Mountain Blog

This week's premier broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded on the road in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in partnership with our friends at the North House Folk School, as a part of their tenth-annual Unplugged concert series. 

Captured in a tent on a chilly autumn night on Minnesota's north shore of Lake Superior, you'll hear from acclaimed singer-songwriter (and frequent Mountain Stage guest) John Gorka, along with Cheryl Wheeler, Lindsay Mac, Michael Johnson, Pat Donohue and Mary Flower.

Lauded by Rolling Stone Magazine as “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the new folk movement,” John Gorka’s songs have been recorded by Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Mary Black, Maura O’Connell and Nanci Griffith. A mainstay of the folk scene since the mid 1980's, Gorka most recently appeared on Mountain Stage in February as a part of the super-trio Red Horse.

As always, Gorka balances his rich baritone and introspective subject matter with his trademark dry wit and humor – a mix that makes for a set that is both moving and hilarious at the same time. (A theme that was carried by each guest throughout the entire show).

You'll also hear from Cheryl Wheeler. A natural entertainer and gifted storyteller, Wheeler is known for her ability to write both touching ballads and witty social satire. To understand what we're talking about, you need look no further than the playlist – Cheryl's set includes the tender, reflective song “Alice,” and closes with “Lady Ga Ga's Singing Program” – likely the first folk ballad written about the phenomenon known as Lady Ga Ga, and most certainly the best.

Classical cellist turned pop tunesmith Lindsay Mac makes her first appearance on Mountain Stage. Raised in Iowa, Mac earned a degree from Dartmouth before perusing music full time at the Berklee College of Music. Around this time she developed her own technique for integrating the cello into her music – playing pizzicato, while standing, like a large guitar. She closes her set with the touching musical parable “Seven Little Stones” from her album Stop Thinking.

Singer-songwriter Michael Johnson also appears. With a musical resume that ranges from folk to pop, to soft rock and country, Michael Johnson is both an accomplished singer-songwriter and classical guitarist. He earned recognition in the late 70's for his adult contemporary hit “Bluer Than Blue,” and charted several more times as a country artist in the 1980's.

During his set, Johnson shares a heartfelt story about how his life was recently changed for the better when he reunited with his adult daughter – a story that was later turned on its head by born joker Cheryl Wheeler – creating a running joke that persisted throughout all three nights of

Unplugged. 

The show kicks off with guitar-slinging duo Pat Donohue and Mary Flower. As the house guitarist for Prairie Home Companion, Pat Donohue is truly one of America's most gifted players, and one of a select few to have a Martin signature model that bares his name. His tune “Would You Like to Play the Guitar” is one of the most insightful – and hilarious songs ever written about the toils of being a working musician.

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Mary Flower is one of America's foremost masters of the difficult Piedmont-style of blues guitar playing, and the only woman to ever win the prestigious National Finger Picking Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Donohue and Flower close their set with “Grand Marais Blues,” a tune they wrote just hours earlier about their experience on the North Shore.

Click here to find out when and where you can hear this show in your area. 

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Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage.