Mountain Blog

Mountain Stage with Larry Groce will be returning to the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center in Huntington as guests of the Marshall Artist Series on Sunday November 4.

Tickets for this show go on sale today (August 30) at noon. Advance tickets are $25, and full-time Marshall students can get one free ticket with a valid student I.D.

Tickets are available online, by phone (304.696.6656) and in person at the Marshall Artist Series Box Office.

We’ll be joined by highly acclaimed Philadelphia-based indie-rockers Dr. Dog, whose heavily Beatles-influenced sound is evidenced on their latest ANTI- records release Be The Void. They recently recorded an episode of Austin City Limits for PBS and played a main-stage set at Louisville, KY’s Forecastle Music Festival.

Also appearing is folk trio The Mountain Goats, led by songwriter and singer John Darnielle. Based in Claremont, CA, Darnielle and his band are preparing for the release of their 14th album, Transcendental Youth on October 2.

Spirit Family Reunion will also be there. The band has been causing a big stir recently, with a much buzzed about performance at the legendary Newport Folk Festival in July, as well as a stirring performance at Virginia’s Floyd Fest 11. NPR Music described the band as “a sweetly ramshackle Americana sound that's part secular gospel revival, part folk ramble.” This promises to be a break-out year for the band.

Red Wanting Blue are also set to appear. Proudly based in Columbus, Ohio, RWB are often billed as “America’s local band,” thanks to years and thousands of miles on the road throughout the nation’s heartland, making fans one at a time. With only the aid of word of mouth, Red Wanting Blue has established an exceedingly loyal following in the southeast and Midwest, where they regularly fills clubs normally reserved for bigger names.

As always, this show will be recorded for distribution to over 120 NPR stations nationwide and overseas via the Voice of America. Mountain Stage can be heard statewide every Sunday afternoon at 2 pm, and Saturday evenings at 8 pm on West Virginia Public Radio.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features journeyman roots rock & blues band The Nighthawks, along with acclaimed songwriter Sarah Siskind, folk duo The Milk Carton Kids, singer-songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche, and the description-defying Chandler Travis Three-O.

Though often labeled a blues band, after hearing The Nighthawks’ signature fusion of rock, jump jazz and roadhouse blues, you’ll recognize their music as roots rock in its truest form – except that they were doing it decades before the term existed.

Led by harmonica player and singer Mark Wenner for 3 decades, they’ve spent time on the road playing with legends like Muddy Waters and Carl Perkins. And for this Mountain Stage show (which was recorded in October) the ‘Hawks were set to appear alongside none other than the late Hubert Sumlin, who had just fallen ill.

Here a preview of their set now via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

You’ll also hear a set from The Milk Carton Kids. Comprised of Kenneth Pattengale & Joey Ryan, comparisons to classic folk pairings like Simon & Garfunkel write themselves, and dare we say the duo's intricate guitar picking is reminiscent of David Rawlings’ work with Gillian Welch.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Sarah Siskind also appears. Highly regarded among her peers, Siskind has seen her work covered by Alison Krauss, the Infamous Stringdusters, and Bon Iver.

 Lucy Wainwright Roche stops by. Her most recent album Lucy features contributions from The Roches, The Indigo Girls, and This American Life’s Ira Glass. She finishes her set with a brilliant cover of Fleetwood Mac’s "Everywhere," which also appears on her new album.

Finally – you’ll be introduced to the Chandler TravisThree-O. Combining elements of acoustic folk, jazz, psychedelica, and pure absurdity – all you need to know is that half of the "Three-O" (which naturally, is comprised of 4 members) changed into brightly colored pajamas after their first song.

Travis and his band  spent a full decade opening for none other than George Carlin, paving the way for the modern intersection between music and comedy. Their tune “Drunk Angry People Shut Up” is not to be missed.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook to learn the latest about our upcoming live shows and radio broadcasts.

Don’t forget to let some friends know. Thanks for supporting live music on your radio.

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.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook to learn the latest about our upcoming live shows and radio broadcasts. Don’t forget to let some friends know. Thanks for supporting live music on your radio. 

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. 

Mountain Stage is back this week with a broadcast featuring folk-pop singer-songwriter Brett Dennen, string band revivalists the Red Clay Ramblers, country newcomer Charlie Worsham, European bluegrass instrumentalists The Kruger Brothers, and retro-Americana singer Nikki Lane.

 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.

Northern California-based singer-songwriter Brett Dennen began signing fireside as a camp counselor, and slowly picked up a devoted West Coast following.

In 2004 he was championed by KCRW “the best unsigned artist of the year,” named by Rolling Stone as one of the 10 artists to watch, and songs have been featured on Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, and House. Originally set to appear with his full band, Dennen was battling serious cast of the flu the day of his Mountain Stage appearance. Ever the professional, Dennen chose to play a stripped down set, backed only by a bottle of cold medicine and a mug of hot tea.

 

You’ll also hear from revered string band revivalists the Red Clay Ramblers. Formed in North Carolina over 40 years ago, The Ramblers draw on everything from mountain music and country to rock and New Orleans Jazz. They’ve also maintained a long association with theater, scoring numerous American musicals (including several for playwright and actor Sam Shepard) earning them a Tony. They’ve been called “the house band of North Carolina.”

Country singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Worsham kicks off the show. A child banjo prodigy, he appeared on the Grand Ole Opry at just 12. He went on to the Berklee School of Music, where he majored in production & engineering. Lately Worsham has been catching buzz for his forays into rootsy pop, which has earned him spots opening for opening for mainstream darlings Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift.

You can hear Worsham’s performance of his tune “Mississippi In July” now, via our Mountain Stage Song of the week.

The Kruger Brothers also stop by. Originally from Europe, and now making their home in North Carolina, Jens and Uwe Kruger were introduced to American audiences in the 90’s, and quickly gained the attention none other than Bill Monroe. Exploring the fertile ground between bluegrass and jazz, in 2010, the Kruger Brothers also premiered a new work for banjo, guitar, bass and chamber orchestra titled "An Appalachian Concerto.”

 

Finally, you’ll hear from Nikki Lane. Her path to country music winds from her native Greenville, South Carolina through Los Angeles, New York, and finally to Nashville, where she also operates a vintage clothing store called - what else - High Class Hillbilly. Her retro-voiced four-song EP called Gone, Gone, Gone was released in July to much interest and acclaim.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook to learn the latest about our upcoming live shows and radio broadcasts.

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce was recorded on the campus of Ohio University in beautiful Athens. You'll hear from reunited alt-country pioneers The Jayhawks, along with Hot Tuna, Karan Casey & John Doyle, Ha Ha Tonka, and Ohio's own Southeast Engine.

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 Karan Casey and John Doyle with “Sailing Off to the Yankee Land.”

Led by the sweet harmonies and crunchy guitars of Gary Louris and Mark Olson, The Jayhawks were among the first bands to combine elements of country, punk, folk, and classic rock into a form of stately Americana that would eventually be labeled “alternative country.”

Now reunited, the band issued a compilation disc in 2009, and released an acclaimed album of new material in September called Mockingbird Time.

Ozark-based indie rockers Ha Ha Tonka wrap rural images of their native Missouri with southern rock, folk, country and bluegrass. This spring they released Death of a Decade, and the bad was recently featured in the Ozarks episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations alongside Winter’s Bone author Daniel Woodrell.

 

We’ll also be joined by iconic blues-roots band Hot Tuna. Formed some four decades ago by Jefferson Airplane members Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen, Hot Tuna has released its first new album in twenty years, Steady as She Goes. A resident of southeast Ohio, Kaukonen also owns and operates the Fur Peace Ranch, a 119-acre music and guitar camp in the hills of north of Pomeroy.

Irish vocalist Karan Casey and John Doyle kick off the show. The two were founding members of traditional supergroup Solas, and for their new project Exile's Return, the two former bandmates reunite to create a stripped-down album that showcases sweet vocals, driving guitar, and the power of traditional songs. 

 

Drawing from both the rich melancholy of Appalachia and the once-thriving indie rock scene in nearby Dayton,Southeast Engine was launched in 1999 by Ohio University students Adam Remnant and drummer Leo DeLuca. The group’s latest album Canary tells the story of an Appalachian family struggling through the great depression.

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!