Mountain Blog

Guitar phenomenon and finger-style pioneer Leo Kottke is featured now at Mountain Stage's home over at NPR Music. We are proud to be the first NPR program to feature him since a 2005 piece on his record with Phish bassist (and recent guest) Mike Gordon.

If you've never experienced Kottke live, give it a listen - the man's personality is like no other and he lets it shine. Mountain Stage is like a balloon. Who knew?

You can hear Canadian roots-gurus The Duhks later today at NPR Music. Leonard Padolak, singer and banjo player (far right, above) sat on the side of the stage during Kottke's set, completely enthralled at the guitar master. It's always nice to see musicians enjoying music.

The Duhks incorporate so many elements into their music, it's not just an American hodge-podge but a coolly calculated melding of world styles with lots of harmony and spicy percussion. Their latest is called "Fast Paced World."

You can preview this weekend's broadcast today thanks to our Song of the Week feature right here at MountainStage.org. Just look for the SotW box in the center column (below the blog) or click here to go directly.

Country super-star Dierks Bentley performs the lead single and title track  from his latest CD, "Feel That Fire." Much more Dierks, plus Grayson Capps, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Reagan Boggs and Andy Friedman & the Other Failures in this weekend's edition of Mountain Stage Radio.Click here for a list of stations in your area.