Mountain Blog

Have you heard this week's Song of the Week yet? It's a special treat as we get to hear the Mountain Stage theme song in its entirety, as peformed by the composer and host of the show, Larry Groce.

We took the show to Grafton, WV in May 2008, home of the International Mother's Day Shrine, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the special holiday.

When a guest had to cancel due to health problems, Larry agreed to step in an do a set of "Mother Songs." He included a special rendition of "A Simple Song," the song you hear abbreviated every week at the beginning of Mountain Stage.

You can hear the song, with moving lyrics appropriate for Mother's Day, by going to our Song of the Week page. 

You can hear Larry's full set, along with music by Lucy Kaplansky, Rory Block, Sara Hickman and the Hillbilly Gypsies on this weekend's edition of Mountain Stage.

Click here for a list of stations in your area, or you can listen on-line via the WV Public Radio web-stream (click the link to open). Log on Sunday at 3pm for the Mountain Stage Mother's Day Celebration.

Living legend and icon of folk music Joan Baez has released a deluxe collector's edition of her acclaimed album Gone from Danger which includes a second disc recorded entirely on Mountain Stage in 1997.

This special edition of Mountain Stage featured Baez in addition to many of the songwriters who contributed tracks to Gone from Danger. Joan is joined by Dar Williams, Sinead Lohan, Richard Shindell and Betty Elders.

Also on the expanded edition is a never-before released concert favorite, "Long Bed From Kenya" and a duet with Lohan on Bob Dylan's "To Ramona."

"We're delighted to be able include this performance on this CD," says Baez's manager Mark Spector, "It's such a great listen."

The Mountain Stage staff is generously credited in the linear notes, including chief engineer and co-founder of the show, Francis Fisher, who  mixed the original recording for broadcast.

You can pick the record up on Joan's own label, Bobolink, here.

Mountain Stage is honored to be associated with such a great album from a seminal artist like Baez. She's made four appearances on Mountain Stage, most recently in 2003 (pictured above).

Joan's new studio record, Day After Tomorrow, is produced by an upcoming guest, Steve Earle, and features instrumentation by Wheeling, WV native Tim O'Brien. You can sample Day After Tomorrow on Joan's MySpace.

Baez has been especially active in recent months. She has guested on albums by John Mellencamp and Thea Gilmore, appeared on a tribute to Judy Collins and received the Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award at the Americana Music Association's seventh annual awards show.

She performed at the First Inaugural Peace Ball following the presidential inauguration. Grammy-winning classical guitarist Sharon Isbin's Journey To The New World contains vocals by Baez as well as a guitar suite comprised of songs from Baez's early career.  Most recently she performed at a concert to celebrate the 90th birthday of Pete Seeger.

As a matter of fact, today she will make a special guest appearance at Songs of Survival: Voices from Burma, a benefit event for the Foundation for the People of Burma at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

You can still get tickets to this Sunday's live recording in Charleston. You can buy ONLINE, call 800-594-TIXX to charge by phone, swing by Taylor Books if you're in downtown Charleston or show up at the Cultural Center Theater (State Capitol Complex - Greenbrier & Washington Streets Exit 99 off I-77/64) at 5pm Sunday when we open the box office. 

Check out our NEWSLETTER (PDF file, Adobe Reader required) which features a bit of info on each of our guests plus links to their respective Web sites. Thanks to Shawn Patterson at WV Public Broadcasting for putting it together.

Singer, songwriter, entertainer and father of three, Pat McGee took time to talk to Bill Lynch at the Charleston Gazette. Read what he's up to by clicking HERE. Looks like he might do some solo stuff and a few numbers with the Mountain Stage Band.

Canadian blues man and renowned guitarist and producer Colin Linden is returning to the Mountain Stage May 3. He first performed in the band of fellow Northerner Bruce Cockburn. Linden has produced something like 70 records and appeared on over 300. He has collaborated with Alison Krauss & Robert Plant and is a member of Canadian rock super group Blackie & the Rodeo Kings (who just put out a greatest hits record). His latest CD is called From the Water . For more on the rest of our guests you can read the newsletter or our press release. This show promises to be eclectic and down-right good.

Singer, songwriter and upright bassist Amy LaVere can be heard today over at NPR Music. She's got a deceptively innocent voice-especially when she gives you a line like "Killing him didn't make the love go away." You just gotta hear this set.

This wasn't the first time on Mountain Stage for Amy's guitarist Steve Selvidge, who had performed along side his father, fellow Archer Records recording artist Sid Selvidge in July 1993.

More great music to come, so stay tuned the Mountain Stage blog!