Mountain Blog

We are happy to announce a new Mountain Stage live show, happening August 14 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia featuring Ollabelle.

Taking their name from influential Appalachian songwriter Ola Belle Reed, Ollabelle’s five members (who all sing and play) blend indigenous American music styles, mixing folk, blues, and gospel. Ollabelle’s self-titled first album was produced by roots music legend T-Bone Burnett, and their second album Riverside Battle Songs was co-produced with former Bob Dylan band member Larry Campbell.

And speaking of “bands,” two members of Ollabelle are regular members of the Levon Helm Band: bassist Byron Issacs, and mandola player Amy Helm – Levon’s daughter. Ollabelle's forthcoming album will be called Neon Blue Bird.

We’ll also be joined by The Henry Girls. From Inishowen in County Donegal, Ireland, Sisters Joleen, Lorna and Karen McLaughlin named their band after the local family nickname, Henry. Since forming in 2001, they’ve earned a following based on their eclectic mix of folk, blues and traditional Irish music.

They appeared at the 2011 Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, Scotland (where they first came to the attention of Mountain Stage), and count West Virginia’s The Fox Hunt among their musical friends.The Henry Girls' most recent album is Dawn.

Continue to check back in with Mountain Stage here and on facebook to receive the latest information about additional acts as they are added to this show. Tickets for this show will be on sale soon, both online and at Taylor Books. The doors open at 6:30 and the show will start at 7:00.

This week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage features Appalachian Voices: Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket, genre-bending cellist Ben Sollee and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Martin Moore. United by their concerns about coal mining practices and its affects on the Appalachian region from which they came, the group play material from their album Dear Companion.

We’re also joined by Tracy Bonham. Her influential 1996 debut, The Burdens of Being Upright garnered Grammy nominations for "Best Female Vocalist" and "Best Alternative Rock Performance."

She's released four more albums since and has been involved in several different projects over the years, including singing and playing with Blue Man Group on their "Complex Rock Tour Live."

Her most recent album, Masts of Manhattan was recorded mostly between her homes in Brooklyn and Woodstock New York.

Making his second appearance on the show is Jeff Daniels – yes, that Jeff Daniels. While you no doubt know Daniels as an actor from movies like Dumb and Dumber and The Squid and the Whale, he is also a committed folk singer. Daniels plays regular shows in his native Michigan, and has released several albums over the years, the most recent being Grandfather’s Hat and Keep it Right Here.

You can hear a preview of the show by winsome singer/songwriter Carsie Blanton who sings the title track from her album Buoy for our Mountain Stage Song of the Week. Taking her musical cues Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell and even John Prine, Blanton has appeared on stage alongside Amos Lee, Nellie McKay and the Weepies.

We also had the opportunity to showcase a unique Appalachian instrument called the bowed psaltery. Tish and Greg Westman, or Psaltrio, make these instruments at their Tamarack Studio alongside some of the most well respected crafters in the world. Visit their website here and check out their performance on this week’s show.

Click here to find a list of stations where you can listen in your area. Like us on facebook to stay connected with the latest news and information about the show, and subscribe to the Mountain Stage YouTube channel to see backstage and performance videos with our guest that can't be found anywhere else. Thanks for your support.

Mountain Stage is happy to announce three new additions to our live show schedule. The first will be August 28^th at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, featuring Latin funk stars Grupo Fantasma. These recent Grammy winners headlined Wine and All That Jazz at FestivAll Charleston this weekend, and we’re excited to bring them back in August for Mountain Stage. Also appearing on this show is the contemporary bluegrass trio The Greencards, Canadian alt-country band Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, and accomplished rhythm & blues singer Tracy Nelson. Tickets for this show will be available at Taylor Books, and online.

We’re also thrilled to announce that Mountain Stage will be Traveling to the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota this September for two back-to-back shows. These shows will occur in conjunction with North House’s tenth anniversary Unplugged event, and is possible because of their help, and the support of Minnesota affiliate stations WTIP and KUMD. These shows are set for the 15^th and 16^th of September. John Gorka and Cheryl Wheeler are set to appear the first night, and on the 16^th our guests will be Kathy Mattea and Tim O'Brien. Additional acts for these shows will be announced soon, so keep checking back with us for the latest information. For tickets, visit the North House Folk School’s website.

And finally, we’d like to make sure that you check back with us for an exciting announcement coming July 1 concerning our next visit to Bristol, in conjunction with our friends at the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance. Stay tuned!

Mountain Stage is at the Culture Center Theater again this weekend for the second of our shows in conjunction with FestivALL Charleston. It’s a bluegrass-themed show, featuring Mountain Heart, the Charlie Sizemore Band, Shawn Camp, Greensky Bluegrass, and Diana Jones.

Originally formed in 1998 by members of bluegrass legend Doyle Lawson’s and Quicksilver, Mountain Heart returns to Mountain Stage in the thick of their busy summer festival schedule. Now fronted by vocalist Josh Shilling, Mountain Heart’s uncommon ability to combine (mostly) traditional bluegrass music with live energy evocative of the best rock & roll shows has won them a loyal following across genres. They’ve appeared on the Grand Ole Opry numerous times, and shared the stage with Lynyrd Snynyrd, Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisely and George Jones. Their latest release is That Just Happened.

A clear, crisp tenor and a respected songwriter, Charlie Sizemore spent nine years as a singer for Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, directly following in the footsteps of Keith Whitley. Balancing his career as a lawyer, family man and bluegrass singer, Sizemore has released several acclaimed albums, including his latest, "Heartache Looking For a Home," released in February, 2011.

Shawn Camp moved to Nashville at age 20 and quickly landed a slot playing fiddle for the Osborne Brothers. From there, he moved on to play with Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Jerry Reed, Suzy Boggus and Shelby Lynne. He kicked off a solo career in the early-‘90s with the Top 40 single “Fallin’ Never Felt So Good.” Since then, Camp has earned respect as a songwriter, penning number one hits for Garth Brooks (“Two Pina Coladas”) and Brooks & Dunn (“How Long Gone”).Camp recently came to the attention of Warner Music Nashville President John Esposito, who discovered that Warner/Reprise had shelved an album Camp recorded in 1994. Available at last, it has been re-titled 1994.

Since winning the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition, Michigan's Greensky Bluegrass have been playing more than 170 shows a year and sharing stages with Tony Rice and Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Yonder Mountain String Band and Railroad Earth. The group uses traditional bluegrass instruments to craft original songs and soundscapes. They also venture into exploratory rock ‘n’ roll jams, and give songs by the Talking Heads, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead and Bob Marley a bluegrass twist. The group’s fourth album, Five Interstates was produced by Railroad Earth’s Tim Carbone.

Raised in the Northeast but with roots that go back to the Tennessee mountains, Diana Jones sings her own blend of country, blues and mountain music in the vein of Gillian Welch and Iris DeMent. The title of her current release, “High Atmosphere,” refers to flooding that occurred in Nashville in 2010 and how her house - built on top of hill in 1900 - escaped damaged. A New York Times profile said of Jones, “she approaches the mountain-ballad tradition not as a curiosity or antique but as a renewable vernacular that’s just as capable of speaking to the human condition now as it was 80 years ago.”

Tickets are still available for this show online and at Taylor Books. The doors will open at 6:30, and the show begins at 7. See our live schedule for more information about our upcoming shows, and don’t forget to check in with us on facebook for the latest news and announcements. See you at the show!

The Mountain Stage familiy is saddened to learn that one of America’s greatest storytellers has passed away. As reported by the New York Times, Kathryn Tucker Windham, known for her collections of ghost stories and other folk lore, passed away Sunday at her home in Selma, AL. She was 93. 

Windham made two appearances on Mountain Stage, in February 1987 and November of 1988. The photo above features Windham and Associate Producer Linda McSparin, who is holding Johanna Ridenour. The figure on Windham’s necklace and T-shirt is Jeffrey, who appeared regularly in her stories, including “13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey.”

Born in Selma, AL, she wrote and performed her ghost stories and folk lore after a pioneering career as a journalist in her home state. In 2003, in celebration of her 85 birthday, Alabama Southern Community College in Thomasville, AL opened the Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum.

 

A few tickets still remain of this weekend's show at the Culture Center Theater, featuring Wanda Jackson, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & the Wronglers, Scotland's New Rope String Band and Carolyn Wonderland.

Wanda Jackson is the undisputed queen of rockabilly, and at 73 is going stronger than ever with her new Jack White-produced album, aptly titled The Party Ain't Over. Just this weekend, Jackson was recognized by Spin magazine as having one of the best sets at Bonnaroo. 

No stranger to Mountain Stage audiences, Joe Ely has epitomized the rugged Texas singer/songwriter tradition. As a member of the legendary ‘70s band the Flatlanders - which also featured fellow Texans Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock - he helped pioneer the alt-country genre. His first release of new material in four years is Satisfied at Last.

And speaking of Jimmie Dale Gilmore -- he's also on this Sunday's show, backed by The Wronglers, a bluegrass band headed up by San Francisco billionaire-impresario-banjoist Warren Hellman, founder of the wildly popular Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. Their record is called Heirloom Music.

Powerful blues-rocker Carolyn Wonderland will also appear. Carolyn's incendiary guitar and raw, powerful vocals draw instant comparisons to fellow Texans Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Click here to see what we mean.

And finally, The New Rope String Band will make their first ever appearance in the United States, all the way from the Scotland. Combining superb musicianship with side-splitting comic genius, the three members of the New Rope String Band are truly unique entertainers. Elements of circus, clowning, vaudeville, slapstick and sheer inspired silliness are spliced with beautiful acoustic music from various world traditions.

Tickets to this show are available at Taylor Books and online. The doors open at 6:30, and the show starts at 7pm. We hope to see you there!Visit our Live Show Schedule for more upcoming shows.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage features the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama, Bell X-1, Marti Jones & Don Dixon, Amy LaVere, and Tristen; recorded live at the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center.

After singing quartet-style gospel together for more than 65 years, The Blind Boys of Alabama need little introduction. They recently released Take the High Road, their first ever album of country tunes, featuring collaborations with Hank Williams Jr., Vince Gill and others. Their rousing, soulful performance brought -- and kept -- this Mountain Stage audience on its feet for nearly their entire set.

Second only to U2 as Ireland’s most popular rock band, sophisticated indie rockers Bell X1 evoke early Radiohead, Coldplay and the Talking Heads. With two guitar players pulling double duty on keyboards and laptop computers, Bell X1 creates melodic rock that is layered and complex, but completely uncluttered. Their most recent record is Bloodless Coup.

After hearing husband and wife duo Marti Jones and Don Dixon, you will understand why they’ve earned a reputation as the first family of jangle-pop. Dixon has produced bands ranging from R.E.M. and the Smithereens to James McMurtry, and spent much of the last two years playing bass in Mary Chapin Carpenter’s touring band.

Marti Jones (who is also an accomplished painter) music career began with the Ohio-based band Color Me Gone, and has continued with a string of solo releases and a tour with singer-songwriter Amy Rigby in 2005. The duo’s album of duets is called Living Stereo.

Singer/songwriter and upright bassist Amy LaVere was born near the Texas and Louisiana border, and moved 13 times before she finished high school in Detroit. After stops in Louisiana and Nashville, LaVere settled in Memphis, where she began to perform as a solo artist.

She played pioneering rockabilly femme Wanda Jackson in Walk the Line and appeared in the film Black Snake Moan. Her forthcoming record Stranger Me (available July 19) was produced by Craig Silvey, who also produced Arcade Fire’s Grammy winning release The Suburbs.

Tristen has been rapidly making a name for herself throughout the indie music scene. Fronted by Tristen Gaspadarek, the group’s debut album Charlatans At the Garden Gate boasts twang-infused pop sound and rich vocal hooks.

Click here to find a list of stations where you can listen in your area. Follow us on facebook to stay connected with the latest news and information about the show, and subscribe to the Mountain Stage YouTube channel to see backstage and performance videos with our guest that can't be found anywhere else. Thanks for listening!

Mountain Stage is happy to announce that John Oates will be appearing on our August 7 show at the Civic Center Little Theater in Charleston, West Virginia. Tickets for this show will go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 15.

As one half of Hall and Oates – one of the most successful rock duos of all time – it is difficult to overstate John Oates’ impact on popular music. Although he’s played on, written songs for and produced recordings for dozens of other artists, Oates has been doing solo tours of his own for nearly a decade, often playing surprisingly retooled versions of songs from his early career.

“I’m not a big fan of Hall and Oates without Hall,” he has humorously explained. “When I play solo, I don’t ignore my history, but I put a different spin on the songs people have heard a million times.”

It's this sensibility that Oates has applied to his new album, Mississippi Mile, which explores the rhythm & blues and soul roots of the music he made famous. The record features contributions from bluegrass legends Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas, and was produced by Mike Henderson of the Steeldrivers.

Also appearing on this show is Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Amber Rubarth, winner of the 2010 Mountain Stage New Song Contest. Rubarth is currently working on a new album with Grammy-winning producer and engineer Jacquire King, whose credits include landmark albums by Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Modest Mouse, Buddy Guy and Kings of Leon.

Tickets for this show will be on sale beginning June 15 at the Civic Center box office, 200 Civic Center Drive in Charleston and online through Ticketmaster (with applicable fees).

Keep checking in with us on the Mountain Stage blog to learn about the additional artists who will appear on this show, and be sure follow Mountain Stage on facebook to stay in touch with the very latest news and information.

The first Mountain Stage show of FestivALL Charleston is coming up this Sunday at the Culture Center Theater, featuring Wanda Jackson (who was just recognized by Spin for as having one of the five best sets at the second day of Bonnaroo).

Mountain Stage is just one of many events happening during FestivALL Charleston, and if you're having a hard time keeping track of it all, we encourage you to download the free FestivALL app for your iPhone.

You can use the iPhone app to browse FestivALL events by date, venue, artist, or genre; as well as build your own custom FestivALL schedule by creating a list of events that you don't want to miss.

Tickets to events that are sold online also are available through the app, including tickets to this week's Mountain Stage. It’s handy and it’s free, so we encourage anyone who’s interested in FestivALL to check it out.

And if you're not an iPhone user, you can still have the entire FestivALL schedule at your fingertips on your Blackberry or Android via the FestivALL mobile site.

This week’s Mountain Stage broadcast features the third appearance by neo-soul singer/songwriter Amos Lee. Recorded in front of a sold-out audience in Charleston, Lee delivers a smooth set of songs in support of his new album Mission Bell. Backed by a seven-member band that includes pedal steel guitar, keyboards, and banjo, Lee commands a rich voice that evokes singers ranging from Otis Redding to Steve Winwood and John Fogerty.

Check out a preview in our Song of the Week, with Amos Lee performing "Jesus" from the Mission Bell. 

Making her fifth appearance on Mountain Stage is the vivacious and multi-talented Nellie McKay. Her most recent album, Home Sweet Mobile Home, was produced by McKay and her mother, actress Robin Pappas, with artistic input from David Byrne of the Talking Heads. McKay is backed during her set by the Mountain Stage band. Here she is in our interview, "Backstage at Mountain Stage."

The rootsy, harmonious, award-winning Canadian folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys also appear. Their Mountain Stage set includes songs by Julie Miller and Emmylou Harris, and the band’s most recent release, Bright Morning Stars, has drawn comparisons to both Gillian Welch and Fleetwood Mac.

Finally, we’re joined by young singer/songwriter Lauren Pritchard.  Pritchard’s throaty, powerful voice evokes both Patty Griffin and sweet, sunny 70’s soul. Her new album is called Wasted in Jackson and, as you hear in your "Backstage" interview, she starred in the original production of the Duncan Sheik-written, Tony winning musical "Spring Awakening."

Click here to check out the performance playlist, and click here to find a station where you can listen in your area.

Check in with us on Facebook to stay up to date on the latest Mountain Stage news.

Thank you for listening, and thanks for supporting live music on your radio!

This Sunday Mountain Stage travels to the Creative Arts Center in Morgantown, where our guests will be the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama, along with Bell X-1, Marti Jones & Don Dixon, Amy LaVere, and Tristen. Tickets for this show are available now at the Creative Arts Center box office, or by calling 304-293-SHOW. You can also purchase tickets online by clicking here.

For more than 65 years, The Blind Boys of Alabama have been singing quartet-styled gospel anywhere people would listen, from churches and concert halls, to nightclubs and the White House (they have played for the past three presidents). Formed at Alabama's Talladega School for the Blind in the late '30s, the band’s current album Take the High Road features cameos by Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Willie Nelson and Hank Williams, Jr.

The group has won 5 Grammys, and honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Public Radio audiences will likely recognize that their version of the Tom Waits song "Way Down in the Hole," was used as the main title theme for the first season of the acclaimed HBO series “The Wire.”

Second only to U2 as Ireland’s most popular rock band, Bell X1’s music has drawn comparisons to early Radiohead and Coldplay. Known for their infectious hooks and durable melodies, there’s no mystery as to why this quintet has become darlings of the Irish music press. The band's most recent release is Bloodless Coup. Interestingly enough, Bell X1 takes their name from the first aircraft to fly faster than sound, which was piloted by none other than West Virginia native Chuck Yeager.

Marti Jones & Don Dixon are the first family of jangle pop. After performing together for more than 30 years, the pair continue to stake their claim as great songwriters, singers and musicians. Dixon has produced bands ranging from R.E.M. and the Smithereens to James McMurtry, and spent much of the last two years playing in Mary Chapin Carpenter’s touring band. Jones career began with the Ohio-based band Color Me Gone, and has continued with a string of solo releases and a tour with singer-songwriter Amy Rigby in 2005. Their new album, Living Stereo, is available June 7.

Amy LaVere was born to musician parents in a small town near the Texas and Louisiana border, and moved 13 times before she finished high school in Detroit. After stops in Louisiana and Nashville, LaVere settled in Memphis, where she began to perform as a solo artist. She played pioneering rockabilly femme Wanda Jackson in Walk the Line and appeared in the film Black Snake Moan.

Her forthcoming record Stranger Me (available July 19) was produced by Craig Silvey, who also produced Arcade Fire’s Grammy winning release The Suburbs.

As we noted in a previous post, Tristen has been rapidly making a name for herself throughout the indie music scene. Fronted by Tristen Gaspadarek, the group’s debut album Charlatans At the Garden Gate boasts twang-infused jangle-pop sound and rich vocal hooks that landed them an appearance on the influential "Morning Becomes Eclectic" from Santa Monica's KCRW.

Tickets are available at the Creative Arts Center box office, or by calling 304-293-SHOW, and online by clicking here. We hope to see you there!

This Week’s edition of Mountain Stage is an encore broadcast of our second show recorded during FestivALL Charleston 2010, and features country star Dierks Bentley.

Bentley brought along The Travelin’ McCourys, Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle and Alan Bartram on bass, who also helped record Up on the Ridge. They are joined by drummer Steve Mismore and Tim Sargeant on steel guitar.

The band gets to stretch out on the bluegrass standard “Rovin’ Gambler” before Bentley sings the touching “Down in the Mine.” You can hear a preview of this show in our Song of the Week.

Also featured on the show are hotclub swing of The John Jorgenson Quintet. Jorgenson was an original member of the Desert Rose Band, a founder of guitar supergroup The Hellecasters, and spent six years on the road with Elton John’s touring band.

Since his 2004 album Franco American Swing, he has specialized in the hot club sound of Django Reinhardt. With Jason Anick on violin, Doug Martin on rhythm guitar, Simon Planting on bass and Rick Reed on Percussion, the quintet play songs from their latest One Stolen Night.

Fred Eaglesmith makes his fifth appearance on Mountain Stage, bringing his entertaining band and songs from his latest album Cha Cha Cha. With 18 albums under his belt, it’s only fitting that country music stars have recently covered some of his material, including Alan Jackson (“Freight Train”) and Miranda Lambert (“Time to Get A Gun”).

The show kicks off with Bill Kirchen, whose fiery guitar work has earned him a reputation as “The Titan of the Telecaster.” His legacy was solidified in the 1971 hit song “Hot Rod Lincoln,” released by Commander Cody & the Lost Planet Airmen, but Kirchen has continued to make solid records of his own filled with his honky-tonk brand of guitar music.

His most recent release Word to the Wise pairs Kirchen with an all-star cast of guests including Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Dan Hicks.

Click here to check out the performance playlist, and click here to find a station where you can listen in your area. Check in with us on Facebook to stay up to date on the latest Mountain Stage news. Thank you for listening!