Mountain Blog

You can hear yourselves cheering on Colin Hay, The Proclaimers, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Cordis and Amy Speace on most stations during the weekend of October 23-25. (Check your Station's airtime). We have photos on our MySpace page by Chris Morris.

Those of you who came out to see the Indigo Girls, Alison Brown, Chris Smither, Gary Jules and Jill Hennessy at the Clay Center can hear that show during the weekend of October 30-November 1. Some stations hold the show for a week- so some of you may hear it later.

The Charleston Gazette ran a review of last evening's performance- read it here.

You can also tune in to WV Public Radio's live stream every Sunday at 3pm and hear a repeat the following Saturday at 8pm.

This Sunday we'll record an episode with Colin Hay, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears , The Proclaimers, Amy Speace and Cordis at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston.

The Charleston Gazette has an interview with former Men at Work front man Colin Hay who makes his first appearance on our show this Sunday.

Percussionist Rick Grimes, of the Boston-based post-rockers Cordis, is a native of Charleston, WV and George Washington High School graduate. The Charleston Daily Mail did an interview with Grimes in advance of this Sunday's appearance on Mountain Stage.

Garage soul outfit Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears just made their national television debut on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The video of "Sugarfoot" is below so you can get a glimpse of the "rafter-dusting" funk of the Austin-based group.

On Tuesday September 29, we'll record episode #703 with The Indigo Girls, Chris Smither, Alison Brown, Gary Jules and Jill Hennessey at The Clay Center. Showtime is 8pm. 

The Indigos, who make their sixth appearance on Mountain Stage Tuesday, were also featured in the Gazette this week.

The Daily Mail also has a nice feature here on the Indigo Girls.

You can also read a review of Chris Smither's latest CD, "Time Stands Still" which we offered as a preview of in a previous post.

Tickets to this Sunday's show at the Culture Center are available HERE and by phone at 800.594.TIXX.

Tuesday September 29 we'll travel over to The Clay Center, where tickets are still available on their website or by phone at 304.561.3570.

There are still tickets for both shows at Taylor Books in Downtown, Charleston, WV.

Note: Sunday's showtime is 7pm.

Tuesday's showtime is 8pm.
Doors open a half hour prior in both cases.

As you savvy shoppers know, it's never too soon to start thinking about the holidays! We're the same here at Mountain Stage and we're happy to announce our upcoming Mountain Stage Holiday Special.

We'll record a holiday-themed Mountain Stage special in Charleston, WV at the Culture Center Theater on Sunday, November 29 and distribute it to radio stations across the world in December.

We've got the musical equivalent of a hot cup of cocoa in the sensational, sultry songstress Holly Cole. Her album of  classic and contemporary seasonal tunes Baby, It's Cold Outside, is a romantic and enchanting sleigh-ride itself, and she'll be with us on November 29 to give us a sampling of favorites live and in-person.

Get a sampling of Cole's entire catalog here, including her import single, Christmas Blues .

Tickets are on sale now, so don't wait until it's too late and you're left out in the cold. Get your tickets ONLINE, by phone at 800.594.TIXX or at Taylor Books in downtown, Charleston, WV.

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears , who will join us for a recording on September 27 in Charleston, will make their national television debut on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Monday, September 21, just before heading to Charleston for Mountain Stage.

Tune in to CBS to get a glimpse of the eight-piece Garage Soul band and get your tickets for the show on-line, by phone at 800.594.TIXX, or swing by Taylor Books in downtown, Charleston to join us on Sunday, September 27 at the Culture Center Theater.

UPDATE: Below is video from the group's national telvision debut. 

Two Mountain Stage guests have recorded their own takes on songs written by West Virginians.

Chris Smither joins us on Sept. 29 in Charleston at the Clay Center along with the Indigo Girls, Alison Brown, Jill Hennessey and Gary Jules.

Smither's latest CD, Time Stands Still includes a song by West Virginian Frank Hutchison. Hutchison was born in West Virginia in 1897 and his sides for the Okeh label are considered the first southern blues recorded by a white man.

His complete works can be found HERE (Purchase through this link and proceeds benefit Mountain Stage and WV Public Broadcasting) His tune "Miner's Blues" hits close to home with many in the state, and Smither's stark rendering conveys the song's haunting story.

On November 22 we'll record an episode with former Soul Coughing leader Mike Doughty, whose latest CD Sad Man Happy Man (also available on vinyl) includes another tune written by a West Virginian and cult-hero.

"Casper the Friendly Ghost" is a playful tune written and recorded originally by alternative icon and New Cumberland, WV-raised Daniel Johnston. Johnston was a the subject of a 2006 doucmentary which featured commentary by many contemporary rock heroes, Thurston More of Sonic Youth among them.

Here is Mike Doughty doing his version of Johnston's "Casper the Friendly Ghost."

We will take the show on the road in October and tickets for all three events are on sale now.

On October 18 we will take the show to the Keith Albee Theater in Huntington, WV as part of the Create, WV conference. We've just finalized the line up and tickets are on sale now via TicketMaster (click here for a direct link to this event).

Our longtime friend, Cross Lanes native and Country music star Kathy Mattea will make her 18th Mountain Stage appearance with her all-star band. If you haven't heard her record of mining songs Coal , it is a wonderful collection of some of our region's most important songs, performed by a native who grew up in that atmosphere, produced by Marty Stuart.  

Featuring adopted West Virginians Amy McIntire on banjo  and Tony Rogers on cello, The Ahs  formed in New Hampshire, headed to Portland and are now making their mystic blend of old-time and folk in the thick of Appalachia in southern West Virginia. Their music is available on CDBaby and you can get a listen on MySpace. 

North Carolinian Shannon Whitworth has visited Mountain Stage once as a member of a string-band, the Biscuit Burners. That group showcased her songwriting and now she's back with No Expectations.  

Carrying on a deeply-rooted West Virginia tradition of music is the family band The Songcatchers. Featuring three generations of musicians led by Dr. Everett Lilly, a professor at Mountain State University. Everett is the son of Everett Lilly, who, as a member of The Lilly Brothers & Don Stover (with his brother Bea), brought Appalachian music to the masses in Boston which inspired a whole generation of players, Peter Rowan among them.

Made up of seven multi-instrumentalists, Or, the Whale from San Francisco will bring their breezy West-coast tunes to our stage. Give them a listen on MySpace and then head over to TicketMaster.com to get your seats. 

The Keith Albee Theater is located at 925 4th Ave. in Huntington. Doors are at 6:30pm with the show beginning at 7pm.

Mountain Stage is proud to welcome two radio stations to our family of affiliates. We hope folks in Syracuse, NY and Scranton, PA will become long-time listeners.

Beginning Saturday, September 12, listeners of WAER-88.3 FM out of Syracuse, NY can hear Mountain Stage at 5pm.

Beginning Saturday, September 26, WVIA-89.9 FM HD2, in Scranton, PA will air Mountain Stage at 4 pm. 

You can listen live through mp3 and i-Tunes streams, or just tune in via your HD Radio receiver. (They are currently streaming "Music of Your Life" programming on the HD channel.)

We hope you'll visit our Broadcast Schedule to see what's in store for your listening pleasure. For a radio station in your area, visit our entire list of affiliates HERE.

If we're not carried your area, you can hear the latest show Sundays at 3pm and again the following Saturday at 8pm via WV Public Radio's stream, or visit our affiliates Web sites for their streaming options.

We've added perennial indie-rockers Yo La Tengo to our October 4 line-up in Morgantown, WV. They'll join Regina Spektor, Sonny Landreth and Will Hoge at the WVU Creative Arts Center for a 7pm show time. 

Tickets are $15 and on sale now online, on campus at the Mountain Lair Box Office or you can charge by phone at 304.293.SHOW.  

Their latest CD Popular Songs was released today and can be purchased via Amazon HERE, and your order will help support WV Public Radio and Mountain Stage. Fill the shopping cart while you're at it. 

Tickets are on sale TODAY for our Sunday, October 4 trip to Morgantown, WV for a 7pm show at the WVU Creative Arts Center.

Our guests will be Regina Spektor, Sonny Landreth, Will Hoge and much more. Follow this direct link to TicketMaster or search "Mountain Stage" at ticketmaster.com to get your tickets. 

We've just announced another live recording on Sunday November 22 at the Culture Center Theater here in Charleston, WV, featuring former Soul Coughing front man Mike Doughty.

Tickets go on sale THIS FRIDAY September 4. Doughty is releasing his third solo record "Sad Man Happy Man" on October 6. Hear some songs over at his MySpace page and get your tickets this Friday.

We also have live recordings scheduled for Nov. 1, 8 and 15 at the Culture Center. Visit our Live Show Schedule for guest artist and ticket info. Tickets for all the November shows can be found ONLINE, by calling 800.594.TIXX, or by stopping by Taylor Books in downtown Charleston. Hope to see you soon.

We're proud to welcome Jefferson Public Radio to our family of affiliate stations. Covering a large portion of Oregon, JPR listeners can hear Mountain Stage beginning Saturday September 5 at 1pm PT & Sun 9pm PT as part of their "Rhythm & News" programming. View their program schedule here.

Your first episode will be this weekend's encore presentation featuring country superstar Patty Loveless, multi-IBMA nominee Dan Tyminski Band, backwoods songwriter Chris Knight, famed Irish-American group Solas and NewSong winners Jacob & Lily. View the playlist here. 

Not sure how to listen in your area? Check out our entire list of stations for your air time and dial location. You can also tune in via live-streaming thanks to WV Public Radio, Sunday at 3pm and then it repeats Saturday at 8pm.

Over at NPR Music we have sets from last week's broadcast, including Sonya Kitchell & the Slip, The Alternate Routes and Katie Herzig, and today's set from Welsh "Depressive" Judith Owen. Stay tuned for more including Matthew Ryan and Joe Pug.