Mountain Blog

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.

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Thanks again for listening to Mountain Stage!