Mountain Blog

This week’s Mountain Stage Broadcast features the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, recorded live at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol TN/VA. This was the seventh visit to Bristol for Mountain Stage, in conjunction with the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance. The BCMA held several events over the weekend to celebrate the Bear Family records box set, "The Bristol Sessions - The Big Bang of Country Music," which collects for the first time all of the historic 1927 and 1928 recordings that happened in their historic border city. Mountain Stage was proud to cap off the weekend's events with a sold-out show.

Forty-five years after its formation, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band remains one of the most active and influential bands in roots music. Their cover of Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles” became a crossover hit in 1971, and was included in their Mountain Stage set. You can listen to it now as our Song of the Week.

Making their second appearance on Mountain Stage are recent Grammy winners, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an African-American string band steeped in the traditional sounds of North Carolina’s Piedmont. Their record Genuine Negro Jig won Best Traditional Folk album at the 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards, and they brought two new members with them - Hubby Jenkins and Adam Matta - and a brand new energy.

Check out our interview with Jenkins and Dom Flemmons of the Chocolate Drops "Backstage at Mountain Stage."

We’re also joined by Dale Jett & Hello Stranger with special guests John Carter Cash and Laura Cash. The son of Janette Carter and the grandson of A.P. and Sara Carter, Jett is a third generation member of the legendary Carter Family, preserving the music they first recorded in the historic “Bristol Sessions” of 1927. He recently released "Past & Present" along with John Carter & Laura Cash, calling themselves Carter Family III.

Also appearing on the show are three of the greatest voices in modern bluegrass, Dale Ann Bradley, Steve Gulley and Kim Fox. Gulley, one of bluegrass music’s most gifted tenors, is a veteran of acclaimed bands Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Mountain Heart, and currently in Grasstowne. He has also released an album with Tim Stafford, "Dogwood Winter."

Bradley was named the IBMA female vocalist of the year three consecutive years, and Fox's "Nothing To Lose" appears on country star REBA's "Keep On Loving You." Their set includes a Carter Family favorite, "50 Miles of Elbow Room" and Gulley's chilling rendition of George Jones' "The Grand Tour."

You’ll also hear Knoxville-based singer Jill Andrews, formerly of the alt-folk duo the everybodyfields. Her Self-titled EP was released in 2009, and her first solo album is due for release this June.

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