This week’s premier broadcast of Mountain Stage features Manhattan-based
roots band Ollabelle, with songs from their first studio album in five years,
Neon Blue Bird.
Taking their name from influential Appalachian songwriter
Ola Belle Reed, the five members of Ollabelle (who all sing and play)
blend indigenous American music styles, mixing folk, blues, and gospel.
Ollabelle’s self-titled first album was produced by roots
music legend T-Bone Burnett, and their second album Riverside Battle Songs
was co-produced with former Bob Dylan band member Larry Campbell. Their latest,
Neon Blue Bird was released in
August.
You’ll also hear a set from country-pop pioneers Foster
& Lloyd. Reuniting after more than two decades, Radney Foster and
Bill Lloyd scored hits including “Crazy Over You,” "Sure Thing,"
and "What Do You Want From Me This Time.”
When the two decided to call it
quits in 1991, they chose Mountain Stage as the venue for their final show. The
duo’s stellar new release, It’s Already Tomorrow, features a
number of guests including Cheap Trick bassist Tom Peterson and Sam Bush.
Acoustic folk and blues singer Chris Smither also stops by. Smither has
released nearly a dozen albums of his own material for the Flying Fish, Hightone,
and Signature Sounds labels; and his songs "Love You Like a Man" and
"I Feel the Same" have been recorded by guitarist and singer Bonnie
Raitt. Smither’s most recent album, Time Stands Still features songs by Mark
Knopfler and Bob Dylan, and he just released a third live CD, Lost &
Found, exclusively for fans through his website.
Making their first American appearance are the Henry
Girls. Comprised of three sisters - Joleen, Lorna and Karen McLaughlin
- from Inishowen in County Donegal, Ireland,
the Henry Girls create an eclectic mix of folk, blues and traditional Irish,
framed by their 3-part sibling harmonies. They appeared at the 2011 Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow,
Scotland (where they
first came to the attention of Mountain Stage), and count West
Virginia’s The Fox Hunt among their musical friends.
Speaking of The Fox Hunt – the Martinsburg-based string
band rounds out the show. Upon returning from a tour of Ireland
this spring, the Fox Hunt became the first act to sell out the Shepherdtown, WV
Opera House. On the road 150 days a year, the band has amassed a loyal
following.
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Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage.