Mountain Blog

This week’s premier broadcast of Mountain Stage features country music legend Billy Joe Shaver, banjo man Noam Pikelny, Nashville singer-songwriter Matraca Berg, the Caleb Klauder Country Band, and Canadian fiddler April Verch. Click here to find a station and time where you can listen in your area. If there’s a song you’re hoping to hear, check out the show’s playlist. And click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming broadcasts.

Billy Joe Shaver is the original Honky Tonk Hero. Revered by everyone who’s anyone as one of the greatest songwriters of the 20^th century and beyond, Shaver first came to the attention of music lovers when Waylon Jennings filled nearly an entire album with Shaver’s songs.

In his 6^th appearance on the show, Shaver plays a few old favorites, but also shares a few new tunes: The autobiographical “Wacko From Waco,” which chronicles a much-publicized shooting that Shaver was involved in, and the tell-it-like-is anthem “The Get Go.” As always, you can catch a preview of his performance via our Mountain Stage song of the week, the bittersweet “Live Forever,” which Shaver wrote with his late son, guitarist Eddy Shaver.

You’ll also hear from Noam Pikelny & Friends. A charter member of theThe Punch Brothers in 2010, Steve Martin awarded Pikelny the first ever “Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass,” describing Pikelny as “a player of unlimited range and astonishing precision.” Pikelny brings songs from Beat The Devil and Carry A Rail, along with his friends, fellow Punch Brothers Gabe Witcher, Chris Eldridge, bass player Mark Schatz.

You’ll also hear from country singer-songwriter Matraca Berg. One of Nashville’s most revered and sought-after songwriters, Matraca Berg’s tunes have been recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Reba McEntire, Dusty Springfield, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Suzy Bogguss, Pam Tillis, and Martina McBride. You’ll hear her play her song “Strawberry Wine,” which was a career-defining hit for Deana Carter in the 90’s, and “You and Tequila,” which was recently taken to the top of the country charts by Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter. Berg is backed on guitar by her husband Jeff Hanna, who also happens to be a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

The April Verch Band and the Caleb Klauder Country Band round out the show. Building on Klauder’s intense love of honky-tonk, rockabilly, outlaw and early country, and infusing the songs with Caleb's dry, dusty voice and mature songwriting, the Caleb Klauder Country Band is a rising star in today's Americana pantheon. You can read more about Klauder here.

April Verch is a young, yet internationally renowned Canadian fiddler, singer, songwriter and stepdancer who roots music luminary Dirk Powell called “… a rare mix of all the technique and super-flashy things, along with the deep soul and tradition that comes from having grown up with the music.” Her 8^th album, That’s How We Run, braces southern mountain and old time music with her plucky Canadian roots.

Find a radio station in your area where you can listen by clicking here, and connect with us on Facebook to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for even more.

Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!