Mountain Blog

As some of you read in a recent Charleston Gazette article, Mountain Stage is happy to be taking our show to Glasgow, Scotland as part of the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival. We will host our good friend and living legend Mavis Staples, along with Scotland's own famed singer and musician Dougie MacLean.

Ticket info and more can be found here and we'll be making more announcements as we have them right here on the Mountain Stage blog. Keep an eye on our Live Show Schedule for more 2011 shows. 

Texas-based fiddler, singer and songwriter Carrie Rodriguez joins us this Sunday, October 31 for Mountain Stage on the road in Buckhannon, WV at the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts (Directions) on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Below is her video for the John Hiatt-penned song "Big Love" off her critically-acclaimed latest CD "Love & Circumstance." Click here to order and a portion of your purchase benefits Mountain Stage at no extra charge (Learn More). 

Also joining us this Sunday in Buckhannon are legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, musical legacy heirs The Chapin Sisters, Knoxville Roots group The Black Lillies and West Virginia's own old-time duo Born Old.

All tickets are General Admission, $30, available online, by phone at 800.594.TIXX or at the Box Office this Sunday, if available.

You can also find WV's own purveyors of old-time tunes Born Old spotlighted in the pages of this week's edition of The Gazz, where multi-instrumentalists Paul Gartner and Doug Van Gundy answer 5 Questions.'

Check out our "Live On Stage Newsletter" for more on each guest artist and get your tickets while you still can. 

On Sunday, November 21 we are happy to welcome Black Dub, a musical collaboration featuring renowned producer/musician Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, U2, Peter Gabriel), vocalist Trixie Whitley (daughter of Chris Whitley), virtuoso drummer Brian Blade and bassist Daryl Johnson. Their debut album will be released on November 2 but you can hear the entire project right now at NPR Music.

The album can be Pre-Ordered on Vinyl or CD HERE via Amazon. Follow this link to support Mountain Stage with your purchase at no extra charge (Learn More).

You have the chance to experience the group live, when they join us at the Culture Center. Tickets for Mountain Stage November 21, also featuring Anais Mitchell, Horse Feathers, Delta Spirit and Danielle Ate the Sandwich, are available online, by phone at 800.594.TIXX or locally at Taylor Books in Downtown, Charleston.

Visit the Live Show Schedule for more on our upcoming live performances.

JJ Grey will not appear on Mountain Stage this Sunday, October 24 at the Culture Center due to illness.

We are happy to welcome British-born, New York based singer-songwriter James Maddock to the line-up. Maddock's 2000 release Songs from Stamford Hill found him opening for Train and Paul Cole. He's back with Sunrise on Avenue C, which is available Tuesday October 26.

Tickets will be available at the Culture Center Box Office at 5pm for $20, and can be purchased online before noon on Sunday.

We hope you'll check out or new "Live on Stage Newsletter" for our upcoming show this Sunday. Tickets are on sale now online, by phone at 800.594.TIXX or locally at Taylor Books.

We’ve added our fifth guest to the line-up this Sunday. Pop-rock legend Dwight Twilley will make his debut on the show in support of his first new CD since 2005, “Green Blimp.” The Dwight Twilley Band burst on the scene in 1975 with a top 20 hit “I’m On Fire” from their debut “Sincerely.”  As a solo artist, he scored another hit in 1984 when the video for “Girls” found its way onto MTV.

Visit our Live Show Schedule for more info. Also on the bill are Jenny & Johnny, Jason D. Williams, The Alternate Routes and JJ Grey. Tickets are available ONLINE, at Taylor Books in Charleston and by phone at 800.594.TIXX. 

Nashville-based bluegrass band The SteelDrivers perform an exciting round of music on this week's premiere episode. The band released their second studio album called “Reckless” in September of this year. Their music earned them a Grammy nomination in 2009 for the song “Blue Side of the Mountain” which you'll hear performed on the show this week.

As a preview you can hear our Song of the Week featuring The SteelDrivers performing “If It Hadn’t Been For Love.”

Find a radio station in your area where you can tune in and tell some friends how they can hear the show.

 The show begins with banjo player and singer Abigail Washburn who brings us a set new material from her upcoming album, “City of Refuge,” which is available for preorder here. Here's our host Larry Groce's interview with Abigail from our YouTube Channel, "Backstage at Mountain Stage."

Also on the bill is alternative country singer/songwriter Scott Miller who comes to us from Knoxville, Tennessee. He opens his set with a humorous song titled, “Lo Siento, Spanishburg, West Virginia,” a sleepy little town in West Virginia. Check out his music, including his 2009 record, “For Crying Out Loud” here.

Bloodshot Records recording artists Whitey Morgan and the 78’s take the stage to perform their brand of Honky-Tonk Outlaw country. The band's self-titled album is out this month. 

Also on the bill is veteran country music singer Gene Watson who sings some of his classic hits including “Paper Rosie” and the #1 hit “Farewell Party,” plus the title track to his new CD "A Taste of the Truth."  Watson has several tour dates coming up soon which include shows with bluegrass great Rhonda Vincent in late October. 

Find a radio station in your area where you can tune in and tell some friends how they can hear the show.

Coming up on this week’s premiere episode of Mountain Stage you’ll hear the legendary acoustic guitarist Doc Watson. He performs a set of his longtime favorites, some of which are included on this 3-disc interview/performance collection “Legacy.”  We came to Bristol with the help of our friends at the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, who have welcomed us to Bristol for five consecutive years.

Bristol TN/VA is the historic border town where in 1927 Ralph Peer recorded what would become the first successful Country Music songs of the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and the Stoneman family. Now the town is formally recognized as the Birthplace of Country Music.

This makes our Song of the Week, Watson singing Jimmie Rodgers’ “T For Texas”, all the more special. 

Find a radio station in your area where you can tune in and tell some friends how they can hear the show.

Also featured on the show is Grammy Award-winning American folk artist David Holt.  Holt performs a unique acoustic set with songs from his various releases, including “Daybreak in Dixie” off his album “David Holt and the Lightning Bolts”  with part-time Lightning Bolts Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth, who can also be heard later in the episode.

Also heard this week is “Best New and Emerging Artist” winner at the 2009 Americana Music Awards, Justin Townes Earle.  He brings songs from his latest album “Harlem  River Blues.”  Irish/American singer/songwriter John Doyle takes the stage with his traditional Irish music.  His latest, “Exiles Return,” is a collaboration with his former Solas collaborator, Karan Casey.

North Carolina’s own Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth and Texas musical ambassador to the world Bob Livingston join us as well.

Check out the playlist and find a station where you can listen.

We have interviews on the way for our YouTube Channel “Backstage at Mountain Stage,” featuring Bob Livingston, Justin Townes Earle and John Doyle, which will be available next week as the segments are posted to NPR Music. We've posted the conversation with Doc Watson below.

Thank you, as always, for listening. Without you there would be no Mountain Stage. We hope you’ll go out and hear some live music wherever you are, just as soon as you can.

We’ve made some exciting additions to our upcoming Live Show Schedule. All tickets are on sale NOW and are available online, at Taylor Books here in Charleston, or by phone at 800.594.TIXX.

October 17 – Mollie O’Brien & Riche Moore, the Colorado-based dynamic folk duo are touring for their latest CD “Saints & Sinners,” which came out in September. They join us October 17 along with The Felice Brothers, Alejandro Escovedo & the Sensitive Boys, Lost in the Trees and Adam Haworth Stephens.

October 24 – The Alternate Routes are preparing to release their new album “Lately” on Tuesday, October 12. These guys have made two appearances on our show and they deliver every time. You can preorder “Lately” in various packages now and hear some new material on their website. They’ve also done several shows lately with Serena Ryder, who you can hear tomorrow on Mountain Stage via NPR Music.

Also performing on October 24, pop-rockers Jenny & Johnny, featuring Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice, piano wild man Jason D. Williams, and swamp-soul man JJ Grey.

October 31- We’ll be featuring some local flavor when we bring the show to Buckhannon, WV at the Virginia Thomas Law Performing Arts Center on the campus of WV Wesleyan College. West Virginia’s own old-time specialists Born Old (below), Paul Gartner and Doug Van Gundy, will join us on October 31.

Also on board for October 31 are The Black Lillies (above). This group has made a lot of noise lately with showcases at the Americana Music Association festival in Nashville and the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion in Bristol TN/VA. The group features Cruz Contreras, who appeared on our show as a member of Robinella & The CC Stringband. The Black Lillies' new album is available for pre-order with some perks, and will be out October 26. The line-up also features Carrie Rodriguez, songwriting legend Jimmy Webb and The Chapin Sisters.

November 7 – We’ve added country music sensations Joey & Rory to our line-up on November 7 in Morgantown with our friends at WVU Arts & Entertainment. They’re busy opening shows with the Zac Brown Band, with whom Rory co-wrote their current hit “This Song’s For You.”

We’ll be at the Creative Arts Center and the line-up includes Hot Rize, featuring WV’s own Tim O’Brien, plus their honky-tonk alter-egos Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers. We’ll have performances from former Wall of Voodoo man Stan Ridgway, who released a wonderful new collection called “Neon Mirage” in August, and alt-folkie Peter Case, whose brilliant new album Wig! is out now.

Tickets for this show are available at TicketMaster and by phone at 304.293.SHOW.

November 21 – We’ve added Long Beach rockers Delta Spirit to the show on November 21. Their latest CD (and vinyl) “History From Below” has a special Amazon-exclusive version and has been garnering praise all around. They join us along with Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub, Anais Mitchell, Horse Feathers and Danielle Ate the Sandwich. Get your tickets online, by phone at 800.594.TIXX or locally at Taylor Books, downtown, Charleston.

So many exciting shows. Get your tickets now and don't miss out.

Our December 5 show at the Culture Center Theater featuring Cake, Hot Club of Cowtown, Old 97's and Hayes Carll is SOLD OUT exactly two months away.

It looks like our November 14 show featuring the Punch Brothers (below), Infamous Stringdusters, The Weepies and Trampled By Turtles could be selling out soon. If you don't want to miss any of our upcoming Live Shows then get your tickets NOW.

Meanwhile this Sunday, October 10, we're welcoming The Hold Steady, Brooke Waggoner, Crooked Still, Joe Pug and Matt White. There are some tickets still available for this one at Taylor Books locally, by phone at 800.594.TIXX or Online.

Here's a really great interview with the Hold Steady's Craig Finn at The AV Club Chicago, where he talks about the bands fifth record "Heaven Is Whenever" (Click to purchase on CD, MP3 and Vinyl).

Don't miss out and have to hear about it from your friends, get your tickets now!