Mountain Blog

Mountain Stage returns to the town of Athens Georgia this weekend to visit our friends at WUGA and the University of Georgia. We’ll be recording at the UGA Performing Arts Center, where our guests will be Patterson Hood, Van Dyke Parks, Randall Bramblett, Teitur, and Caroline Aiken.

Only a handful of tickets for this show remain, available both online and by phone (888.289.8497).

The co-founder and frontman of Georgia’s Drive-By Truckers, Athens resident Patterson Hood is the son of famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section bassist David Hood. Hood formed the Drive By Truckers in 1996 with Mike Cooley, a bandmate from their previous group Adam’s House Cat.

Throughout his long tenure with the Truckers, Hood has penned a starker set of songs, the most recent set of which were released in 2009 as Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs). The collection shows an intimate, more acoustic side to Hood’s writing, while showcasing the trademark dark wit the Truckers are known for.

For music fans who pay attention to album credits, the name Van Dyke Parks is nothing short of legendary. As a session musician, composer, arranger, lyricist, and singer, he's made significant contributions to several decades' worth masterpieces, as well as releasing notable projects of his own.

Working with a wide array of musicians, from The Byrds and Sonny and Cher to Lowell George and Vic Chesnutt, Parks is perhaps best known for collaborating with Brian Wilson on the storied album “SmiLE.” In 2011, Parks released his first new music in more than 15 years, a series of singles that features the artwork of artists including Art Spiegelman and WV’s Billy Edd Wheeler.

Dubbed the “the William Faulkner of Southern music,” Randall Bramblett came to prominence in the ‘70s as a member of the fusion band Sea Level. Since then, his credits include work with Steve Winwood, Gregg Allman, Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson.

Called “One of Georgia’s musical treasures” by Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools, Bramblett is a multi-instrumentalist who excels on keyboards, saxophone and guitar, and a respected songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Widespread Panic, Jorma Kaukonen, Bonnie Bramlett and Delbert McClinton.

Hailing from Denmark's Faroe Islands, Teitur Lassen issued his debut, Poetry & Aeroplanes on Universal Records in 2003. Supporting the disc, he was featured on MTV’s “You Heard It First,” VH1 and CNN, and his songs were included on the soundtracks of the films My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Aquamarine.

In 2006, his CD Stay Under The Stars included the radio hit “Louis, Louis” and was certified Gold in Denmark while 2007's Kata Hornid was sung entirely in his native language. His latest is titled Let the Dog Drive Home.

Born and raised on the Georgia Sea island, St. Simons, Caroline Aiken’s first musical influence was Emma Lee Ramsey of the Georgia Sea Island Singers. She moved to NY in the late ‘60s and joined the rock band Father Time. From there, music took her to California during the early ‘70s, to South America, Seattle, east to Greenwich Village and, in the early ‘80s, back to Atlanta. It was then that she heard the Indigo Girls - still teenagers - singing a CSNY song in an alley behind the club Good Old Days.

Aiken invited them onstage and sang on their first recording. Aiken opened shows for Bonnie Raitt in 1985, and Raitt performed on Aiken’s 1988 debut Line of Vision. She has headlined the famed Kerrville Folk Festival numerous times since 1995 and, in 2010, released Welcome Home.

Get your tickets for this show while you can! Mountain Stage would like to extend a special thanks to WUGA for their support over the years, and to the University of Georgia for being such gracious hosts.

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