Mountain Blog

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features journeyman roots rock & blues band The Nighthawks, along with acclaimed songwriter Sarah Siskind, folk duo The Milk Carton Kids, singer-songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche, and the description-defying Chandler Travis Three-O.

Though often labeled a blues band, after hearing The Nighthawks’ signature fusion of rock, jump jazz and roadhouse blues, you’ll recognize their music as roots rock in its truest form – except that they were doing it decades before the term existed.

Led by harmonica player and singer Mark Wenner for 3 decades, they’ve spent time on the road playing with legends like Muddy Waters and Carl Perkins. And for this Mountain Stage show (which was recorded in October) the ‘Hawks were set to appear alongside none other than the late Hubert Sumlin, who had just fallen ill.

Here a preview of their set now via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

You’ll also hear a set from The Milk Carton Kids. Comprised of Kenneth Pattengale & Joey Ryan, comparisons to classic folk pairings like Simon & Garfunkel write themselves, and dare we say the duo's intricate guitar picking is reminiscent of David Rawlings’ work with Gillian Welch.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Sarah Siskind also appears. Highly regarded among her peers, Siskind has seen her work covered by Alison Krauss, the Infamous Stringdusters, and Bon Iver.

 Lucy Wainwright Roche stops by. Her most recent album Lucy features contributions from The Roches, The Indigo Girls, and This American Life’s Ira Glass. She finishes her set with a brilliant cover of Fleetwood Mac’s "Everywhere," which also appears on her new album.

Finally – you’ll be introduced to the Chandler TravisThree-O. Combining elements of acoustic folk, jazz, psychedelica, and pure absurdity – all you need to know is that half of the "Three-O" (which naturally, is comprised of 4 members) changed into brightly colored pajamas after their first song.

Travis and his band  spent a full decade opening for none other than George Carlin, paving the way for the modern intersection between music and comedy. Their tune “Drunk Angry People Shut Up” is not to be missed.

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