Mountain Blog

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded at the Creative Arts Center on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown. You’ll hear from Irish singer Paul Brady, genre-bending cellist Ben Sollee, singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, folk duo Vandaveer, and up-tempo Celtic group Scythian.

One of the greats of folk music, beloved Irish singer Paul Brady grew up listening to R&B and soul, playing in bands throughout his college years – and later, when he started to make a name for himself as a folk and traditional singer, it was this background that added a truly unique dimension to his sound. Preview his performance via our Song of the Week.

Cellist Ben Sollee has appeared on Mountain Stage many times – recently with the Sparrow Quartet and with the Appalachian Voices project. Born and raised in Kentucky, his solo work combines elements of folk and Americana with rock and hip hop rhythms – skillfully executed by his drummer, fellow Kentuckian Jordon Ellis. You can get a taste of Sollee’s performance in our new “Backstage at Mountain Stage” video above.

Akron, OH, singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur was discovered by Peter Gabriel in the mid-'90s and signed to his Real World label. Often compared to Leonard Cohen and the late Jeff Buckley, Arthur also is known for using an impressive assortment of electronic gadgets and effects to give a unique sonic dimension to his songs. His most recent release is The Graduation Ceremony.

DC-based folk duo Vandaveer make their first appearance on Mountain Stage. Headed up by alt-country musician Mark Charles Heidinger, he’s joined by vocalist Rose Guerin, they’ve shared the stage with Bon Iver, Alejandro Escovedo, Vashti Bunyan and Joe Pug.

And you also hear from DC based Celtic band Scythian. Featuring twin fiddles and energy to spare, Scythian sets themselves apart from most traditional bands by blending Celtic music and bluegrass with decidedly gypsy edge – a product of founder Alexander Fedoryka Ukrainian ancestry..

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area. 

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook for the latest news about our upcoming broadcasts, and follow us on Twitter for news about our Live Show Schedule.

Your listening is what makes Mountain Stage possible – thanks for your support.

 

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage is another special edition that we’ve selected from our archives. Originally recorded in December 2007, you’ll hear from singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, Justine Currie of Scottish hitmakers Del Amitiri, Ingrid Michaelson, Moya Brennan and Matt Nathanson.

Click here to view the playlist, and click here find a time and station where you can listen. And as always, you can catch a preview of the show via our Song of the Week. This time, you can stream Vega’s touching, breakthrough hit “Luca.”

Widely regarded as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been labeled contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. 

Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known halls. In performances devoid of outward drama that nevertheless convey deep emotion, Vega sings in a distinctive, clear voice that has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper- brushed near-whisper” and as “plaintive but disarmingly powerful.”

Justin Currie was still in his teens when he co-founded Del Amitri in his hometown of Glasgow, Scottland. Between 1982 and 2002, the band evolved from resourceful D.I.Y. indie combo to international hitmakers, releasing six much-loved studio albums before amicably parting ways. 

As that band's lead singer, bassist and main songwriter, Currie built a formidable body of work that showcased his knack for melding infectious melodies and barbed lyrics.  He's continued to make accessible yet challenging music in his solo career, which he launched with 2007's widely acclaimed What Is Love For. 

With her piano-fueled songwriting, witty wordplay, and slight vocal vibrato, Ingrid Michaelson carries the tradition of the female singer-songwriter into the 21st century. Befitting a musician of the digital age, Michaelson first gained wide exposure through spots on TV soundtracks, including Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill.

Born and raised on New York's Staten Island, she began exploring music through piano lessons at the age of four. After college, she toured with a national theater troupe and spent her free time writing songs, later compiling and distributing them online. Michaelson released her proper debut, Girls and Boys in 2006. Following the inclusion of her music in several episodes of Grey's Anatomy, she then released a remastered version of the album in January 2007. Three months later, she won the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest.

Renounced is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist Moya Brennan began performing professionally in 1970 when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music". Moya released her first solo album in 1992 called Máire, and her solo career has remained successful to this day, many years after Clannad took a hiatus in 1996.

She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, and has won an Emmy. She has recorded with many world-famous musicians and has provided music for several soundtracks, including Titanic, To End All Wars and King Arthur.

Matt Nathanson’s 2007 release Some Mad Hope produced the smash hit single “Come On Get Higher” which sold over 2 million copies, and subsequent singles “Car Crash,” “Falling Apart,” and “All We Are.”

The success earned Nathanson the coveted spot as a VH1 You Oughta Know artist, and he has graced the stages of such national television shows as David Letterman, Ellen, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson. His songs have been featured in numerous film and television programs, and his live shows have resulted in sold out tours across the U.S., Canada and Australia.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest. And check us out on Tumblr for a behind the scenes look at the show. Thanks for listening!

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special archive edition that we’ve selected from our recording vault. Originally recorded on June 26, 2005, you’ll hear from progressive acoustic supergroup Nickel Creek, acclaimed jazz orchestra Pink Martini, Americana star Kathleen Edwards, and the phenomenal young singer-songwriter Sonya Kitchell.

Click here to view the playlist, and click here find a time and station where you can listen. And as always, you can catch a preview of the show via our Song of the Week. This time, it’s Nickel Creek, with their breakthrough song “Reasons Why.”

Nickel Creek was perhaps the best known acoustic music group of the late 90’s and early 00’s. They formed in 1989 in Carlsbad California, when the three principal members, Chris Thile, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins were still children. They released six albums before parting ways in 2007, by which time they were widely credited with introducing a younger generation to the sounds of bluegrass and its progressive acoustic offspring.

Nickel Creek won a Grammy in 2003 for Best Contemporary Folk Recording, and visited the Mountain Stage four times, the last being this performance in June of 2005. Since the breakup each member has continued to perform and return to Mountain Stage in various configurations – Sean Watkins with WPA and Fiction Family; Chris Thile with Punch Brothers, and alongside Bela Fleck; and Sara Watkins with her own band.

Pink Martini had already been together for 11 years when they appeared on this Mountain Stage show in June of 2005. Formed in Portland, Oregon by pianist Thomas Lauderdale, they were from the very beginning a “little orchestra” with many international influences. During any given set, you’re likely to hear a wide range of musical styles from all over the world, and songs in many languages.

Their release at the time of this performance was the album Hang On Little Tomato, but they reach back to their first recording for one of their most famous tunes, “Sympathique” which was nominated for Song of the Year in France, and is often sung by striking French workers. Pink Martini continues to tour the world, and can range in size from eight to a dozen or more, including guest vocalists. This set features original vocalist China Forbes, who was Lauderdale’s classmate at Harvard University.

Now one of Americana’s most highly regarded female performers, Kathleen Edwards was born in Ottawa, Canada, and began playing violin at 5. Her family moved overseas, where removed from the influence of mainstream North American pop music, Edwards delved into her older brother's collection of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and early Tom Petty records.

After high school, she landed back in Ottawa, where she sang and played her guitar in local clubs while networking with other musicians in the scene. Her widely acclaimed debut album Failer was released in 2003, earning Edwards opening spots for Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. In 2005 she released her follow-up Back to Me, which began to introduce pop elements into her dusty Americana sound. Her most recent album Voyager was produced by Justin Vernon of indie rock sensation Bon Iver.

Released when she was 15, Sonya Kitchell’s Words Come Back to Me established the young singer-songwriter as an artist to watch. A native of Massachusetts, Kitchell first discovered her songwriting talent on the afternoon of September 11, 2001, when she returned from school so shaken that she turned her journal entries into a song. Local press attention led to a one-off date at the Iron Horse Music Hall, a prominent local folk-oriented venue, which then led to the formation of a full-time gigging band.

She was awarded “Best Jazz Vocal” and “Best Original Song” from the 2003 Down Beat Student Music Awards with her song “Romance,” and her CD The Storm was produced by Daniel Lanois cohort Malcolm Burn. Her career took yet another turn when she was tapped by jazz legend Herbie Hancock for a world tour in 2007, celebrating the music of Joni Mitchell.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest. And check us out on Tumblr for a behind the scenes look at the show. Thanks for listening!

This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded on the road in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in partnership with our friends at theNorth House Folk School, as a part of their tenth-annual Unplugged concert series. 

The second of the two shows Mountain Stage recorded on the shores of Lake Superior, you’ll hear from Mountain Stage favorites Tim O’Brien and Kathy Mattea, along with the Great Lake Swimmers, Cathie Ryan, Sally Barris and Jon Vezner.

A favorite of Mountain Stage audiences, crew members, listeners and fellow guest artists, Tim O’Brien has long held the record for appearing on the show more than any other artist. O’Brien plays several songs from his latest album “Chicken & Egg,” and can also be heard playing alongside other guests throughout the show, including Mattea and Ryan. You can listen to a preview of O'Brien's performance via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

Rightfully referred to by host Larry Groce as “our sweetheart,” Kathy Mattea needs no introduction to Mountain Stage audiences. Mattea marks her 14^th appearance on the show, alongside Tim O’Brien on fiddle, and longtime sideman Bill Cooley on lead guitar.

You can catch a preview of her performance via our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video – which we’re proud to present in glorious high definition.

Irish-American singer Cathie Ryan makes her third appearance on Mountain Stage. Born in Detroit to Irish parents, Ryan has made her home in Ireland for some time now, and spent years fronting the ensemble Cherish the Ladies. She’s backed by The Mountain Stage band, along with Bill Cooley and of course, Tim O'Brien.

You also hear from the Great Lake Swimmers. This Toronto-based band was a natural fit for a show recorded in Grand Marais, and contrary to the joke made by Tim O’Brien, didn’t actually swim to the show. fronted by songwriter Tony Dekker, the group’s most recent record "Lost Channels" was recorded in different spots around the Thousand Islands region of the Saint Lawrence River. Inexplicably, the Great Lake Swimmers were not backed by Tim O'Brien.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sally Barris makes her first appearance on Mountain Stage. Barris has written songs for some of country music’s top-selling artists, including Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Lee Ann Womack and Kellie Pickler.

And last but certainly not least, you’ll hear from Jon Vezner. One of Nashville’s most respected songwriters, Vezner earned a Grammy for the song “Where’ve You Been,” which was recorded by his wife, Kathy Mattea. A Minnesota native, Vezner has served as the director of the Unplugged concert series, a fundraiser for the North House Folk School since its inception. His most recent recording is "I Like This Town."

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area. 

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook for the latest news about our upcoming broadcasts, and follow us on Twitter for news about our Live Show Schedule.

Thank you, as always, for listening to Mountain Stage.

After several days of triple-digit temperatures here in West Virginia, many of us are dreaming of fall already. With that in mind, Mountain Stage is happy to announce that October 14, we’ll be making the short trip up to Athens, OH, home of Ohio University and long-time affiliate WOUB-FM. Our guests will be Memphis-based country rockers extraordinaire Lucero; fiddle player and singer-songwriter Sara Watkins, and other guests to be announced.

Watkins new album "Sun Midnight Sun" was produced by Simon Dawes co-founder Blake Mills, and features contributions from Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, Taylor Goldsmith, and Benmont Tench. You can also listen to Watkins on Mountain Stage this month, when her 2005 appearance with Nickel Creek is rebroadcast.

"Women & Work" is Lucero’s 8^th studio album in 14 years. Integrating horns, pedal steel guitar, all manner of keyboards, and even a full-on gospel chorus, Women & Work draws inspiration from Delaney & Bonnie’s obscure first album, Home, on the Stax records label. Women & Work is said to sound like “Arcade Fire baptized in Joe Cocker and Leon Russell’s Mad Dogs, then warmed with Don Nix’s Alabama State Troopers.”

Tickets for this show go on sale beginning Thursday, July 12. They’ll be available online, by phone at (740.593.1780) and in person at the Templeton Blackburn Memorial Auditorium box office, Monday through Friday, 12pm -5pm. See our entire Live Show Schedule for more fall dates.

Watch this space for more information about this show when it becomes available, or link up to us on Facebook & Twitter for the latest news.

First off, tickets for our 2 September shows in Grand Marais Minnesota are now on sale. If you’re in the area, we hope you can come, and if not, we’ll be announcing many more West Virginia dates this fall. In the meantime, we’re honored that Mountain Stage has the opportunity to bring a little slice of West Virginia to the places we’re able to visit. Even when you're not there, you're still with us wherever we go.

Second – as you know, 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest winner Arthur Alligood performed on the show just a couple weeks ago. And just last week, 2 of the 12 finalists for this year’s contest were announced. They’ll perform in the live competition finals at Lincoln Center on October 20. The winner will record a fully-funded album with producer lestyn Polson, and perform on Mountain Stage sometime in 2013. Visit the NewSong website for information on how to enter. Now is a good time – through this Sunday, July 8^th, the entry fees for the contest have been greatly reduced.

Watch this space for more information about Mountain Stage. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Twitter, and see even more over at the Mountain Stage Tumblr.

This week's encore broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded on the road in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in partnership with our friends at the North House Folk School , as a part of their 10^th annual Unplugged concert series.

Click here to see a list of stations and times where you can listen. As always, you can catch a preview of this week's show via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.   

Captured in a tent on a chilly autumn night on Minnesota's north shore of Lake Superior, you'll hear from acclaimed singer-songwriter (and frequent Mountain Stage guest) John Gorka, along with Cheryl Wheeler, Lindsay Mac, Michael Johnson, Pat Donohue and Mary Flower. 

 Lauded by Rolling Stone Magazine as “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the new folk movement,” John Gorka’s  songs have been recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mary Black, Maura O’Connell and Nanci Griffith. A mainstay of the folk scene since the mid 1980's, Gorka most recently appeared on Mountain Stage in February as a part of the super-trio Red Horse.  

 As always, Gorka balances his rich baritone and introspective subject matter with his trademark dry wit and humor – a mix that makes for a set that is both moving and hilarious at the same time. (A theme that was carried by each guest throughout the entire show).
 

 

You'll also hear from Cheryl Wheeler. A natural entertainer and gifted storyteller, Wheeler is known for her ability to write both touching ballads and witty social satire. To understand what we're talking about, you need look no further than the playlist – Cheryl's set includes the tender, reflective song “Alice,” and closes with “Lady Ga Ga's Singing Program” – likely the first folk ballad written about the phenomenon known as Lady Ga Ga, and most certainly the best.

Classical cellist turned folk-pop songwriter  Lindsay Mac makes her first appearance on Mountain Stage. Raised in Iowa, Mac earned a degree from Dartmouth before pursuing music full time at the Berklee College of Music. Around this time she developed her own technique for integrating the cello into her music – playing pizzicato, while standing, like a large guitar. She closes her set with the touching musical parable “Seven Little Stones” from her album Stop Thinking.

Singer-songwriter Michael Johnson also appears. With a musical resume that ranges from folk to pop, to soft rock and country, Michael Johnson is both an accomplished singer-songwriter and classical guitarist. He earned recognition in the late 70's for his adult contemporary hit “Bluer Than Blue,” and charted several more times as a country artist in the 1980's. 

 

 During his set, Johnson shares a heartfelt story about how his life was recently changed for the better when he reunited with his adult daughter – a story that was later turned on its head by born joker Cheryl Wheeler – creating a running joke that persisted throughout all three nights of Unplugged. 

 

The show kicks off with guitar-slinging duo Pat Donohue and Mary Flower. As the house guitarist for Prairie Home Companion, Pat Donohue is one of America's most gifted players, and one of a select few to have a Martin signature model that bares his name. His tune “Would You Like to Play the Guitar” is one of the most insightful and hilarious songs ever written about the toils of being a working musician.  

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Mary Flower is one of America's foremost masters of the difficult Piedmont-style of blues guitar playing, and the only woman to ever win the prestigious National Finger Picking Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Donohue and Flower close their set with “Grand Marais Blues,” a tune they wrote just hours earlier about their experience on the North Shore. 

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area.   

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook for the latest news about our upcoming live shows and premier broadcasts. Follow us on Tumblr for even more behind the scenes photos and stories.
 

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage.