Mountain Blog

North-East rockers the Alternate Routes and Vanguard Records have offered up a couple of free downloads as a preview of their new "Watershed EP" and their upcoming appearance in Charleston, WV this Sunday, October 5. Click on the image below to get your free downloads, then click here to get tickets to catch the Alternate Routes on Mountain Stage.

Be sure to check out the rest of that line-up, including the gruff, alt-country vocalist Matthew Ryan, Chicago based singer/songwriter Joe Pug, and Kim Richey-collaborater and another Paste "Best of What's Next"-er Katie Herzig will be joining us. Check out our press release here.

Those of you in the area do not want to miss our upcoming Mountain Stage recording here in Charleston, WV on October 5. From the sentimental to the downright silly, there's no one quite like Mrs. Harry Shearer herself, Miss Judith Owen. Last time Judith was on the show she did a great re-arrangement of "Eye of the Tiger" and judging by the name of her new record, "Mopping Up Karma," we can't wait to hear what she's got up her sleeves for us this time.

The Alternate Routes are a hot new band of young'uns from the North East who are continually making noise in that scene and beyond. Their latest, "The Watershed EP"  is up on i-tunes now and I'm sure we'll get a taste of it October 5.

Sonya Kitchell first came to Mountain Stage in 2005 and really wowed the audience. After her performance our host Larry Groce said of the 16 year old "Just wait until she graduates high-school." Shortly after that her music was picked up on by Starbucks and she's been gaining momentum ever since. Her new material, matured three years, expands upon her vocal prowess and she's wisely recruited another great band, The Slip, to record and tour behind her new record, "This Storm." Something special occurs when these two distinctive sounds merge. Get a glimpse of the new record here and then get a grasp on some tickets here.

Singer songwriters Joe Pug and Matthew Ryan round out the bill.

Upcoming-

We've just added The Bridges to a November 2 show alongside their producer Matthew Sweet. Made up of four siblings and a cousin, this group builds a melodic pop sound out of their church background and the breezy, before-they-were-born pop of Fleetwood Mac and Crosby Stills & Nash. Check out their latest video "Pieces" right here. 

Coming up this week on npr.org/mountainstage are sets by They Might Be Giants (up now!), Matt White, Asleep at the Wheel and the subdudes. Keep your mouse pointed here for a daily dose of Mountain Stage.

Some alumni of the Mountain Stage took home awards at last week's Americana Music Honors and Awards ceremony in Nashville, TN. Taking home the New Emerging Artist of the Year was Mike Farris, pictured left with the McCrary Sisters. You can hear Mike in just a couple weeks on an upcoming edition of Mountain Stage. Stay tuned to the website or npr.org/mountainstage for the latest sets.

Multi-instrumentalist and all-around nice-guy Buddy Miller took honors for Instrumentalist of the Year after spending a year out on the road with Plant & Krauss, who were awarded Duo or Group of the Year.

Recent guest Hayes Carll took home Song of the Year for his character piece "She Left Me For Jesus," which you can hear here as part of his Mountain Stage set.

Lifetime Achievement Honors were also given out, one of which to Nanci Griffith, a long-time friend of the show.

This past June singer songwriter Hayes Carll came to Mountain Stage and performed a song called "I Got a Gig." This song, as well as many others throughout his career, have been inspired in whole or part by the the small town of Crystal Beach on Galevston Bay's Bolivar Peninsula where Carll honed his songwriting chops for the better part of four years.

Crystal Beach is just one small area of the devestation felt by Hurricane Ike. You can hear Hayes' set, including "I Got A Gig," on NPR Music by clicking here.

Here is a statement released by Lost Highway Records.

Hayes Carll “devastated” by Ike damage

By Michael Corcoran | Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 01:06 PM

Hayes Carll, who spent four years honing his songwriting in the bars of Crystal Beach, is currently in England where, manager Mike Crowley says, “he’s devastated about the complete destruction of Crystal Beach.” Crowley says Carll is writing something that he’ll post soon on his web site. We’ll publish it here when it’s available.

“It’s all gone,” Crowley says of the working class town on Galveston Bay’s Bolivar Peninsula. “I’ve seen the footage and it looks like a tornado hit. It’s just concrete slabs.”

Carll hosts the Stingaree Music Festival on Crystal Beach each April. His Highway 87 label is named after the road that takes you to the seaside town, “where the cops all know your number and the bars all know your name.” Carll’s three albums are inhabited by the roughhewn characters, the shrimpers and oil workers and beach bums he met while playing at places like Bob’s, which are no longer there.

Now, virtually all that’s left of Crystal Beach are those song.

Our thoughts are with all those affected by Hurricane Ike.

Here'a a briefing on the latest at Mountain Stage:

Taste of Paste- Are you a reader of Paste magazine? Maybe you saw their recent proclamation of the "Best of What's Next!"? At least a couple of them have already been on Mountain Stage (everybodyfields, Ben Sollee, who came with Abigail Washburn) and one is coming up in the very near future- Brooke Waggoner is on Morgantown this month and. There are a few other "gets" on the list that you might see passing through our stage in the near future. Do you have an act you'd like to see or hear on Mountain Stage? Leave a comment on the blog - we'd love to hear from you.

             
(Paste "Best of What's Next"-er Brooke Waggoner)

November is shaping up- No matter how stratospherically stellar a particular show might be, we are always looking ahead. After all, there are more radio shows to be made. Upon our return to the Town Hall October 25 we've got two great line-ups already in the works. Power pop at its most engaging, Matthew Sweet, will bring songs from his new record "Sunshine Lies" to Charleston on November 2. We'll refrain, for now, from comments about how "sweet" this show is going to be. 

Cunningly topical wordsmith James McMurtry and Dusty Springfield-inspired songstress Shelby Lynne will join us on November 16. Tickets are on sale now.

Another trip to WVU- In between the two November shows listed above, we'll make another stop in Morgantown with a show stocked full of international flavor.

On Deck @ NPR Music- Hometown Boy Jeff Ellis, who has a new CD in the works, Chuck Prophet, roots rocker extraordinaire, country crooner from Carolina Josh Turner and Afro-Euro Pop star Zap Mama are all featured in live performance at NPR.org/mountainstage -and that's just in the last week! Stay tuned this week for sets by John Doe (From X), Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles and Luke Temple.