Mountain Blog

This week, Mountain Stage is airing an encore broadcast of one of our most exciting shows of 2011. We were thrilled to be joined once again by acclaimed California rock band Dawes, along with roots rockers Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Americana icon James McMurtry, Blitzen Trapper, and Matthew Sweet.

Lead by brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, Dawes returns to Mountain Stage with songs from their new release Nothing Is Wrong. You can hear a live performance of the album’s most talked about track “A Little Bit of Everything” via our Song of the Week. You can also watch host Larry Groce discuss the band’s music with frontman Taylor Goldsmith in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video.

Texas singer-songwriter and icon of Americana music JamesMcMurtry also appears. No stranger to Mountain Stage audiences, McMurtry made his first appearance on the show in 1989. Host Larry Groce rightfully calls McMurtry “One of America’s greatest songwriters,” and influential blogger Bob Lefsetz called McMurtry’s tune “We Can’t Make it Here” “The best protest song of the twenty first century.”

You’ll also hear a set from Jason Isbell and his band The 400 Unit. As former member of Drive-By Truckers, Isbell was responsible for some of the band’s most memorable songs (like “Outfit”). Out on his own since 2007, Isbell has released 3 acclaimed studio albums, the most recent being Here We Rest. At one point in their set, Jason and his band break out an accordion and upright bass for what they called a “Genericana” tune (“…just like the regular, but cheaper!”). They close their set with a blistering cover of Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane."

Portland Oregon-based folk rock band Blitzen Trapper make their first Mountain Stage appearance. Their 2007 album Wild Mountain Nation was met with great enthusiasm by critics, and their 2008 follow-up Furr was named the 13^th best album of the year by Rolling Stone. Their latest, American Goldwing has been met with much of the same enthusiasm.

Finally, you’ll hear some tunes from power pop master Matthew Sweet. Sweet is celebrating the 20^th (!) anniversary of his landmark album Girlfriend, so his set naturally touches on a few of the deeper cuts from that record. His brand new album is called Modern Art.

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Mountain Stage is thrilled to announce that we’ll be returning to Charleston this fall for two very exciting shows at the Culture Center Theater.

On Sunday, October 28 we’ll welcome singer-songwriter Beth Orton, who is set to release her first album in 6 years, called Sugaring Season. Orton is a BRIT Award-winner and two-time Mercury Prize nominee who has collaborated with Bert Jansch, Emmylou Harris, Beck, Jim O'Rourke, Terry Callier, and Ryan Adams among others. Her last album, 2006's Comfort of Strangers, was called "unerringly lovely" by SPIN and "her most accomplished record to date" by Uncut.

We’ll also be joined by singer-songwriter Jesse Harris, and Mexo-Americana folk duo David Wax Museum. Both have appeared on the show before – Harris was on the heels of his Grammy win for the song “Don’t Know Why,” which was recorded by Norah Jones. David Wax Museum stunned a sold-out Mountain Stage audience last March with their upbeat amalgam of Americana and regional Mexican sounds that featured, among other things, a donkey jawbone.

On November 18, we’ll return to the Culture Center for a show featuring Canadian folk heavyweight Bruce Cockburn, and country folk revivalist Iris DeMent.

One of Canada’s most respected and influential singer-songwriters, Bruce Cockburn has appeared on Mountain Stage 12 times, and has earned a loyal following the world over.

DeMent burst onto the Americana scene with Infamous Angel in 1992, and has since released five albums, and collaborated with John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and Steve Earle.

Tickets for both of these shows go on sale at 10 a.m., Tuesday August 14. They’re available online, by phone (800.549.TIXX) and in person at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston.

Additional artists will be added to both of these shows as they are confirmed. Watch this space, along with Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr to learn the latest.