Mountain Blog

This week’s premiere episode of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features roots rock songwriting icon Dave Alvin, along with contemporary jazz and blues singer Catherine Russell, insurgent country and Americana artist Will Hoge, Boston-based singer-songwriter Catie Curtis, and folk mainstay Eliza Gilkyson.

Click here for a complete list of stations where you can listen to Mountain Stage, and click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming episodes.

A true icon of roots music, this was Dave Alvin’s 6^th appearance on Mountain Stage. From his early work with his brother in The Blasters to his eclectic career as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Alvin has had richly varied musical path. After The Blasters, Alvin was briefly the lead guitarist for seminal L.A. Punk Band X before releasing a series of solo albums in the 80’s and 90’s that are widely regarded as classics.

In 1989, Alvin scored a hit when he penned the Dwight Yoakam chart topper “Long White Cadillac,” which you’ll hear on this week’s Mountain Stage. You’ll also hear “Harlan County Line,” a song that gained a lot of attention after being prominently featured in the season finale of the TV show Justified. 

 

You’ll also hear from singer-songwriter Will Hoge. Situated somewhere between heartland rock, soul, and country, Hoge’s powerful voice, songwriting chops, and relentless touring schedule have earned him great deal of respect among his peers. His song “Even If it Breaks Your Heart” has become a radio hit for the Eli Young band, and his new album Seven has secured Hoge multiple trips to the Opry stage of late. You can hear Will Hoge talk about his career so far, and see clips of his performance in our latest Backstage at Mountain Stage video above.

Catherine Russell is, simply put, one of the very best contemporary jazz and blues vocalists working today. She’s shared the stage with everyone from Madonna and David Bowie to Issac Hayes and Dolly Parton. Russell comes by it naturally – her father, the late Luis Russell, was a pioneering pianist and composer who served as Louis Armstrong’s musical director for many years. For her Mountain Stage performance, you’ll get to hear Russell alongside her own band, lead by the wildly talented guitarist Matt Munisteri. You can catch a preview of her performance here, via our Mountain Stage Song of the Week, "Just Because You Can."

Boston-based singer-songwriter Catie Curtis also appears. Her career has spanned 2 decades, and she’s earned both popular and critical praise. She was called a “folk-rock goddess” by the New Yorker, and is regarded as one of New England’s finest live performers. Her new release, Stretch Limousine on Fire features a cameo by Mary Chapin Carpenter and 10 original songs that explore the passing of life’s events. She’s backed by her friend Jenna Lindbo on keys, along with the Mountain Stage band.

Finally, you’ll hear from singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson. Politically-minded and poetically-gifted, Gilkyson has become one of the most respected musicians in roots, folk and Americana circles. The Grammy-nominated artist has appeared on Austin City Limits, and toured with Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

In February of 2003, she was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame, alongside Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, Nanci Griffith, Billy Joe Shaver, Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and others. She’s backed for her performance by the Mountain Stage band.

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!

 Also out today is Joan Osborne's Bring It on Home. Long considered one of pop music's most soulful singers, it's only natural for Osborne to finally record an album of blues covers. Osborne will be joining us in just a few weeks, on April 15 in Morgantown alongside acoustic dynamos The Punch Brothers, Leftover Salmon and others.

Tickets for this show are going to continue to sell fast as the date approaches, so we encourage you to get yours now.  

Finally, Ray Wylie Hubbard's new release, The Grifter's Hymnal is available at last. Iconic Texas songwriter, favorite of Mountain Stage regulars, and former schoolmate of Larry Groce, Hubbard is one part Guy Clark, and one part John Lee Hooker. He'll be with us during our next show in Charleston, as we celebrate summer with FestivALL.

Feel the sizzle, and get your tickets now. 

Mountain Stage is back this week in the second of our latest batch of premiere episodes.

This week’s broadcast features Booker T. Jones, pop and jazz group Lake Street Dive, singer-songwriter Kenny White, Jill Sobule, and folk-pop trio The Spring Standards, all recorded live at the Creative Arts Center on the campus of West Virginia University.

Click here for a complete list of stations where you can listen to Mountain Stage, click here to see this episode’s playlist, and click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming episodes.

Booker T. Jones is truly one of the most important musicians, songwriters and producers in all of American popular music. From his early work as one of the architects of the soul sound at Stax records, to the tunes he cut with Booker T. and the MG’s, to his production work with legends like Bill Withers – it is difficult to overstate the impact Booker T. Jones has had on the American soundscape.

During his Mountain Stage set, Jones plays a few of his well know favorites, touches on some of his work with heavyweights like Bob Dylan and Albert King, and shares some of the new songs he’s cut with contemporary artists like the Roots and the Drive-By Truckers.

And in this week’s Backstage at Mountain Stage video, you’ll get to see Jones talk about how as a teenage high school student in Memphis, he wound up on some of the 20^th century’s most iconic recordings, including our Song of the Week, “Green Onions.”

Fresh off their first appearance at South By Southwest, Lake Street Dive (NOT “drive”) are, as Mountain Stage producer Adam Harris likes to say, “pretty hot right now.”

The four members the band met when they were students at Boston’s New England Conservatory. Jazz-schooled and DIY-motivated, what originally began as a “free country” project was eventually overcome by the band’s penchant for classic pop and groove-driven jazz. Drummer Mike Calabrese and trumpet-wielding guitarist Mike Olson highlight the vocals of jazz-inspired singer Rachel Price and bassist Bridget Kearney. Kearny, who is also one of the band’s key songwriters, previously appeared on Mountain Stage with her other band, the bluegrass-inspired Joy Kills Sorrow.

Singer-songwriter Kenny White kicks off the show. For  many  years,  White  was  a  fixture  in  the  NY  studio  scene,  writing  and  producing  hundreds of commercials for TV and radio. His  relationships  with  Marc  Cohn  and  Shawn  Colvin  led  to  his  producing  Colvin’s  Grammy-nominated, I Don’t Know Why and to his involvement in Cohn’s wildly successful self-titled debut record.

White’s Mountain Stage set includes two of the funniest tunes you’ll hear in a while: one about two very unlikable lovers, and another that explains in no uncertain terms how to write a successful pop love song. One of the secrets: First you sing high, and then you sing higher. 

 Jill Sobule returns to Mountain Stage. Since first stirring the pot in the mid-90’s with her alternative hit “I Kissed a Girl,” Sobule has maintained vibrant career and loyal following.

In recent years, Sobule has received even more attention for all but single-handedly pioneering the idea of fan-funded projects – a concept that’s now widely utilized by her fellow musicians. In 2009, she raised over $85,000 from 500 fans to help record her album California Years.

Also returning to the Mountain Stage are the young ethereal indie-pop ensemble The Spring Standards. All three members - James Cleare, James Smith and Heather Robb originally played together when they were in high school. A few years later, they all found themselves living within a few blocks of one another in New York City.

The band’s full-length debut, Would Things Be Different was released in 2010 and led to an appearance on Conan O’Brien, and tours alongside Squeeze, The Old 97s, Marc Broussard, Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, and Ha Ha Tonka.

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!

We here at Mountain Stage are thrilled to announce something that's been in the works for several months now: This August, we're traveling to the town of Fairbanks, Alaska to record two shows, in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Summer Sessions &Lifelong Learning. These shows will happen on August 17 and 18, at the Charles Davis Concert Hall in Fairbanks. Tickets go on sale March 19 at 8 a.m. (Alaska time, of course). Check the Mountain Stage website for details.

The town of Fairbanks is an enthusiastic supporter of public radio, and over the years they've hosted several of NPR's marquee shows, including “Wait Wait Don't Tell Me,” and “Whad'Ya Know,” just to name a couple. KUAC-FM has been a Mountain Stage affiliate for many years, and though a visit has been talked about for a while now, the stars have finally aligned. We're all extremely grateful to everyone who has made the commitment to bring Mountain Stage to America's last frontier.

While this will be the trip of a lifetime for many of us, believe it when we say that this is no vacation. The logistics involved in transporting the massive amount of equipment – to say nothing of the people it takes to record an internationally distributed radio show thousands of miles away from home presents challenges we rarely face.

We're all a little nervous. But it's been done before, in Glasgow, Scotland and Grand Marais, Minnesota – not to mention the many trips back and forth to Morgantown, Bristol, and Athens (Georgia and Ohio) that have now become routine. It wasn't always so. We think it speaks well of all who have supported Mountain Stage over the years, our state, and its residents that these locales (some far off, some not) have all but bent over backwards to bring a slice of Charleston, West Virginia to their hometowns.

There's much more to follow. Continue checking back for more.

Mountain Stage returns this week with our first of 10 premiere episodes.

This week you’ll hear from Massachusetts rockers Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, the white-hot neo-soul ensemble Fitz & the Tantrums, Americana darlings The Sweetback Sisters, Nashville-by-way-of-Alaska bluegrass group Bearfoot, and pop singer/songwriter Katie Costello.

Click here for a complete list of stations where you can listen to Mountain Stage, click here to see this episode’s playlist, and click here to see our entire schedule of upcoming episodes.

Stephen Kellogg grew up going to pop metal shows, then coming home and hearing his parents Cat Stevens and Crosby, Stills & Nash albums. Years later, Kellogg & his band The Sixers have developed a loyal following based on their own blend of showmanship and energy with smart, thoughtful songwriting - a combination he told host Larry Groce makes perfect sense, given his upbringing.

You can preview Kellogg’s performance right now via our Song of The Week, and be sure to check out our Backstage at Mountain Stage video featuring Kellogg and his band. You’ll see footage of their set, as well as a brief interview with Kellogg.

It’s no exaggeration to call neo-soul and pop group Fitz and The Tantrums one the hottest groups of the past 2 years. They’ve spent countless dates on the road playing sold out shows in nearly every major American city, and have appeared on The Tonight Show, Conan, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Headed up by singer and studio wiz Michael Fitzpatrick, and featuring vocalist Noelle Scaggs, the group’s signature sound is based around retro keyboard tones, horns, and surprisingly – no guitar.

Bluegrass band Bearfoot also stops by. Now based in Nashville, the group’s roots are in Alaska, where founding members Angela Oudean and Jason Norris were raised. They recently added upcoming award winning singer-songwriter Nora Jane Struthers and bassist P.J. George (both of the band The Bootleggers) and together, the “new and improved” Bearfoot has received more acclaim than ever. Their most recent Compass Records release is American Story.

You’ll also hear from The Sweetback Sisters. One of Americana’s most beloved bands, the Sweetback Sisters feature the harmonies of singers Emily Miller and Zara Bode, along with driving electric guitar courtesy of Ross Bellenoit, and fiddle from West Virginia native Jesse Milnes. The group’s influences range from Roger Miller and Patsy Cline to roadhouse rock and western swing – an attitude that’s reflected in the title of their latest album, Looking For a Fight.

Finally, you’ll hear from up and coming singer-songwriter Katie Costello. Funny, bright, and articulate, Costello released her first full-length album in 2008, when she was just 17. Her songs have already been heard in several television shows, and latest release, Lamplight was featured in Paste Magazine’s Best of What’s Next. Costello is backed by the Mountain Stage band.

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!

Mountain Stage returns to the border town of Bristol TN / VA this weekend for another sold out show in partnership with our friends at the Birthplace of Country MusicAlliance.

Our guests will be country icon Marty Stewart and his hotshot band The Fabulous Superlatives, bluegrass heavyweights Blue Highway, Nashville’s McCrary Sisters, newcomers The Pines, and exciting young singer-songwriter John Fullbright.

Tickets for this show are gone, but it’s set to feed to our NPR stations in early fall, on the weekend of September 7.

Check back with the Mountain Stage blog for a peek at this and other upcoming shows, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest.

Our entire broadcast schedule can be found here, and our schedule of future live shows can be found here.

Our next live taping in Charleston won’t be until June, but on March 25^th Mountain Stage is partnering with FOOTMAD to present folk icon Peggy Seeger on her last American Tour at the Culture Center Theater. Tickets can be purchased at mountainstage.org, by phone (800.594.TIXX) and in person at Ellen’s Ice Cream in Downtown Charleston, and at Fret-n-Fiddle in St. Albans. This is a live event that won’t be broadcast on radio or television – the only way to hear it or see it is to be there in person.

 

 Thanks again for supporting Mountain Stage.

This week, Mountain Stage revisits a show recorded live during FestivALL Charleston 2010, featuring bluegrass stars Mountain Heart, along with the Charlie Sizemore Band, Greensky Bluegrass, Diana Jones, and Shawn Camp.

Known for their uncommon ability to combine traditional bluegrass sounds with live energy evocative of the best rock & roll shows, Mountain Heart has won a loyal following across genres. Formed by members of bluegrass legend Doyle Lawson’s band Quicksilver, founding members Gary Abernathy (banjo, vocals) and Jim Van Cleve (fiddle) are joined by Jason Moore on bass, Aaron Ramsey on mandolin and dobro, Jake Stargel on guitar, and Josh Shilling on lead vocals, guitar and piano.

The final track from their new album That Just Happened (and the final song from their lively Mountain Stage set) came about when Shilling took to Facebook to ask fans what they’d like to hear. The result was a fiery cover of the Allman Brothers’ Whipping Post, a compelling showcase for Shillings’ soaring vocals and piano.

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Shawn Camp makes his second appearance on Mountain Stage. After leaving the family farm in Arkansas at age 20, Camp soon became one country music's most sought-after sidemen. He charted a Top 40 single of his own in the '90s with “Fallin’ Never Felt So Good,” and since then has earned respect as one of Nashville’s premier songwriters, penning hits for Garth Brooks (“Two Pina Coladas”) The Del McCoury Band ("My Love Will Not Change") Josh Turner (“Would You Go With Me”) and others.

Camp recently came to the attention of Warner Music Nashville President John Esposito, who discovered that Warner/Reprise had shelved an album he recorded nearly two decades ago. Available at last, it has been re-titled 1994. His set features a song from that album, the unsentimental tearjerker “The Grandpa That I Know,” which you can preview now as our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

Greensky Bluegrass also appears. Since winning the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition, Greensky Bluegrass have been playing more than 170 shows a year and sharing stages with Sam Bush, Yonder Mountain String Band and Railroad Earth. (The group’s fourth album, Five Interstates was produced by Railroad Earth’s Tim Carbone.) The group’s Mountain Stage set features a preview of their forthcoming album, Handguns. 

You’ll also hear from Charlie Sizemore. A clear, crisp tenor and a respected songwriter, Sizemore spent nine years as a singer for Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, directly following in the footsteps of Keith Whitley. Balancing his career as a lawyer, family man and bluegrass singer, Sizemore’s set includes the tune “Alison’s Band,” which spent several weeks atop the Bluegrass Unlimited’s Top 30 Single Chart. His most recent effort is Heartache Looking For a Home.

Finally, Diana Jones returns to Mountain Stage with her own blend of country, blues and mountain music in the vein of Gillian Welch and Iris DeMent. The title of her current release, High Atmosphere, refers to flooding that occurred in Nashville in 2010 and how her house - built on top of hill in 1900 - escaped damage.

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. Thanks for listening to Mountain Stage!

 

Dar Williams' upcoming release In The Time of Gods was partially inspired by her time spent on the road, her family, Greek mythology, and a desire to freak out her record company. It was produced by Grammy-winner Kevin Killen, who has had a hand in everything from U2’s The Unforgettable Fire to Sugarland to HBO’s Treme. In the Time of Gods will be available April 27. If you’d like a survey of Williams' career so far, check out her recent two disc retrospective, Many Great Companions.

Legendary Texas songwriter (and Larry Groce’s former high school classmate) Ray Wylie Hubbard needs no introduction to Mountain Stage audiences. He first came to the attention of many for the song “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother” (which was covered by Jerry Jeff Walker) and has remained a fixture on the Texas music scene ever since. His latest release is titled, appropriately enough, A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C).

More acts will be announced in the days and weeks ahead, so check back with us at the blog, and follow us on Facebook and the Twitter machine for the latest.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, March 7 at 10 a.m., online, by phone (304.549.TIXX) and in person at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston. We look forward to seeing you there.

Mountain Stage is happy to announce that we’re partnering with our friends at FOOTMAD to present folk icon Peggy Seeger on her last American tour. It’s happening Sunday, March 25 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV.

Tickets are on sale now. You can purchase them at mountainstage.org, by phone (800.594.TIXX) and in person at Ellen’s Ice Cream in Charleston, and Fret-n-Fiddle in St. Albans. Visit mountainstage.org for complete details.

This is a live concert event that will not be broadcast or recorded for radio. The only way you can experience it is live and in person, so get your tickets now.

Born in 1935, Peggy Seeger’s family connections are well-known in the folk and classical music world. She is Pete Seeger's half-sister, Ruth Crawford Seeger's daughter; partner to Ewan MacColl, who wrote “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” for her. Seeger herself is perhaps best known for her proto-feminist anthem “Gonna Be an Engineer,” along with the “The Ballad of Springhill,” which has long been regarded as a folk standard; just to name a few.

Seeger’s work with MacColl was prodigious. From 1959 onward, they encouraged and set standards for the burgeoning UK folk revival; they trolled the USA & UK field recordings and anthologies for little-known traditional songs; they trained other singers and involved them in political-musical documentary theatre; and they instigated the revolutionary Radio Ballad form.

(And it’s worth noting that the recent popularity of Public Radio staples like This American Life and Radio Lab owe much to the Radio Ballad format.) Seeger has made 22 solo recordings and taken part in over 100 more with other performers. A singer, multi-instrumentalist, and writer, she is considered to be one America's finest and most important folk musicians.

Still going strong at 77 years young, Peggy Seeger now makes her home in the UK, near her three children. Her current tour of the United States is to be her last. Don’t miss this opportunity to see a living legend of music. Learn more about Seeger at her website, and learn more about FOOTMAD by visiting FOOTMAD.org. We look forward to seeing you there. 

This week’s live Mountain Stage show is sold out.

If extra tickets become available – and a few always do – they’ll be placed on sale at the door beginning at 5 o’clock.

We’re thrilled to be welcoming Rich Robinson (as it turns out, “of The Black Crowes” isn’t actually part of his name), revered Canadian band (and long-time Mountain Stage favorites) the Cowboy Junkies, singer/songwriter Anais Mitchell, and Australian institution Paul Kelly. This is our last show in Charleston for a while, so we look forward to seeing you there.

Next week we’re back on the road in Bristol TN/VA for a show with our friends from the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance.

Click here to see our complete current live show schedule. And check here to take a look at our upcoming broadcast schedule. There are many exciting premiers on the way.

Follow us on Twitter to learn the latest about live events (often as they’re happening) and “like” us on the Facebook machine to stay connected with all things Mountain Stage.

Go see some live music!