Mountain Blog

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.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mountain Stage is BACK at the Culture Center, for what we here think of as our last show of the fiscal year, but what you might think of as our last show in Charleston until sometime this fall. We’ll be joined by Dar Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, The dB’s, the New Rope String Band, and Arthur Alligood. And we’re thrilled to be a part of FestivALL Charleston. A few tickets are still available, but man-oh-man, is it getting tight. If you want to come, you need to get tickets now, online, at Taylor Books, and by phone. Expect a packed house.

If there was ever an artist who needs no introduction to Mountain Stage audiences, that man would be Tim O’Brien. But if there’s another artist who needs no introduction, it might be the lovely and talented Dar Williams. Her new CD, In the Time of Gods, marks her ninth studio recording.

And if you still don’t know who Ray Wylie Hubbard is – well, you no longer have an excuse. Hubbard (a high school classmate of Larry Groce) is perhaps best known for his proto country party anthem “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mothers.” But lately – well, just expect to hear people yell out “SNAKE FARM!” a few times. Snake Farm. It’s a reptile house.

We had a long description of The dB’s written out – but suffice it to say, The dB’s are the missing link between REM and Big Star. If you like either of those two legendary bands, The dB’s are right in the middle, and you own it to yourself to check them out. One of the more creative and enduring indie pop groups of the early ‘80s, North Carolina’s dB’s featured a lineup - Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby and Gene Holder - that helped change the course of guitar-driven power pop for years to come. The band’s stellar new album Falling Off the Sky represents their first new album with the original lineup in 30 years.  

The New Rope String Band are gifted musicians, singers, songwriters – and on the vanguard of clowning, all at the same time. Combining superb musicianship with side-splitting comic genius, the three members of the New Rope String Band combine elements of circus, vaudeville, slapstick and Python-esque absurdist humor with beautiful acoustic music from various world traditions. Based in the U.K., the group’s resume includes performances in Borneo's Sarawak rainforest, the Shetland Folk Festival and tiny village halls.” There might be ladders, PVC pipes, seagull impressions, barbershop harmonies and even mime. Will it work on the radio? You’ll have to be there to find out.

Finally, Tennessee born singer-songwriter Arthur Alligood won grand prize honors at the 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest for performing songwriters. Sessions with producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz) included in-demand session musicians Jim Keltner on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Michael Ward on guitar. The resulting album, “One Silver Needle” was released to high praise on the NewSong Recordings label.  

Get your tickets now.

Mountain Stage is happy to announce that we’re partnering with our friends at FOOTMAD to present folk icon Peggy Seeger on her last American tour. It’s happening Sunday, March 25 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV.

Tickets are on sale now. You can purchase them at mountainstage.org, by phone (800.594.TIXX) and in person at Ellen’s Ice Cream in Charleston, and Fret-n-Fiddle in St. Albans. Visit mountainstage.org for complete details.

This is a live concert event that will not be broadcast or recorded for radio. The only way you can experience it is live and in person, so get your tickets now.

Born in 1935, Peggy Seeger’s family connections are well-known in the folk and classical music world. She is Pete Seeger's half-sister, Ruth Crawford Seeger's daughter; partner to Ewan MacColl, who wrote “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” for her. Seeger herself is perhaps best known for her proto-feminist anthem “Gonna Be an Engineer,” along with the “The Ballad of Springhill,” which has long been regarded as a folk standard; just to name a few.

Seeger’s work with MacColl was prodigious. From 1959 onward, they encouraged and set standards for the burgeoning UK folk revival; they trolled the USA & UK field recordings and anthologies for little-known traditional songs; they trained other singers and involved them in political-musical documentary theatre; and they instigated the revolutionary Radio Ballad form.

(And it’s worth noting that the recent popularity of Public Radio staples like This American Life and Radio Lab owe much to the Radio Ballad format.) Seeger has made 22 solo recordings and taken part in over 100 more with other performers. A singer, multi-instrumentalist, and writer, she is considered to be one America's finest and most important folk musicians.

Still going strong at 77 years young, Peggy Seeger now makes her home in the UK, near her three children. Her current tour of the United States is to be her last. Don’t miss this opportunity to see a living legend of music. Learn more about Seeger at her website, and learn more about FOOTMAD by visiting FOOTMAD.org. We look forward to seeing you there. 

It’s a new year, and Mountain Stage is making its first round of additions to our 2012 schedule.

We announced a few weeks ago that Mountain Stage will be returning to visit our friends at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon on February 26. And now, we’re thrilled to announce that incomparable singer-songwriter Martin Sexton will be joining us there. When we last heard from Sexton, he was touring in support of his live record Solo, and was just about to release a new studio album called Sugarcoating. Since then, Sugarcoating has been released to wide acclaim, and on January 24 Sexton will release a new EP called Fall Like Rain.

You can listen to his previous Mountain Stage appearance here.

Tickets for this for this show are on sale now, online and by phone (800.594.TIXX).

 

On February 19, 2012, Mountain Stage will return Athens GA to record with member station WUGA at the University of Georgia. The show will take place at the University of Georgia Performing Arts Center at 7pm. Tickets for the event go on sale to the general public on Monday, December 5. Tickets are $35 and $5 for University students.

Guest artists already confirmed for the show include Patterson Hood, founding member and songwriter for Athens’ own southern-rock revivalists The Drive By Truckers, who will perform a solo set of his original music. Legendary musician, lyricist and composer Van Dyke Parks and beloved Norwegian singer-songwriter Teitur will also perform. Two more guests will be announced as they are confirmed.

“We’re excited to return to Athens, which has been and remains one of America’s best music cities,” says Mountain Stage host and artistic director Larry Groce, “We’ve got exciting talent lined up already, from around the world and from the area.”

"We are excited about having Mountain Stage in Athens for a second time,” says Abbie Thaxton, Traffic Director at WUGA radio. “It gives our listeners a chance to 'see' radio the show they are used to listening to. Mountain Stage has been heard in Athens for almost 25 years and Athens being the music town that it is, we think it makes for a perfect fit".

“It’s great for us to take our show to cities that carry the broadcasts because they don’t get the opportunity to see us record the show like everyone in Charleston gets to do on a regular basis,” added Producer Adam Harris. “It gives us the ability to connect with our radio listeners and it gives them a chance to be a part of the audience, which is what makes our show unique.”   

Mountain Stage is announcing its 29th season of shows at the Culture Center Theater Charleston, beginning Sunday, February 5 with renowned singer-songwriter and roots musician Darrell Scott. One of Nashville’s most respected and sought after songwriters, Scott has written hit after hit for some of the biggest names in country music, including The Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, and Brad Paisley – just to name a few. Scott also puts in work as one of music city’s most revered side men, most recently with Robert Plant’s backing group of roots music all stars, The Band of Joy. Scott’s seventh album of all new material is Long Ride Home.

We’ll also be joined on Feb 5 by Irish-American group Solas. Trumpeted by The Boston Herald as “The first truly great Irish band to arise from America,” Solas has built a reputation over nearly two decades as one of the finest Celtic groups working anywhere.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will also appear on this show. Thirty years after their formation, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a world famous music machine, whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps, high-octane performances, and collaborations with artists ranging from Elvis Costello and Dr. John to David Bowie.

On February 12 Mountain Stage welcomes back power pop group Fountains of Wayne. The group's line up has remained unchanged since they first toured in support of their 1996 self-titled debut album, and in August, they released Sky Full of Holes. Additional artists for both of these shows will be announced for this show in the coming weeks.

On March 4, Mountain Stage will welcome Black Crowes founding member Rich Robinson. The band’s guitarist, and an important influence on some of their best known songs, Robinson has been out with his own southern rock outfit of late, and a new album called Through a Crooked Sun. You can preview three tracks from the record via his website.

Mountain Stage favorites Cowboy Junkies will also appear on this show. Frequent guests over the years, this will mark the band’s ninth appearance. Their most recent release, Demons, is an album featuring covers of songs written by another Mountain Stage favorite, the late Vic Chesnutt. We’ll also be joined by once more by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, and consummate Australian rock musician Paul Kelly.

Tickets for these shows are ON SALE MONDAY, NOV. 21st at 10 a.m. You can purchase tickets online, at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston, or by calling  800.549.TIXX.

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