Mountain Blog

Mountain Stage has a brand new episode this week featuring Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band.  He showcases songs from his latest album “So Runs the World Away” which was released in May 2010. You can hear a preview as Ritter sings “Long Shadows” as our Song of the Week.

We’ll also put our “Backstage at Mountain Stage” interview here on the blog as a sneak peek at what you can hear on the radio this week. Find a radio station in your area and tell some friends how they can hear the show.      

Also featured on the show is the phenomenal pop/folk artist Judy Collins who is accompanied by Russell Walden on the piano. Judy sings songs from her most recent release “Paradise.” We’ve got an interview with Judy as well, that will be up next week at NPR Music, where she talks about recording and performing Jimmy Webb’s “Gauguin.” Webb, a living legend of songwriting, will be joining us in October at WV Wesleyan for a show that will be on the radio in November.

Also on the show this week, widely acclaimed singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier performs powerful songs from her recent album, “The Foundling.” Award-winning indie/pop artist Megan McCormick (above) takes the stage, previewing her brand-new CD “Honest Words” and intensely upbeat Canadian singer/songwriter Serena Ryder rounds out the show.

Find a radio station that carries Mountain Stage HERE and tell some friends to be sure to listen in.

Does hearing the latest iPod Nano commercial leave you with a craving for CAKE? We thought so. The great news is that the alternative rockers are going to step on to our stage Sunday, December 5 in Charleston - Tickets are ON SALE NOW.

While said commercial is using CAKE's 2001 single "Short Skirt, Long Jacket," SPIN.com has a new song, "Sick of You," posted as a preview to the band's upcoming new album Showroom of Compassion, due in early 2011.

Also joining us on December 5 are the Old 97's and Hayes Carll. Tickets are available ONLINE, by phone at 800.594.TIXX or locally at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston. Visit the Live Show Schedule for more on our upcoming events.

We've also added Texas Swing specialists Hot Club of Cowtown, who are back in full form with "Wishful Thinking," their latest album. This will be their fourth appearance on the show and we look forward to seeing Elana James, Whit Smith and Jake Erwin again.

Tickets are going quickly - get them online, by phone at 800.594.TIXX, or at Taylor Books in Charleston.

This week’s episode of Mountain Stage is brand new, featuring Appalachian Voices: Yim Yames, Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore, with songs from their album Dear Companion. Find a radio station in your area and tell some friends how they can hear the show.

Also on the bill is a set by Tracy Bonham featuring Jason Roberts on guitar and our very own Mountain Stage Band. Tracy sat down for an interview with Larry Groce for our YouTube Channel “Backstage at Mountain Stage,” which we have posted here as a teaser. 

Her album “Masts of Manhatta” is on sale at Amazon for $8.99 and if you follow that link a portion of the purchase can help support Mountain Stage (read more) at no extra charge.

Jeff Daniels, who you surely know as an actor, is also an accomplished folk-singer with several albums to his name. He does a humorous and engaging set on this week’s episode, including “Grandfather’s Hat.” Daniels was recently in front of Congress, testifying for NEA funding, and has an original play debuting at the Purple Rose Theater, a playhouse he helped start in his native Michigan.

You can hear a preview of the show by Carsie Blanton who sings the title track from her CD “Buoy” for our Song of the Week. She is supporting our upcoming guests The Weepies in November (Visit our Live show Schedule for more).

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 and some of the most well respected crafters in the world. Visit their website here and check out their performance on this week’s show. Tish and Greg are joined by Hunter Walker and Jackie Williams. 

Find a radio station that carries Mountain Stage HERE and tell some friends to be sure to listen in.

We’re getting geared up to return to the stage to record some new episodes in October. It all starts on Sunday Oct. 3 in Morgantown, WV when we welcome The Holmes Brothers, Lizz Wright, Portuguese star Deolinda, indie-pops group Fruit Bats (above), acoustic soul-man Raul Midon and Brooklyn duo The Paper Raincoat. We'll be there with thanks to our friends at WVU Arts & Entertainment.

Tickets are on sale via TicketMaster, at the Mountainlair on campus, the Creative Arts Center Box office and by phone at 304.293.SHOW. Read more in our latest “Setting the Stage” newsletter (PDF format).

Some of our guests have been turning up in the charts and television spots as of late.

Jenny & Johnny, who join us October 24, and The Weepies, whom we’ll welcome on November 14, both debuted in the Billboard Top 40 albums the week of September 18. Jenny & Johnny’s “I’m Having Fun Now” came in at #37 while “Be My Thrill” charted at #34.

Below is a video for The Weepies’ “Please Speak Well of Me.”

You can order the debut from Jenny & Johnny, “I’m Having Fun Now,” via Amazon or preview the entire thing (as heard on cassette) in this 36 minute video.

Tickets are on sale for all our shows HERE, by phone at 800.594.TIXX or at Taylor Books locally.

Alejandro Escovedo & the Sensitive Boys will join us October 17 along with The Felice Brothers, Adam Haworth Stephens and Lost in the Trees. Escovedo and company recently appeared on Letterman to perform “Anchor,” the first single from their latest stellar release “Street Songs of Love.”

Watch that Letterman video, and check out “Street Songs” on Amazon, then get your tickets to join us in Charleston. 

Stay tuned for some more exciting guest artist announcements very soon, and tell some of your friends about Mountain Stage on Facebook.

This week on the radio is a special encore episode of Mountain Stage featuring the folk-pop supergroup WPA featuring Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Sean Watkins (Nickelcreek) and Luke Bulla (Lyle Lovett, Jerry Douglas Band). The group released their self-titled CD last year. They sat down with Larry Groce to talk about the experience for our YouTube Channel, “Backstage at Mountain Stage.”

Songwriting legend Chip Taylor (“Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning”) performs songs from his story-song masterpiece “Yonkers, NY”, written about his unique childhood. Be sure to check out Larry Groce’s interview with Chip Backstage at Mountain Stage, which we’ve posted below.

Cadillac Sky joined us just before the release of their widely acclaimed, Dan Aeurbach-produced latest, “Letters In the Deep.” Their high-energy set is the stuff of legend so its no wonder they’re selling out venues from Denver to Chicago. See a little preview for yourself below.

You’ll also hear vocal-pop duo Sam & Ruby and Argentinean singer Federico Aubelle, all captured in live performance for our radio listeners. Find a station in your area or tune in online Sunday at 3pm via WV Public Radio. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and come see a live show in West Virginia some time.

We’ve added another exciting show to our Live Show Schedule. On Sunday, December 5 we will be joined by Old 97’s and Hayes Carll at the Culture Center here in Charleston.  Ticket info is below and be sure to tell some friends on Facebook.

The Old 97’s (above) will be releasing their 15^th album “The Grand Theatre Volume One” on October 12.  The album was recorded in Texas and boasts a raw sound and shines a bright light on the band as a cohesive unit. You can hear new songs on their MySpace.

Folk/Americana artist Hayes Carll has released three albums since 2002 which include the independently released Flowers and Liquor and Little Rock along with his 2008 release on Lost Highway Records, Trouble In Mind.  Hayes just won Emerging Artist of the Year at the recent Americana Music Association Awards & Honors and will be previewing his new album, due out in 2011, for us at Mountain Stage.

Tickets are on sale for ALL our upcoming live shows Online, locally at Taylor Books and by phone at 800.594.TIXX.

 

This week’s radio broadcast is an encore presentation featuring the always charming Nellie McKay, American folk-rock singer/ songwriter Elvis Perkins, Malaysian indie-pop songwriter Zee Avi, former lead-singer of Verbena, AA Bondy, and power-pop tunesmith Marshall Crenshaw. You can browse the songs performed here.

As always we’ve got a preview in our Song of the Week. Nellie McKay had just released “Normal as Blueberry Pie,” her tribute to Dorris Day, when she performed last on Mountain Stage. Our Song of the Week is her performance of  “Sentimental Journey,” featuring the Mountain Stage Band and sax-man Doug Payne.

For those of you keeping score at home, Nellie has released another CD of new material, “Home Sweet Mobile Home,” since this appearance.

For station and airtimes in your area click HERE and be sure to tell some friends.

October 3
We’ve added a sixth guest to our already talent-packed show October 3 with our friends at WVU Arts & Entertainment in Morgantown. Sub Pop recording artists Fruit Bats will join us along with jazz chanteuse Lizz Wright, soul-blues trio The Holmes Brothers, Brooklyn-based folk-popsters the Paper Raincoat, acoustic soul-man Raul Midon and Portuguese singer Deolinda.  

Fruit Bats have done some touring with Vetiver recently and will head out soon with Blitzentrapper.

Tickets for October 3 are available via TicketMaster.com, by phone at 304.293.SHOW, or at the MountainLair on campus.

Here’s a video from Fruit Bats for "The Ruminant Band," from the album of the same name.

October 10
We’ve added two guests to the October 10 show along with The Hold Steady and Brooke Waggoner.

Crooked Still (above) are touring in support of “Some Strange Country,” their latest since 08’s “Still Crooked.” This will make the group’s fourth appearance. You can hear a previous one at NPR Music. See a video for "Half of What We Know" below.

Pop-singer/songwriter Matt White will join us for the second time with songs from his new album, “It’s the Good Crazy,” due out September 14. 

October 24
We’ve already told you that Jenny & Johnny will join us at the Culture Center in Charleston October 24. We’ve added piano wild man Jason D. Williams (above), whose latest CD “Killer Instincts” was produced by our buddy Todd Snider, due October 26.

Also joining us is New Orleans swamp blues man JJ Grey, whose latest album “Georgia Warhorse” was released in August.

Get your tickets to all these shows Online, by phone at 800.594.TIXX, or locally at Taylor Books in downtown, Charleston.

We’ve added an exciting show to our Live Show Schedule. On Sunday, November 21 we will be joined by Black Dub, Anais Mitchell, Horse Feathers, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, and one more, TBA. Ticket info is below.

Black Dub is the latest project by world-renowned producer Daniel Lanois, soul vocalist Trixie Whitley and jazz drummer extraordinaire, Brian Blade.

Here’s a video for “Silverado” live in the studio, from their upcoming release, Black Dub.

When folk-singer and Righteous Babe recording artist Anais Mitchell joined us last time she was working on a folk-opera, “Hadestown,” based on the tale of Orpheus in a post-apocalyptic American depression era. Since its debut, the show and album have been gaining critical acclaim all over - read for yourself.

Add to that Portland chamber-folk group Horse Feathers and YouTube star turned recording artist Danielle Ate the Sandwich, (above) and we’ve got an artistically forward-thinking show.

Tickets are on sale for ALL our upcoming live shows online, locally at Taylor Books and by phone at 800.594.TIXX.

This week’s radio broadcast is an encore presentation featuring WV native Kathy Mattea, San Francisco  rockers Or, The Whale, Carolina songstress Shannon Whitworth, plus two unique Appalachian groups, cello/banjo/vocal duo The Ahs and Lilly Family torch bearers The Songcatchers.

As always you can hear a preview in our Song of the Week. We’re featuring Kathy Mattea singing Jean Ritchie’s “Cool of the Day.”

For more on what's ahead on the radio this month, read our Latest Radio Newsletter (PDF reader required).

In other radio news, our friends at WFUV have moved  Mountain Stage to a new spot on their weekend schedule. Now New Yorkers can hear Mountain Stage Sunday mornings from 6-8am.

From all of us here at Mountain Stage, we thank you for making us part of your Labor Day Weekend.  

Mountain Stage is happy to announce a new station in our family of affiliates.

Beginning this Friday, September 3, listeners can hear Mountain Stage on WHRV, 89.5 fm, each week at 10pm. Visit WHRV online and look at their coverage area to see if you’re within earshot. They also offer a Live Stream of the programming, so you can listen all over the world.

You can read an announcement from local music writer Sam McDonald at The Daily Press website. We look forward to making some new fans in Norfolk and hope you’ll send us some feedback on the show. Our thanks to everyone at WHRV for welcoming us into their schedule.

Although there aren’t any live productions for the month of September, we have a great string of Live Shows for October and November already lined up.

We’ve finalized the line-up for October 3 at the Creative Arts Center on the campus of WVU with the addition of jazz chanteuse Lizz Wright. Wright has been with us once and is gearing up to release her “Fellowship” on September 28. You can pre-order the album at Amazon and get your tickets to see her October 3 by calling 304.293.SHOW or purchase online via Ticketmaster.

We’ve just added another date to the schedule: Sunday, October 17 at the Culture Center Theater. We’ll welcome The Felice Brothers and former Two Gallants member Adam Haworth Stephens for the first time, along with the second appearance by Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys.

The Felice Brothers are a touring machine, still pounding the highways with songs from their acclaimed CD “Yonder Is the Clock.” Alejandro Escovedo is riding a wave of creativity and critical acceptance with his latest, “Street Songs of Love.” Check out a performance of “Anchor” on his website. Adam Haworth Stephens is prepping the release of “We Live on Cliffs” with a free download of “The Cities That You’ve Burned.”

In November news, the latest CD by The Weepies, “Be My Thrill” came out Tuesday and is available online. If you purchase through this link, a portion of your proceeds go to WV Public Broadcasting at no extra charge (Learn More).

The Weepies will join us November 14, along with the Punch Brothers, Infamous Stringdusters and Trampled by Turtles. Tickets are available online, by phone at 800-594-TIXX, or locally at Taylor Books.  See the Live Show Schedule for more information.