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Brian Blauser Dar Williams, live on Mountain Stage |
Mountain Stage is back this week with another premier
episode of live performance radio.
Recorded at the Culture Center Theater in
partnership with FestivALL
Charleston, you hear from beloved folk singer Dar
Williams, Texas troubadour Ray
Wylie Hubbard, power pop pioneers The dB’s, the musical hijinks of the New Rope
String Band, and Mountain Stage NewSong Contest winner Arthur Alligood.
Click here to
see the playlist, and click here to find a complete list a stations and times where you can listen in your area.
One of the most popular and frequent guests to the Mountain
Stage, Dar Williams emerged in the 1990’s
to become one of New England’s most important folk singers. Known for mixing
the poignant with her own peculiar take on the world, she’s crafted a style all
her own.
She appears alongside her own band, with a set drawn from her tenth studio
album, In the Time of Gods. You can
catch a preview of her performance via our Mountain Stage Song
of the Week – “I Have Been Around the World.”
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Brian Blauser Ray Wylie Hubbard, live on Mountain Stage |
We’ll also be joined by Texas
singer-songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard.
No stranger to Americana
audiences, Hubbard might best be described as an amalgam of Guy Clark and John
Lee Hooker. A high school classmate of Larry Groce, Hubbard
found success early in his career by penning the proto-country party anthem “Up
Against the Wall Redneck Mothers.” He’s remained an in-demand producer, writer,
and performer ever since. And Hubbard fans take note: if you’re hoping to hear “Snake
Farm,” you’re in luck. Snake Farm. It’s a reptile house.
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Brian Blauser The dB's, live on Mountain Stage. |
Mountain Stage is also thrilled to be joined by newly-reunited power pop pioneers The dB’s.
Best described as the
band that filled the gap between Big Star and REM, the music the dB’s created
in the early 1980’s helped change the course of guitar-driven power pop for years
to come. (And the band’s members, including Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Will
Rigby continued on with successful careers in their own right.) Their critically
acclaimed release Falling Off the Sky
is the band’s first new album with the original lineup in 30 years.
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Brian Blauser The New Rope String Band, live on Mountain Stage |
The New Rope String Band
returns to Mountain Stage from the UK,
having already become something of a FestivALL tradition.
Gifted musicians, singers, songwriters
– and clowning vanguards, all at the same time – the New Rope String Band combines
superb musicianship with masterful comedic timing. There are elements of
circus, vaudeville, slapstick, and the Python-esque absurd, along with
beautiful acoustic music from a variety of traditions. And also – a Theremin.
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Brian Blauser Arthur Alligood, live on Mountain Stage |
Finally, you'll hear from Tennessee-born singer-songwriter Arthur Alligood.
Alligood won grand prize honors at the 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest for
performing songwriters. His prize included a session with producer Mikal Blue
(Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz) along with in-demand session musicians Jim Keltner
on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Michael Ward on guitar. The resulting album,
One Silver Needle was released to high praise on the NewSong Recordings label.
Find a time and radio
station in your area where you can tune in.
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Thank you for listening
to Mountain Stage!