Mountain Blog

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.

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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.