Mountain Blog

Recorded live on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, this week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage features Lizz Wright, The Holmes Brothers, Paper Raincoat, Fruit Bats, Deolinda and Raul Midon.

Embracing the history of jazz, gospel and rhythm & blues, vocalist Lizz Wright took the music world by storm in 2003 with her debut album Salt which put her rich, gospel-trained contralto in a soulful R&B-meets-jazz setting.

Her sophomore release Dreaming Wide Awake combined songs performed by Neil Young, Fats Waller, The Beatles, and Madonna with collaborations with some contemporary songwriters.

Her latest release, Fellowship, continues her musical evolution. You can hear a preview of her performance in our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

 

With their soulful blend of gospel, country and rhythm & blues, The Holmes Brothers have rightfully been called one of the country’s best and most important roots groups.

Brothers Wendell and Sherman have played together for more than a half-century, while so-called late-comer Popsy Dixon joined some 30 years ago.

On their latest release Feed My Soul, the trio takes on a range of material that includes tunes by the Beatles and West Virginia native John “Some Kind of Wonderful” Ellison, as well as nine originals.

We’re also joined by indie pop group Fruit Bats. An early entry into the folk-rock boom of the new millennium, the group has been through several personnel changes over the years, but revolves around singer/songwriter Eric D. Johnson.

The group continues to use bright melodies, defiant major-key chord structures to create its own brand of shimmery pop. Their most recent release is Tripper.

Also appearing is Paper Raincoat. Comprised of Brooklyn-based songwriters Amber Rubarth and Alex Wong, the pair have joined forces to create music that blends pop-folk orchestral arrangements with electronic textures and memorable melodies. 

Rubarth, who is the winner of the 2010 Mountain Stage New Song Contest, will also appear on this Sunday’s (August 7, 2011) live Mountain Stage show.

Heralded as a “virtuoso” by The New York Times, New Mexico-born, New York-based Raul Midon created a buzz even before the release of his debut album.

Stevie Wonder, Jason Mraz (who have also collaborated with Midon in the studio) and Jeff Beck are champions of Midon’s music, and more recently, Midon recruited West Virginia native Bill Withers to come to his house and record. The result was featured in the acclaimed documentary Still Bill.

Finally, you’ll also hear from the Portuguese quartet Deolinda. This group of classical, jazz, and traditional players draws on the roots of their homeland’s traditional and popular music. The group’s debut, Cancao ao Lado went Platinum in Portugal within 22 weeks of its release.
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Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!