session with producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz) along with in-demand session musicians Jim Keltner on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Michael Ward on guitar. The resulting album, One Silver Needle was released to high praise on the NewSong Recordings label.

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Thank you for listening to Mountain Stage!

A quick note before Mountain Stage sets off to record two shows in Grand Marais, Minnesota: on October 7, we’ll be returning to the border town of Bristol TN / VA, where our guests will be the undisputed Queen of Rockabilly, Ms. Wanda Jackson. Her new album Unfinished Business was produced by none other than Justin Townes Earle, who can be heard on this week’s radio broadcast of Mountain Stage. You can get a taste of Wanda’s new album in the video above.

We’ll also be joined by the lovely country singer and West Virginia native Connie Smith, old-school rock and roll newcomer JD McPherson, and as of today – Pokey LaFarge. No Stranger to NPR audiences of late, you can check out LaFarge’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert below. You can also watch JD McPherson’s electrifying performance on Conan O’Brien byfollowing this link (sorry, no embed).

Tickets to this show are ON SALE NOW. See our complete schedule here. We hope to see you there!

This Sunday, Mountain Stage is back with an all new episode featuring folk icon Arlo Guthrie, along with his family band Boys Night Out.

Iconoclastic singer-songwriter Paul Thorn opens the show with a special solo set, Broadway star and Huntington native Michael Cerveris, brings his Americana sound to his hometown, and soulful country-pop newcomers Delta Rae make their first appearance on the show.

For decades now,  folk singer, songwriter and raconteur Arlo Guthrie has performed the heavy task of carrying on the legacy of his father, Woody Guthrie, while earning a place as a highly regarded musician in his own right. This year, Arlo is celebrating what would have been his father's 100th birthday. He joins us for a special, hour-long extended set.

We’ll also be joined on the Group W bench by singer-songwriter Paul Thorn. The son of a Pentecostal preacher, the nephew of a pimp (so the story goes) former boxer turned musician, Paul Thorn has earned a loyal following over the years through his signature blend of the sacred and profane. His most recent album, What the Hell is Going On? follows his highly regarded Pimps and Preachers and features Thorn's take on songs written by everyone from Lindsay Buckhingham to Buddy Miller.

Hailing from Durham, NC, DeltaRae fuses alt-pop band with rich Carolina soul. Recently signed to Sire/Warner, the group has four lead singers and incorporates all aspects of Americana into a joyful, passionate performance. Delta Rae has been headlining shows on both coasts, and released their debut Carry the Fire earlier this summer.

Finally, you’ll hear from Huntington native Michael Cerveris. An established, Tony-award winning actor who has played John Wilkes Booth in Assassins, and originated the title role in the Broadway hit “Tommy.” As a rock musician, he fronted the British band Retriever and was guitarist-vocalist on Bob Mould's Dog and Pony Show tour. Some of his earliest experiences of professional theater were thanks to the Marshall Artist Series (in particular first national tours of Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell), so his appearance onstage at the Keith Albee for Mountain Stage celebrating MAS has a special personal meaning for him.

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Mountain Stage with Larry Groce will be returning to the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center in Huntington as guests of the Marshall Artist Series on Sunday November 4.

Tickets for this show go on sale today (August 30) at noon. Advance tickets are $25, and full-time Marshall students can get one free ticket with a valid student I.D.

Tickets are available online, by phone (304.696.6656) and in person at the Marshall Artist Series Box Office.

We’ll be joined by highly acclaimed Philadelphia-based indie-rockers Dr. Dog, whose heavily Beatles-influenced sound is evidenced on their latest ANTI- records release Be The Void. They recently recorded an episode of Austin City Limits for PBS and played a main-stage set at Louisville, KY’s Forecastle Music Festival.

Also appearing is folk trio The Mountain Goats, led by songwriter and singer John Darnielle. Based in Claremont, CA, Darnielle and his band are preparing for the release of their 14th album, Transcendental Youth on October 2.

Spirit Family Reunion will also be there. The band has been causing a big stir recently, with a much buzzed about performance at the legendary Newport Folk Festival in July, as well as a stirring performance at Virginia’s Floyd Fest 11. NPR Music described the band as “a sweetly ramshackle Americana sound that's part secular gospel revival, part folk ramble.” This promises to be a break-out year for the band.

Red Wanting Blue are also set to appear. Proudly based in Columbus, Ohio, RWB are often billed as “America’s local band,” thanks to years and thousands of miles on the road throughout the nation’s heartland, making fans one at a time. With only the aid of word of mouth, Red Wanting Blue has established an exceedingly loyal following in the southeast and Midwest, where they regularly fills clubs normally reserved for bigger names.

As always, this show will be recorded for distribution to over 120 NPR stations nationwide and overseas via the Voice of America. Mountain Stage can be heard statewide every Sunday afternoon at 2 pm, and Saturday evenings at 8 pm on West Virginia Public Radio.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features journeyman roots rock & blues band The Nighthawks, along with acclaimed songwriter Sarah Siskind, folk duo The Milk Carton Kids, singer-songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche, and the description-defying Chandler Travis Three-O.

Though often labeled a blues band, after hearing The Nighthawks’ signature fusion of rock, jump jazz and roadhouse blues, you’ll recognize their music as roots rock in its truest form – except that they were doing it decades before the term existed.

Led by harmonica player and singer Mark Wenner for 3 decades, they’ve spent time on the road playing with legends like Muddy Waters and Carl Perkins. And for this Mountain Stage show (which was recorded in October) the ‘Hawks were set to appear alongside none other than the late Hubert Sumlin, who had just fallen ill.

Here a preview of their set now via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

You’ll also hear a set from The Milk Carton Kids. Comprised of Kenneth Pattengale & Joey Ryan, comparisons to classic folk pairings like Simon & Garfunkel write themselves, and dare we say the duo's intricate guitar picking is reminiscent of David Rawlings’ work with Gillian Welch.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Sarah Siskind also appears. Highly regarded among her peers, Siskind has seen her work covered by Alison Krauss, the Infamous Stringdusters, and Bon Iver.

 Lucy Wainwright Roche stops by. Her most recent album Lucy features contributions from The Roches, The Indigo Girls, and This American Life’s Ira Glass. She finishes her set with a brilliant cover of Fleetwood Mac’s "Everywhere," which also appears on her new album.

Finally – you’ll be introduced to the Chandler TravisThree-O. Combining elements of acoustic folk, jazz, psychedelica, and pure absurdity – all you need to know is that half of the "Three-O" (which naturally, is comprised of 4 members) changed into brightly colored pajamas after their first song.

Travis and his band  spent a full decade opening for none other than George Carlin, paving the way for the modern intersection between music and comedy. Their tune “Drunk Angry People Shut Up” is not to be missed.

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Lead by brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, Dawes returns to Mountain Stage with songs from their new release Nothing Is Wrong. You can hear a live performance of the album’s most talked about track “A Little Bit of Everything” via our Song of the Week. You can also watch host Larry Groce discuss the band’s music with frontman Taylor Goldsmith in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video.

Texas singer-songwriter and icon of Americana music JamesMcMurtry also appears. No stranger to Mountain Stage audiences, McMurtry made his first appearance on the show in 1989. Host Larry Groce rightfully calls McMurtry “One of America’s greatest songwriters,” and influential blogger Bob Lefsetz called McMurtry’s tune “We Can’t Make it Here” “The best protest song of the twenty first century.”

You’ll also hear a set from Jason Isbell and his band The 400 Unit. As former member of Drive-By Truckers, Isbell was responsible for some of the band’s most memorable songs (like “Outfit”). Out on his own since 2007, Isbell has released 3 acclaimed studio albums, the most recent being Here We Rest. At one point in their set, Jason and his band break out an accordion and upright bass for what they called a “Genericana” tune (“…just like the regular, but cheaper!”). They close their set with a blistering cover of Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane."

Portland Oregon-based folk rock band Blitzen Trapper make their first Mountain Stage appearance. Their 2007 album Wild Mountain Nation was met with great enthusiasm by critics, and their 2008 follow-up Furr was named the 13^th best album of the year by Rolling Stone. Their latest, American Goldwing has been met with much of the same enthusiasm.

Finally, you’ll hear some tunes from power pop master Matthew Sweet. Sweet is celebrating the 20^th (!) anniversary of his landmark album Girlfriend, so his set naturally touches on a few of the deeper cuts from that record. His brand new album is called Modern Art.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook to learn the latest about our upcoming live shows and radio broadcasts. Don’t forget to let some friends know. Thanks for supporting live music on your radio. 

Mountain Stage is thrilled to announce that we’ll be returning to Charleston this fall for two very exciting shows at the Culture Center Theater.

On Sunday, October 28 we’ll welcome singer-songwriter Beth Orton, who is set to release her first album in 6 years, called Sugaring Season. Orton is a BRIT Award-winner and two-time Mercury Prize nominee who has collaborated with Bert Jansch, Emmylou Harris, Beck, Jim O'Rourke, Terry Callier, and Ryan Adams among others. Her last album, 2006's Comfort of Strangers, was called "unerringly lovely" by SPIN and "her most accomplished record to date" by Uncut.

We’ll also be joined by singer-songwriter Jesse Harris, and Mexo-Americana folk duo David Wax Museum. Both have appeared on the show before – Harris was on the heels of his Grammy win for the song “Don’t Know Why,” which was recorded by Norah Jones. David Wax Museum stunned a sold-out Mountain Stage audience last March with their upbeat amalgam of Americana and regional Mexican sounds that featured, among other things, a donkey jawbone.

On November 18, we’ll return to the Culture Center for a show featuring Canadian folk heavyweight Bruce Cockburn, and country folk revivalist Iris DeMent.

One of Canada’s most respected and influential singer-songwriters, Bruce Cockburn has appeared on Mountain Stage 12 times, and has earned a loyal following the world over.

DeMent burst onto the Americana scene with Infamous Angel in 1992, and has since released five albums, and collaborated with John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and Steve Earle.

Tickets for both of these shows go on sale at 10 a.m., Tuesday August 14. They’re available online, by phone (800.549.TIXX) and in person at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston.

Additional artists will be added to both of these shows as they are confirmed. Watch this space, along with Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr to learn the latest. 

Mountain Stage is back this week with a broadcast featuring folk-pop singer-songwriter Brett Dennen, string band revivalists the Red Clay Ramblers, country newcomer Charlie Worsham, European bluegrass instrumentalists The Kruger Brothers, and retro-Americana singer Nikki Lane.

 Click here to view the playlist, and click here find a time and station where you can listen. And as always, you can catch a preview of the show via our Song of the Week.

Northern California-based singer-songwriter Brett Dennen began signing fireside as a camp counselor, and slowly picked up a devoted West Coast following.

In 2004 he was championed by KCRW “the best unsigned artist of the year,” named by Rolling Stone as one of the 10 artists to watch, and songs have been featured on Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, and House. Originally set to appear with his full band, Dennen was battling serious cast of the flu the day of his Mountain Stage appearance. Ever the professional, Dennen chose to play a stripped down set, backed only by a bottle of cold medicine and a mug of hot tea.

You’ll also hear from revered string band revivalists the Red Clay Ramblers. Formed in North Carolina over 40 years ago, The Ramblers draw on everything from mountain music and country to rock and New Orleans Jazz. They’ve also maintained a long association with theater, scoring numerous American musicals (including several for playwright and actor Sam Shepard) earning them a Tony. They’ve been called “the house band of North Carolina.”

Country singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Worsham kicks off the show. A child banjo prodigy, he appeared on the Grand Ole Opry at just 12. He went on to the Berklee School of Music, where he majored in production & engineering. Lately Worsham has been catching buzz for his forays into rootsy pop, which has earned him spots opening for opening for mainstream darlings Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift.

You can hear Worsham’s performance of his tune “Mississippi In July” now, via our Mountain Stage Song of the week.

The Kruger Brothers also stop by. Originally from Europe, and now making their home in North Carolina, Jens and Uwe Kruger were introduced to American audiences in the 90’s, and quickly gained the attention none other than Bill Monroe. Exploring the fertile ground between bluegrass and jazz, in 2010, the Kruger Brothers also premiered a new work for banjo, guitar, bass and chamber orchestra titled "An Appalachian Concerto.”

Finally, you’ll hear from Nikki Lane. Her path to country music winds from her native Greenville, South Carolina through Los Angeles, New York, and finally to Nashville, where she also operates a vintage clothing store called - what else - High Class Hillbilly. Her retro-voiced four-song EP called Gone, Gone, Gone was released in July to much interest and acclaim.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook to learn the latest about our upcoming live shows and radio broadcasts.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce was recorded on the campus of Ohio University in beautiful Athens. You'll hear from reunited alt-country pioneers The Jayhawks, along with Hot Tuna, Karan Casey & John Doyle, Ha Ha Tonka, and Ohio's own Southeast Engine.

Click here to view the playlist, and click here find a time and station where you can listen. And as always, you can catch a preview of the show via our Song of the Week. This time, it’s Karan Casey and John Doyle with “Sailing Off to the Yankee Land.”

Led by the sweet harmonies and crunchy guitars of Gary Louris and Mark Olson, The Jayhawks were among the first bands to combine elements of country, punk, folk, and classic rock into a form of stately Americana that would eventually be labeled “alternative country.”

Now reunited, the band issued a compilation disc in 2009, and released an acclaimed album of new material in September called Mockingbird Time.

We’ll also be joined by iconic blues-roots band Hot Tuna. Formed some four decades ago by Jefferson Airplane members Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen, Hot Tuna has released its first new album in twenty years, Steady as She Goes. A resident of southeast Ohio, Kaukonen also owns and operates the Fur Peace Ranch, a 119-acre music and guitar camp in the hills of north of Pomeroy.

Irish vocalist Karan Casey and John Doyle kick off the show. The two were founding members of traditional supergroup Solas, and for their new project Exile's Return, the two former bandmates reunite to create a stripped-down album that showcases sweet vocals, driving guitar, and the power of traditional songs. 

Drawing from both the rich melancholy of Appalachia and the once-thriving indie rock scene in nearby Dayton,Southeast Engine was launched in 1999 by Ohio University students Adam Remnant and drummer Leo DeLuca. The group’s latest album Canary tells the story of an Appalachian family struggling through the great depression.

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Thanks for listening!

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded at the Creative Arts Center on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown. You’ll hear from Irish singer Paul Brady, genre-bending cellist Ben Sollee, singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, folk duo Vandaveer, and up-tempo Celtic group Scythian.

One of the greats of folk music, beloved Irish singer Paul Brady grew up listening to R&B and soul, playing in bands throughout his college years – and later, when he started to make a name for himself as a folk and traditional singer, it was this background that added a truly unique dimension to his sound. Preview his performance via our Song of the Week.

And you also hear from DC based Celtic band Scythian. Featuring twin fiddles and energy to spare, Scythian sets themselves apart from most traditional bands by blending Celtic music and bluegrass with decidedly gypsy edge – a product of founder Alexander Fedoryka Ukrainian ancestry..

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area. 

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This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage is another special edition that we’ve selected from our archives. Originally recorded in December 2007, you’ll hear from singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, Justine Currie of Scottish hitmakers Del Amitiri, Ingrid Michaelson, Moya Brennan and Matt Nathanson.

Click here to view the playlist, and click here find a time and station where you can listen. And as always, you can catch a preview of the show via our Song of the Week. This time, you can stream Vega’s touching, breakthrough hit “Luca.”

Widely regarded as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been labeled contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. 

Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known halls. In performances devoid of outward drama that nevertheless convey deep emotion, Vega sings in a distinctive, clear voice that has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper- brushed near-whisper” and as “plaintive but disarmingly powerful.”

Justin Currie was still in his teens when he co-founded Del Amitri in his hometown of Glasgow, Scottland. Between 1982 and 2002, the band evolved from resourceful D.I.Y. indie combo to international hitmakers, releasing six much-loved studio albums before amicably parting ways. 

As that band's lead singer, bassist and main songwriter, Currie built a formidable body of work that showcased his knack for melding infectious melodies and barbed lyrics.  He's continued to make accessible yet challenging music in his solo career, which he launched with 2007's widely acclaimed What Is Love For. 

With her piano-fueled songwriting, witty wordplay, and slight vocal vibrato, Ingrid Michaelson carries the tradition of the female singer-songwriter into the 21st century. Befitting a musician of the digital age, Michaelson first gained wide exposure through spots on TV soundtracks, including Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill.

Born and raised on New York's Staten Island, she began exploring music through piano lessons at the age of four. After college, she toured with a national theater troupe and spent her free time writing songs, later compiling and distributing them online. Michaelson released her proper debut, Girls and Boys in 2006. Following the inclusion of her music in several episodes of Grey's Anatomy, she then released a remastered version of the album in January 2007. Three months later, she won the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest.

Renounced is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist Moya Brennan began performing professionally in 1970 when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music". Moya released her first solo album in 1992 called Máire, and her solo career has remained successful to this day, many years after Clannad took a hiatus in 1996.

She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, and has won an Emmy. She has recorded with many world-famous musicians and has provided music for several soundtracks, including Titanic, To End All Wars and King Arthur.

Matt Nathanson’s 2007 release Some Mad Hope produced the smash hit single “Come On Get Higher” which sold over 2 million copies, and subsequent singles “Car Crash,” “Falling Apart,” and “All We Are.”

The success earned Nathanson the coveted spot as a VH1 You Oughta Know artist, and he has graced the stages of such national television shows as David Letterman, Ellen, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson. His songs have been featured in numerous film and television programs, and his live shows have resulted in sold out tours across the U.S., Canada and Australia.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest. And check us out on Tumblr for a behind the scenes look at the show. Thanks for listening!

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special archive edition that we’ve selected from our recording vault. Originally recorded on June 26, 2005, you’ll hear from progressive acoustic supergroup Nickel Creek, acclaimed jazz orchestra Pink Martini, Americana star Kathleen Edwards, and the phenomenal young singer-songwriter Sonya Kitchell.

Click here to view the playlist, and click here find a time and station where you can listen. And as always, you can catch a preview of the show via our Song of the Week. This time, it’s Nickel Creek, with their breakthrough song “Reasons Why.”

Nickel Creek was perhaps the best known acoustic music group of the late 90’s and early 00’s. They formed in 1989 in Carlsbad California, when the three principal members, Chris Thile, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins were still children. They released six albums before parting ways in 2007, by which time they were widely credited with introducing a younger generation to the sounds of bluegrass and its progressive acoustic offspring.

Nickel Creek won a Grammy in 2003 for Best Contemporary Folk Recording, and visited the Mountain Stage four times, the last being this performance in June of 2005. Since the breakup each member has continued to perform and return to Mountain Stage in various configurations – Sean Watkins with WPA and Fiction Family; Chris Thile with Punch Brothers, and alongside Bela Fleck; and Sara Watkins with her own band.

Pink Martini had already been together for 11 years when they appeared on this Mountain Stage show in June of 2005. Formed in Portland, Oregon by pianist Thomas Lauderdale, they were from the very beginning a “little orchestra” with many international influences. During any given set, you’re likely to hear a wide range of musical styles from all over the world, and songs in many languages.

Their release at the time of this performance was the album Hang On Little Tomato, but they reach back to their first recording for one of their most famous tunes, “Sympathique” which was nominated for Song of the Year in France, and is often sung by striking French workers. Pink Martini continues to tour the world, and can range in size from eight to a dozen or more, including guest vocalists. This set features original vocalist China Forbes, who was Lauderdale’s classmate at Harvard University.

Now one of Americana’s most highly regarded female performers, Kathleen Edwards was born in Ottawa, Canada, and began playing violin at 5. Her family moved overseas, where removed from the influence of mainstream North American pop music, Edwards delved into her older brother's collection of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and early Tom Petty records.

After high school, she landed back in Ottawa, where she sang and played her guitar in local clubs while networking with other musicians in the scene. Her widely acclaimed debut album Failer was released in 2003, earning Edwards opening spots for Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. In 2005 she released her follow-up Back to Me, which began to introduce pop elements into her dusty Americana sound. Her most recent album Voyager was produced by Justin Vernon of indie rock sensation Bon Iver.

Released when she was 15, Sonya Kitchell’s Words Come Back to Me established the young singer-songwriter as an artist to watch. A native of Massachusetts, Kitchell first discovered her songwriting talent on the afternoon of September 11, 2001, when she returned from school so shaken that she turned her journal entries into a song. Local press attention led to a one-off date at the Iron Horse Music Hall, a prominent local folk-oriented venue, which then led to the formation of a full-time gigging band.

She was awarded “Best Jazz Vocal” and “Best Original Song” from the 2003 Down Beat Student Music Awards with her song “Romance,” and her CD The Storm was produced by Daniel Lanois cohort Malcolm Burn. Her career took yet another turn when she was tapped by jazz legend Herbie Hancock for a world tour in 2007, celebrating the music of Joni Mitchell.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest. And check us out on Tumblr for a behind the scenes look at the show. Thanks for listening!

This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded on the road in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in partnership with our friends at theNorth House Folk School, as a part of their tenth-annual Unplugged concert series. 

The second of the two shows Mountain Stage recorded on the shores of Lake Superior, you’ll hear from Mountain Stage favorites Tim O’Brien and Kathy Mattea, along with the Great Lake Swimmers, Cathie Ryan, Sally Barris and Jon Vezner.

A favorite of Mountain Stage audiences, crew members, listeners and fellow guest artists, Tim O’Brien has long held the record for appearing on the show more than any other artist. O’Brien plays several songs from his latest album “Chicken & Egg,” and can also be heard playing alongside other guests throughout the show, including Mattea and Ryan. You can listen to a preview of O'Brien's performance via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

Rightfully referred to by host Larry Groce as “our sweetheart,” Kathy Mattea needs no introduction to Mountain Stage audiences. Mattea marks her 14^th appearance on the show, alongside Tim O’Brien on fiddle, and longtime sideman Bill Cooley on lead guitar.

You can catch a preview of her performance via our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video – which we’re proud to present in glorious high definition.

Irish-American singer Cathie Ryan makes her third appearance on Mountain Stage. Born in Detroit to Irish parents, Ryan has made her home in Ireland for some time now, and spent years fronting the ensemble Cherish the Ladies. She’s backed by The Mountain Stage band, along with Bill Cooley and of course, Tim O'Brien.

You also hear from the Great Lake Swimmers. This Toronto-based band was a natural fit for a show recorded in Grand Marais, and contrary to the joke made by Tim O’Brien, didn’t actually swim to the show. fronted by songwriter Tony Dekker, the group’s most recent record "Lost Channels" was recorded in different spots around the Thousand Islands region of the Saint Lawrence River. Inexplicably, the Great Lake Swimmers were not backed by Tim O'Brien.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sally Barris makes her first appearance on Mountain Stage. Barris has written songs for some of country music’s top-selling artists, including Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Lee Ann Womack and Kellie Pickler.

And last but certainly not least, you’ll hear from Jon Vezner. One of Nashville’s most respected songwriters, Vezner earned a Grammy for the song “Where’ve You Been,” which was recorded by his wife, Kathy Mattea. A Minnesota native, Vezner has served as the director of the Unplugged concert series, a fundraiser for the North House Folk School since its inception. His most recent recording is "I Like This Town."

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area. 

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook for the latest news about our upcoming broadcasts, and follow us on Twitter for news about our Live Show Schedule.

Thank you, as always, for listening to Mountain Stage.

After several days of triple-digit temperatures here in West Virginia, many of us are dreaming of fall already. With that in mind, Mountain Stage is happy to announce that October 14, we’ll be making the short trip up to Athens, OH, home of Ohio University and long-time affiliate WOUB-FM. Our guests will be Memphis-based country rockers extraordinaire Lucero; fiddle player and singer-songwriter Sara Watkins, and other guests to be announced.

Watkins new album "Sun Midnight Sun" was produced by Simon Dawes co-founder Blake Mills, and features contributions from Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, Taylor Goldsmith, and Benmont Tench. You can also listen to Watkins on Mountain Stage this month, when her 2005 appearance with Nickel Creek is rebroadcast.

"Women & Work" is Lucero’s 8^th studio album in 14 years. Integrating horns, pedal steel guitar, all manner of keyboards, and even a full-on gospel chorus, Women & Work draws inspiration from Delaney & Bonnie’s obscure first album, Home, on the Stax records label. Women & Work is said to sound like “Arcade Fire baptized in Joe Cocker and Leon Russell’s Mad Dogs, then warmed with Don Nix’s Alabama State Troopers.”

Tickets for this show go on sale beginning Thursday, July 12. They’ll be available online, by phone at (740.593.1780) and in person at the Templeton Blackburn Memorial Auditorium box office, Monday through Friday, 12pm -5pm. See our entire Live Show Schedule for more fall dates.

Watch this space for more information about this show when it becomes available, or link up to us on Facebook & Twitter for the latest news.

First off, tickets for our 2 September shows in Grand Marais Minnesota are now on sale. If you’re in the area, we hope you can come, and if not, we’ll be announcing many more West Virginia dates this fall. In the meantime, we’re honored that Mountain Stage has the opportunity to bring a little slice of West Virginia to the places we’re able to visit. Even when you're not there, you're still with us wherever we go.

Second – as you know, 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest winner Arthur Alligood performed on the show just a couple weeks ago. And just last week, 2 of the 12 finalists for this year’s contest were announced. They’ll perform in the live competition finals at Lincoln Center on October 20. The winner will record a fully-funded album with producer lestyn Polson, and perform on Mountain Stage sometime in 2013. Visit the NewSong website for information on how to enter. Now is a good time – through this Sunday, July 8^th, the entry fees for the contest have been greatly reduced.

Watch this space for more information about Mountain Stage. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Twitter, and see even more over at the Mountain Stage Tumblr.

This week's encore broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded on the road in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in partnership with our friends at the North House Folk School , as a part of their 10^th annual Unplugged concert series.

Click here to see a list of stations and times where you can listen. As always, you can catch a preview of this week's show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.   

Captured in a tent on a chilly autumn night on Minnesota's north shore of Lake Superior, you'll hear from acclaimed singer-songwriter (and frequent Mountain Stage guest) John Gorka, along with Cheryl Wheeler, Lindsay Mac, Michael Johnson, Pat Donohue and Mary Flower. 

 Lauded by Rolling Stone Magazine as “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the new folk movement,” John Gorka’s  songs have been recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mary Black, Maura O’Connell and Nanci Griffith. A mainstay of the folk scene since the mid 1980's, Gorka most recently appeared on Mountain Stage in February as a part of the super-trio Red Horse.  

 As always, Gorka balances his rich baritone and introspective subject matter with his trademark dry wit and humor – a mix that makes for a set that is both moving and hilarious at the same time. (A theme that was carried by each guest throughout the entire show).
 

Classical cellist turned folk-pop songwriter  Lindsay Mac makes her first appearance on Mountain Stage. Raised in Iowa, Mac earned a degree from Dartmouth before pursuing music full time at the Berklee College of Music. Around this time she developed her own technique for integrating the cello into her music – playing pizzicato, while standing, like a large guitar. She closes her set with the touching musical parable “Seven Little Stones” from her album Stop Thinking.

Singer-songwriter Michael Johnson also appears. With a musical resume that ranges from folk to pop, to soft rock and country, Michael Johnson is both an accomplished singer-songwriter and classical guitarist. He earned recognition in the late 70's for his adult contemporary hit “Bluer Than Blue,” and charted several more times as a country artist in the 1980's. 

 During his set, Johnson shares a heartfelt story about how his life was recently changed for the better when he reunited with his adult daughter – a story that was later turned on its head by born joker Cheryl Wheeler – creating a running joke that persisted throughout all three nights of Unplugged. 

The show kicks off with guitar-slinging duo Pat Donohue and Mary Flower. As the house guitarist for Prairie Home Companion, Pat Donohue is one of America's most gifted players, and one of a select few to have a Martin signature model that bares his name. His tune “Would You Like to Play the Guitar” is one of the most insightful and hilarious songs ever written about the toils of being a working musician.  

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Mary Flower is one of America's foremost masters of the difficult Piedmont-style of blues guitar playing, and the only woman to ever win the prestigious National Finger Picking Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Donohue and Flower close their set with “Grand Marais Blues,” a tune they wrote just hours earlier about their experience on the North Shore. 

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area.   

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook for the latest news about our upcoming live shows and premier broadcasts. Follow us on Tumblr for even more behind the scenes photos and stories.
 

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage. 

This week's action packed episode of Mountain Stage features Latin-funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma, along with The Greencards, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Tracy Nelson, and Musikanto. Click here to view the playlist, and click here find a time and station where you can listen.

Based in Austin, the 10-piece Latin-funk band Grupo Fantasma formed in 2000. Comprised of two guitarists, two bass players, three drummers and a three-piece horn section, the group quickly established a reputation for high-energy live shows. It’s earned them two appearances on Austin City Limits, and spots backing up Prince in Las Vegas and London. Last year, their album El Existential won the group a Grammy for “Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album.” You can sample their performance here, via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

The Greencards make their fourth appearance on Mountain Stage. This multi-national bluegrass trio, led by Australians Kym Warner and Carol Young, has racked up serious accolades. None other than Robert Earl Keen called the Greencards’ music, “the best bluegrass I’ve heard in 20 years.” In 2006, the group won “New/Emerging Artist of the Year” at the Americana Music Association Awards. With two new members, young fiddle phenom Tyler Andal and flatpicking champion Carl Miner, the band has released The Brick Album, which was funded by contributions from fans.

You’ll also hear from Canadian roots rock supergroup Blackie & the Rodeo Kings. You can get a taste of their Mountain Stage performance via our Backstage at Mountain Stage video here:

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings is a collaboration between three well-respected blues, folk and rock musicians: Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson. The three joined forces in 1996, and under the name of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, released an album of songs written by Canadian singer-songwriter Willie P. Bennett.

In 2011, The Rodeo Kings released Kings and Queens, featuring duet vocals from Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, Cassandra Wilson, Patti Scialfa and others.

Vocal powerhouse Tracy Nelson returns to Mountain Stage. See her backstage interview, as well as clips from her performance here:

 Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area. 

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook for the latest news about our upcoming live shows and premier broadcasts.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mountain Stage is BACK at the Culture Center, for what we here think of as our last show of the fiscal year, but what you might think of as our last show in Charleston until sometime this fall. We’ll be joined by Dar Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, The dB’s, the New Rope String Band, and Arthur Alligood. And we’re thrilled to be a part of FestivALL Charleston. A few tickets are still available, but man-oh-man, is it getting tight. If you want to come, you need to get tickets now, online, at Taylor Books, and by phone. Expect a packed house.

If there was ever an artist who needs no introduction to Mountain Stage audiences, that man would be Tim O’Brien. But if there’s another artist who needs no introduction, it might be the lovely and talented Dar Williams. Her new CD, In the Time of Gods, marks her ninth studio recording.

And if you still don’t know who Ray Wylie Hubbard is – well, you no longer have an excuse. Hubbard (a high school classmate of Larry Groce) is perhaps best known for his proto country party anthem “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mothers.” But lately – well, just expect to hear people yell out “SNAKE FARM!” a few times. Snake Farm. It’s a reptile house.

We had a long description of The dB’s written out – but suffice it to say, The dB’s are the missing link between REM and Big Star. If you like either of those two legendary bands, The dB’s are right in the middle, and you own it to yourself to check them out. One of the more creative and enduring indie pop groups of the early ‘80s, North Carolina’s dB’s featured a lineup - Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby and Gene Holder - that helped change the course of guitar-driven power pop for years to come. The band’s stellar new album Falling Off the Sky represents their first new album with the original lineup in 30 years.  

The New Rope String Band are gifted musicians, singers, songwriters – and on the vanguard of clowning, all at the same time. Combining superb musicianship with side-splitting comic genius, the three members of the New Rope String Band combine elements of circus, vaudeville, slapstick and Python-esque absurdist humor with beautiful acoustic music from various world traditions. Based in the U.K., the group’s resume includes performances in Borneo's Sarawak rainforest, the Shetland Folk Festival and tiny village halls.” There might be ladders, PVC pipes, seagull impressions, barbershop harmonies and even mime. Will it work on the radio? You’ll have to be there to find out.

Finally, Tennessee born singer-songwriter Arthur Alligood won grand prize honors at the 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest for performing songwriters. Sessions with producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz) included in-demand session musicians Jim Keltner on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Michael Ward on guitar. The resulting album, “One Silver Needle” was released to high praise on the NewSong Recordings label.  

Get your tickets now.

This week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage represents one of our most exciting shows of 2011. Recorded live in the border town of Bristol TN/VA, in partnership with our friends at the  Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, you’ll hear from country music icon Vince Gill, along with Jim Lauderdale, the David Mayfield Parade, Red Molly, and John Lilly.

Click here to find a list of stations and times where you can listen. Click here to check the playlist and find out when your favorite tune is coming up. And as always, you can catch a preview of this week's show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

One of the top-selling country music artists of all time, Vince Gill appears on Mountain Stage in support of his first studio album in five years, Guitar Slinger. Gill cut his teeth in the 70’s as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist with outfits like Ricky Skaggs’ Boone Creek before joining country rockers Pure Prairie League – a group his high school bluegrass band had opened for – in 1979.

He left in 1981 to join Rodney Crowell’s renowned backing band The Cherry Bombs. By the late 80's, Gill was a bona fide superstar, releasing multiple Top 10 platinum-selling albums, and hosting the CMA awards a record-setting 12 consecutive times.

You can see part of his Mountain Stage performance, and hear him talk about his new album and musical roots via our Backstage at Mountain Stage above.

You’ll also hear from the David Mayfield Parade. A Mountain Stage veteran already, Mayfield has appeared with Cadillac Sky, Among the Oak and the Ash, and alongside his sister Jessica Lee Mayfield. David Mayfield’s solo project builds on his solid roots in bluegrass, combining it with folk, indie rock, and his trademark humor and showmanship. See Mayfield and his band in action, and hear him talk about his new record via our Backstage at Mountain Stage above.

Jim Lauderdale also stops by. A multi-talented performer and songwriter with successes in both country and bluegrass music, Jim Lauderdale’s career has taken him all over America’s musical landscape.

He’s among Nashville’s “A” list of songwriters, with tunes recorded by artists such as Patty Loveless, George Jones, The Dixie  Chicks, and Vince Gill. Not content to just write hits for the stars, he’s toured with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Elvis Costello. His latest release is Patchwork River.

Red Molly makes their first appearance on Mountain Stage. This bluegrass and old-time trio began around a campsite at the 2004 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in upstate New York.

After six years of touring, the New York-based group has expanded its audience and performed at events like Merlefest and the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion. Founding members Laurie MacAllister and Abbie Gardner were recently joined by Austin-based singer/songwriter Molly Venter. Their latest is Light in the Sky.

Finally, you’ll hear from West Virginia’s own John Lilly. The editor of Goldenseal Magazine since 1997, John Lilly’s music recalls the sounds of a different era. Bluegrass Unlimited called 2000's Broken Moon one of the "most unusual and interesting acoustic disks of the year" while 2005's Blue Highway was a collaboration with legendary Tennessee fiddler Ralph Blizard. His current release is John Lilly: Live on Red Barn Radio.

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area. 

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook for the latest news about our upcoming live shows and premier broadcasts.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage features Manhattan-based roots band Ollabelle, along with Foster & Lloyd, Chris Smither, The Henry Girls, and The Fox Hunt. Click here to find a list of stations and times where you can listen, and click here to view the playlist for this week’s show. You can catch a preview via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week, this time featuring Irish sisters The Henry Girls, in their first American appearance.
 

Taking their name from influential Appalachian songwriter Ola Belle Reed, the five members of Ollabelle (who all sing and play) blend indigenous American music styles, mixing folk, blues, and gospel.

Ollabelle’s self-titled first album was produced by roots music legend T-Bone Burnett, and their second album Riverside Battle Songs was co-produced with former Bob Dylan band member Larry Campbell. Their latest, Neon Blue Bird was released in August.

You’ll also hear a set from country-pop pioneers Foster & Lloyd. Reuniting after more than two decades, Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd scored hits including “Crazy Over You,” "Sure Thing," and "What Do You Want From Me This Time.”

When the two decided to call it quits in 1991, they chose Mountain Stage as the venue for their final show. The duo’s stellar new release, It’s Already Tomorrow, features a number of guests including Cheap Trick bassist Tom Peterson and Sam Bush.

Acoustic folk and blues singer Chris Smither also stops by. Smither has released nearly a dozen albums of his own material for the Flying Fish, Hightone, and Signature Sounds labels; and his songs "Love You Like a Man" and "I Feel the Same" have been recorded by guitarist and singer Bonnie Raitt. Smither’s most recent album, Time Stands Still features songs by Mark Knopfler and Bob Dylan, and he just released a third live CD, Lost & Found, exclusively for fans through his website.

Making their first American appearance are the Henry Girls. Comprised of three sisters - Joleen, Lorna and Karen McLaughlin - from Inishowen in County Donegal, Ireland, the Henry Girls create an eclectic mix of folk, blues and traditional Irish, framed by their 3-part sibling harmonies. They appeared at the 2011 Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, Scotland (where they first came to the attention of Mountain Stage), and count West Virginia’s The Fox Hunt among their musical friends.

Speaking of The Fox Hunt – the Martinsburg-based string band rounds out the show. Upon returning from a tour of Ireland last year, the Fox Hunt became the first act to sell out the Shepherdtown, WV Opera House. On the road 150 days a year, the band has amassed a loyal following across the region and beyond.

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area. 

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook for the latest news about our upcoming live shows and premier broadcasts.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage.

A few minutes before showtime, Punch Brother Chris Thile sat down in a very sunny room to talk to host Larry Groce about the band, music, and the new album.

Listen on the radio this weekend, with streaming and downloadable goodness to follow. Watch this space for more.

Mountain Stage returns this weekend with another exciting all new broadcast featuring the sultry vocals of Joan Osborne, cutting-edge progressive acoustic music from The Punch Brothers, jam band royalty Leftover Salmon, worldly singer-songwriter Sylvie Lewis, and alt-country newcomer Lera Lynn.

Click here to find a list of stations and times where you can listen, and click here to view the playlist for this week’s show.

Kentucky native Joan Osborne has sold millions of albums and garnered multiple Grammy nominations throughout her career, which began while she was attending NYU’s film school. Inspired by singers like Billie Holiday and Etta James, Osborne’s gutsy, passionate vocals turned “One Of Us,” a track from her major label debut, into a massive MTV and radio hit.

Her latest release, “Bring It On Home,” is a collection of classic blues, R&B and soul songs. You can catch a preview of her performance via our song of the week: Osborn singing the Slim Harpo classic “Shake Your Hips.”

Depending on how you count it, this is The Punch Brothers third appearance on Mountain Stage. A bone fide acoustic super group led Chris Thile, along with a staggering lineup including guitarist Chris Eldridge, a founding member of the Infamous Stringdusters who occasionally sits in with his father’s band, The Seldom Scene; bassist Paul Kowert, who studied under Edgar Meyer at the Curtis Institute of Music; banjo player Noam Pikelny who has collaborated with the likes of John Cowan and Tony Trischka; and violinist Gabe Witcher who has recorded with Willie Nelson, Beck and Randy Newman. The group’s current release is titled “Who’s Feeling Young Now?”

Embarking on their first full-fledged tour since 2004, jam-band mainstays Leftover Salmon are back with their first new album in 8 years, produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin. Flaunting an unmistakable, fluid and rootsy sound that fuses improvisational fervor to a dizzying combination of bluegrass, Cajun, Southern rock, boogie, Caribbean, Latin, and jazz influences, Leftover Salmon has earned a legion of diehard fans, critical accolades, and a reputation as one of the most engaging concert experiences to ever hit the road. Founding member Vince Herman was on Mountain Stage just a year ago, with his solo project, Great American Taxi.

Armed with a musical education that took her from studying cello in Switzerland, opera in the U.K. and songwriting, piano and guitar at Boston’s Berklee School of Music, Sylvie Lewis creates timeless, gentle songs for the ages. Along the way, Lewis became obsessed with classic songwriters and jazz artists like Cole Porter, Noel Coward and Oscar Peterson, informing her music with a feel from another generation. Now living in Italy, Lewis is currently working with L'orchestra di Piazza Vittorio on their radical revision of Mozart's "The Magic Flute."  Her new CD is titled “It’s All True.” 

Finally, you’ll hear from Lera Lynn, who kicks off the show. A winner of the 2011 Chris Austin Songwriting Competition held at Merlefest for her song, “Bobby, Baby,” Athens, GA-based artist Lera Lynn also walked away with “Best Americana Artist” at her hometown’s 2011 Flagpole Music Awards. Her debut “Have You Met Lera Lynn?” has been met with wide acclaim, earning her spots on the road this summer alongside fellow guests Joan Osborn and The Punch Brothers.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.  

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage.

Just a quick reminder to our songwriter friends that the early bird deadline for the General Round of the 2012 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest is rapidly approaching: 11:59 pm on Saturday, June 2nd.

Visit the NewSong website to enter, and to find out more information.

Mountain Stage is back this week with an all new broadcast, recorded live at the Paramount Theater in the border town of Bristol TN / VA, in partnership with our friends at the Birthplace of Country MusicAlliance. You’ll hear from country music icon Marty Stuart and his band, The Fabulous Superlatives; newcomer John Fullbright, The McCrary Sisters, experimental alt-folk-pop from The Pines, and bluegrass heavyweights Blue Highway.

Click here to find a list of stations and times where you can listen.

As a part of the New Traditionalist movement, Marty Stuart was instrumental in changing the sound of New Country music. Dubbed the “Hillbilly Crusader,” after long stints with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash, Stuart struck out on his own, adding a rockin’ twist to traditional country. His 2010 release Ghost Train (The Studio B Sessions) features his band The Fabulous Superlatives and realizes Stuart’s vision of making a record that “upholds traditional country music.” His latest release, Nashville Volume 1: Tear the Woodpile Down continues down the same heartworn path. Hear Marty discuss his new album, and share his take on the state of country music in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video.

Since bursting on the scene in the late-‘90s, Blue Highway has all but dominated the bluegrass charts over its 17 year history. Comprised of five experienced musicians, the members of this progressive group have played with Alison Krauss & Union Station, Ricky Skaggs, Larry Sparks and Doyle Lawson. With ten highly-acclaimed albums to its credit, Blue Highway has garnered two Grammy nominations, a Dove Award, topped the Bluegrass Unlimited radio charts, and won numerous International Bluegrass Music Association awards. Their current release is Sounds of Home.

After playing in fellow Oklahoma singer-songwriter Mike McClure’s band for a year, John Fullbright has become the most talked about young musician in Oklahoma. Prior to the 2009 Folk Alliance conference in Memphis, Fullbright, still in his early 20s, recorded a live CD at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City. Already he has received endorsements from many great musicians, including fellow Oklahomans Jimmy Webb, Kevin Welch, and Tom Skinner, and Mountain Stage favorite Jimmy LaFave.

Nashville’s McCrary Sisters have recorded with Stevie Wonder, Bobby Jones, Wynonna, Ray Stevens, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Mike Farris, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Daughters of the late Rev. Samuel McCrary, founding member of Nashville’s legendary gospel quartet the Fairfield Four, the four sisters have been singing their entire lives. Ann began singing at age three while Regina toured with Bob Dylan for six years and recorded three albums with him. Their release, Our Journey, features cameos by Buddy Miller, Delbert McClinton, and Patty Griffin.

Listen to Doc Watson on Mountain Stage, recorded August 15, 2010.

"All of us at Mountain Stage join the rest of the world of music this week as we grieve the passing of Doc Watson. Doc was on the show four times, the most recent being at one of our visits to Bristol Tennessee / Virginia just two years ago. On that last visit many of our cast and crew commented on how young he seemed when he was playing and singing.

I remember first hearing his music on an album in 1962 when I was 14. He was immediately a giant in my world. His first visit to Mountain Stage in 1988 was monumental and unforgettable to a boy who grew up in the folk revival. I was almost afraid to talk to him. But he was as friendly and common as you might think he would be. It was always a pleasure to see him.

You will have many chances to hear Doc in the future because he made scores of fine recordings. I’m grateful that a few of them were on Mountain Stage. Take a listen to his last one and take a look at the interview he did that day. He was a Doc whose medicine cured a lot of ills."

-Larry Groce, May 30th 2012
 

Mountain Stage is thrilled to announce that we’ll be returning to the North House Folk School, on the shores of Lake Superior in Grand Marais, Minnesota to record two shows on September 13 and 14.

Once again, we'll be helping the North House celebrate its 11^th annual Unplugged concert series, a long running collaboration between the school and Grammy award-winning songwriter Jon Vezner. This will be our second trip to Grand Marais, and we’re truly honored that Mr. Vezner and the North House have asked us to join them again for this special occasion.

On the 13, our confirmed guests are Minnesota’s own Trampled by Turtles, LOW, with other guests to be announced. On the 14, our guests will be Jonathan Edwards, Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, Gretchen Peters, Chip Taylor, and the ever-popular TBA.

Tickets will be available beginning July 1 online, by phone (888.387.9762), and in person at the North House Folk School – 500 Highway 61 West, Grand Marais, MN 55604.

Mountain Stage will be at our home away from home in Morgantown this weekend, but just around the corner on June 24, we’ll be back in Charleston for a Special FestivALL show at the Culture Center Theater featuring Dar Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, the dB’s and more.

 Get your tickets here. That’ll be your last chance to catch Mountain Stage in Charleston in for a while. But don’t fret! We’ll be back for an extended stay in Charleston this fall. Until then, come see us as soon as you can, wherever you can.

This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage features pop-rock legend John Oates, along with Frontier Ruckus, Amber Rubarth, Blame Sally and Moreland & Arbuckle.  

 Click here to find a station and time when you can listen in your area.

As one half of one of the best selling duos of all time, John Oates needs little introduction. But for his recent solo project Mississippi Mile, Oates took a departure, exploring American roots music, R&B and folk blues -- the sounds that first made him want to become a musician while growing up outside Philadelphia.

He’s backed by his own band for a set comprised of songs he calls his “musical biography,” including R&B standards like “It’s All Right,” a minor key reworking of  “All Shook Up,” and a surprisingly retooled version of the Hall & Oates classic “Dreams Come True.”

You can preview Oates’ set here via the Mountain Stage Song of the Week, and you can get an even longer look at each of our guests this week from our Backstage at Mountain Stage videos.

You’ll also hear from singer-songwriter Amber Rubarth, winner of the Mountain Stage NewSong contest:

East Lansing Michigan-based folk-rock band Frontier Ruckus makes their first appearance on Mountain Stage:

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.  

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage!

This week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage features guitarist and songwriter Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes. You’ll also hear from Canadian alt-country-rock institution The Cowboy Junkies, who make their 9^th appearance on the show, along with Vermont singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, and Australian rock icon Paul Kelly.

Click here to see when and where you can listen. Click here to stream our Mountain Stage Song of the Week, The Cowboy Junkies performing “Damaged From the Start.” And if there’s a tune you’re hoping to hear, check out this week’s playlist.

The sprightly Anais Mitchell kicks off the show. She backed by her own band for songs from “Young Man in America,” which finds Mitchell taking on the voices of multiple characters, both men and women; and features cameos by guitarist Adam Levy and Punch Brothers’ Chris Thile.

You’ll also hear from Australian songwriting institution Paul Kelly. A storyteller on a par with the likes of Ray Davies, he has amassed a catalog whose quality and variety are unmatched - all the while remaining a beloved cult figure in the U.S. Dubbed “Australia’s Rock Icon” by Rolling Stone Magazine, in In 2004, he began staging “A-Z concerts” which found him performing 100 of his songs over four nights - in alphabetical order.

The Cowboy Junkies make their 9th visit to Mountain Stage. More than 25 years after their formation, The Cowboy Junkies are more active than ever. Over an 18 month span beginning in 2010, the band released four new studio albums. Renmin Park, Demons, Sing in My Meadow and The Wilderness comprise what the band calls “The Nomad Series,” a loosely-connected cycle of recordings inspired by everything from a life-changing trip to China, their collective love for singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt. The resulting work has been called some of the best of their career.
 

Finally, you'll hear from guitarist and singer-songwriter Rich Robinson. As the guitarist for popular rockers the Black Crowes, Rich Robinson had achieved the American Dream Before he was 25. Then, a divorce and the band’s unexpected hiatus ushered him into a painful, introspective period. The result was his first solo release, “Through a Crooked Sun,” a lyirically personal album which evidences a musical and spiritual awakening that addresses family, fame and fear. 

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage!

Our latest video featuring the Canadian duo Whitehorse is up. As we keep saying, If you’re a fan of the Civil Wars, Buddy & Julie Miller, and/or Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, then there’s a strong chance you will love these guys. They’re truly one of the best under-the-radar (for the moment, anyway) duos working right now. Check them out!

This week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded live in on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College in the sunny town of Buckhannon. You’ll hear from contemporary folk master Martin Sexton, Canadian duo Whitehorse, bluegrass band NewFound Road, soulful jammers the Ryan Montbleau Band, and hometown favorite Belinda Smith.

Click here to find out when and where you can listen. And preview this week’s show via our Song of the Week. This time, it’s Martin Sexton with a solo acoustic cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” complete with some very convincing beat boxing towards the end of the performance.

If there's a song you're hoping to hear, check out the playlist.

A native of Syracuse, NY, Martin Sexton relocated to Boston where he began making his mark in the city’s vibrant coffee house and club scene. A self-produced CD landed him a deal with Atlantic Records where he released a pair of critically acclaimed discs, one of which featured bassist Tony Levin and original E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious.

Sexton’s songs, which tap the American musical landscape - soul, gospel, R&B and country - inspired a Billboard Magazine writer to call Sexton "the finest new male singer-songwriter of recent memory." Following up 2010's Sugarcoating, Sexton issued an EP titled Fall Like Rain. None other than John Mayer described Sexton as "the best live performer I've ever seen." 

Combining the unique talents of Canadian singer-songwriters Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, Whitehorse is greater than the sum of the parts. Individually, Doucet and McClelland have been recognized with awards and nominations from the Juno Awards, the Canadian Folk Music Awards, the Hamilton Music Awards, the Independent Music Awards and Polaris. Together, they create vital music that plays off of their personalities and chemistry.

One of the most exciting bluegrass bands of the new millennium, NewFound Road has shared the stage with a diverse array of artists including Oscar winner The Swell Season, Joe Diffie, Hall of Famer Mavis Staples, Grammy nominee Ryan Shaw and folk icon Judy Collins. In addition to powerful singer Tim Shelton, the group includes mandolinist Joe Booher, bassist/brother Jamey, and banjo/guitarist Josh Miller.

Once an acoustic solo artist, Ryan Montbleau released One Fine Color, his first full band project in 2006. Following an acoustic tour that Martin Sexton and Montbleau did together as solo performers, Sexton hired the entire group to back him this spring and summer on a tour that included a run of shows opening stadium gigs for the Dave Matthews Band. In addition, Sexton produced the band’s latest CD, Heavy on the Vine.

A Dove Award Winning songwriter and singer, WV native Belinda Smith moved to Nashville in 1997 to pursue a career in songwriting. Since then, she has charted multiple No. 1 songs, BMI play awards and owns an award winning publishing company, 7th Row Music. Her songs have been recorded by artists ranging from FFH to Ty Herndon. She is also the founder and president of Belinda Smith Creative, an online company providing creativity mentoring for writers.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage!

An important heads up to all of you who listen to Mountain Stage on West Virginia Public Radio: beginning this Sunday, Mountain Stage is moving from its old time of 3, to its new time at 2 p.m. That’s one hour earlier. The Saturday evening rebroadcast is unaffected, and remains the same.

 So that’s Sunday at 2, folks! Patterson Hood, Van Dyke Parks, Teitrur, Randall Bramblett, and Caroline Aiken. We hope you can listen.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded in Athens Georgia, and features Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, with a guest appearance from Mike Mills from REM. Also on this show is legendary lyricist, musical arranger and all-around character Van Dyke Parks. This episodes feeds to our stations this Friday, May 4th. Click here to see the playlist. Right now, you can preview Patterson’s performance via our Backstage at Mountain Stage vid, where he talks about how his solo project differs from his work with the Truckers. And you can also stream the song “Pride of the Yankees” from our upcoming broadcast.

Patterson Hood’s last solo album, Murdering Oscar was released in 2009, and his latest, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, is set to be released in the near future. Patterson brought along a band he dubbed “The Downtown Rumblers” (which included several members of the Drive-By Truckers) to help capture the quieter textures of his solo work.

Mike Mills of REM made an unannounced guest appearance, joining Patterson for his closing song, “After It’s Gone.” The two live in Athens, Georgia, and are both involved in a project that promotes the preservation of their downtown. Needless to say, the audience ate it up.

For music fans who pay attention to album credits, the name Van Dyke Parks is nothing short of legendary. As a session musician, composer, arranger, lyricist, and singer, he's contributed significantly to several decades' worth of inimitable masterpieces credited to other artists, as well as releasing notable projects of his own.

Working with a wide array of musicians, from The Byrds and Sonny and Cher to Ry Cooder and Vic Chesnutt, Parks is perhaps best known for collaborating with Brian Wilson on the storied classic SmiLE. In 2011, Parks released his first new music in more than 15 years, a series of singles that features the artwork of artists including Art Spiegelman and WV’s Billy Edd Wheeler.

Singer-songwriter Teitur kicks off the show. Hailing from Denmark's Faroe Islands, a small, remote group of islands between Iceland and Scotland, Teitur Lassen issued his debut, Poetry & Aeroplanes, on Universal Records in 2003.

Supporting the disc, he was featured on MTV’s “You Heard It First,” VH1 and CNN, and his songs were included on the soundtracks of the films My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Aquamarine. He also toured with Rufus Wainwright, Aimee Mann and John Mayer. His latest is titled Let the Dog Drive Home. 

Born and raised on the Georgia Sea island, St. Simons, Caroline Aiken’s first musical influence was Emma Lee Ramsey of the Georgia Sea Island Singers. She moved to NY in the late ‘60s and joined the rock band Father Time.

From there, music took her to California during the early ‘70s, to South America, Seattle, east to Greenwich Village and, in the early ‘80s, back to Atlanta. It was then that she heard the Indigo Girls - still teenagers - singing a CSNY song in an alley behind the club Good Old Days. Aiken invited them onstage and sang on their first recording.

Dubbed the “the William Faulkner of Southern music,” Randall Bramblett came to prominence in the ‘70s as a member of the fusion band Sea Level. Since then, his credits include work with Steve Winwood, Gregg Allman, Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson.

Called “one of Georgia’s musical treasures” by Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools, Bramblett is a multi-instrumentalist who excels on keyboards, saxophone and guitar, and a respected songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Widespread Panic, and Delbert McClinton.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

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Mountain Stage was thrilled to end the 75^th season of the Marshall Artist Series in a big way Sunday, with a show that featured Arlo Guthrie, Delta Rae, Paul Thorn, and Broadway star Michael Cerveris with his band Loose Cattle.

It was especially poignant to have Cerveris there, given the historic nature of the event. As he told the full house at the Keith Albee Theater, his previous gig at the venue was popping popcorn in the basement as a teenager. He’s gone on to win a Tony Award for his role in the musical Assassins, and is up for another Tony this year, for his roll as Juan Peron in the revival of Evita.

The show is set to air September 9. Watch this space for more.

This Sunday, Mountain Stage travels to Huntington for a special show at the Keith Albee Theater, as a part of the 75^th anniversary of the Marshall Artist Series.

We’ll be joined by folk icon Arlo Guthrie  & Boys Night Out, iconoclastic singer-songwriter Paul Thorn for a special solo set, Broadway star and Huntington native Michael Cerveris, and soulful pop newcomers Delta Rae.

Tickets for this show are on sale now at tickemaster.com, and by phone (304.696.6656). Marshall students can attend for free.

We'll have a special 1-hour performance by Arlo Guthrie who is carrying on the legacy of perhaps the most important songwriter in American history but has long been regarded as a folk icon in his own right.

This year, Arlo is celebrating what would have been his father's 100th birthday. Here's an exclusive interview with the Huntington Herald-Dispatch.

We’ll also be joined on the Group W bench by singer-songwriter Paul Thorn. The son of a Pentecostal preacher, the nephew of a pimp (so the story goes) former boxer turned musician Paul Thorn has earned a loyal following over the years through his signature blend of the sacred and profane. His most recent album, What the Hell is Going On? follows his highly regarded Pimps and Preachers and features Thorn's take on songs written by others like Lindsay Buckhingham, Ray Wylie Hubbard and more.

Huntington native Michael Cerveris is an established, Tony-award winning actor who has played John Wilkes Booth in Assassins, and originated the title role in the Broadway hit “Tommy.” As a rock musician, he fronted the British band Retriever and was guitarist/vocalist on Bob Mould's 1998 US/UK "Dog and Pony Show" tour.

Some of his earliest experiences of professional theater were thanks to the Marshall Artist Series (in particular first national tours of Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell), so his appearance onstage at the Keith Albee for Mountain Stage celebrating MAS has a special personal meaning for him.

Hailing from Durham, NC, Delta Rae fuses alt-pop band with rich Carolina soul. Recently signed to Sire/Warner, the group has four lead singers and incorporates all aspects of Americana into a joyful, passionate performance.  Delta Rae has been headlining shows on both coasts, with a new LP due for release June 19, 2012.

Connect with Mountain Stage on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more about upcoming shows. Thank you for supporting Mountain Stage. 

This week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage features power pop masters Fountains of Wayne, along with Marc Broussard, Amanda Shires, Grace Weber, and Ben Lee.

Click here to find a station and time where you can listen in your area. If there’s a song you’re hoping to hear, check out the show’s playlist. And click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming broadcasts.

Anchored by the singer-songwriters Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, Fountains of Wayne was founded in 1996 and released its self-titled debut on Atlantic Records the same year. They scored one of the most memorable hits of the early 2000’s, were nominated for Grammys, and have spent countless nights on the road cultivating their sound. The band’s latest release, Sky Full of Holes is their first since 2007.

Marc Broussard also stops by, with his acclaimed brand of bayou soul. His vocals call to mind performances by heavyweights like Otis Redding, Al Green, John Hiatt and Dr. John. Coupled with his powerful stage presence, he became a favorite of the nearly sold out Charleston audience.

You can catch a preview via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week, and you can also hear him talk to host Larry Groce about his roots and influences, and see some footage of his performance in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video.

We'll also be joined by young Texas singer-songwriter and fiddler Amanda Shires. If you've been listening to Jason Isbell's excellent new album Here We Rest, then you've already heard Amanda sing and play. Her CD Carrying Lighting has garnered rave reviews as well, and she most recently wrapped up recording sessions for the latest release from Justin Townes Earle.

You'll also hear a set from Brooklyn-by-way-of-Milwaukee singer-songwriter Grace Weber. She's already performed on "Showtime at the Apollo," played the Kennedy Center, and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her jazz infused pop has also caught the eye of Billboard Magazine, which dubbed her an "artist to watch." Her latest album is Hope & Heart.

Finally, you hear a rare set from singer-songwriter Ben Lee. Lee first gained America's attention in the late 90's, at a time when loud alt-rock was dominant. Ben Lee does not make loud alt-rock. So if you happened to see one of his videos on TV at the time, chances are, you still remember it. His latest album Deeper to Dream, is his most personal yet.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!

It is nearly impossible to quantify Levon Helm's contribution to the type of music Mountain Stage has sought to champion for the past 29 years. Levon's voice was a wide, greasy smear of folk, blues, country, soul, rock, acoustic, electric, rural, urban, sacred, profane, north, south, black and white. His music captured something essential about us – the embodiment of what writer Greil Marcus famously called “The Old, Weird America.” And it's the very foundation of the broad, encompassing amalgam of roots music we have come to call Americana.

Mountain Stage was fortunate enough to host Levon Helm and The Band on two different occasion, in 1994 and 1996. Larry and the guys have been working overtime the past couple days, pulling the audio from the original DAT tapes. We'll be posting the performances at NPR Music soon.

This week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage features the New Orleans jazz ensemble The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, along with roots music luminary Darrell Scott, Irish-American supergroup Solas, singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave, and newcomer Rosi Golan.

Click here to find a station and time where you can listen in your area. If there’s a song you’re hoping to hear, check out theshow’s playlist. And click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming broadcasts.

Highly regarded as a performer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter, Darrell Scott has seen his songs covered by more than 70 artists, including the Dixie Chicks, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, Faith Hill, Guy Clark, Sam Bush, Tim McGraw, Kathy Mattea and Garth Brooks. A Kentucky native, Scott excels on dobro, mandolin and guitar, and earned a degree in poetry from Tufts University. He has played on hundreds of sessions, and in 2001 was named “Songwriter of the Year” by the Nashville Songwriters Association.

In 2010, Scott joined Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, along with Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin and Byron House. His new album Long Ride Home features contributions from some of country music’s most experienced session players, including West Virginia Music Hall of Fame member Charlie McCoy. Hear him discuss this and more in our latest "Backstage at Mountain Stage" video.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is perhaps the only group that can claim to have shared stages with the Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, 2 Live Crew, and the Black Crowes. They're credited with revitalizing the brass band tradition in New Orleans, spreading it around the world, to more than 30 countries on five continents.

They’ve been featured guests on albums by David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Dr. John and the Modest Mouse; and the city of New Orleans now has an official Dirty Dozen Brass Band Day.

The group is celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now, and preparing for the release their new album Twenty Dozen on May 1. You can hear a preview of their performance via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.