Mountain Stage

Four Mountain Stage performances enter, two Mountain Stage performances leave. So who was it going to be: legendary country music offspring Rosanne Cash, legendary singer-songwriter Randy Newman, bluegrass maestro Del McCoury or folk-rock duo The Civil Wars?

The four virtuoso musicians that make up Lake Street Dive met as students at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music, and after performing together for nearly a decade are now regarded as America's premier indie pop band. Here they play "Clear a Space," from their latest album Bad Self Portraits.

Black Prairie began as a bluegrass-influenced side project lead by 3 of the 5 members of indie rock band The Decemberists. They've since become a very successful and in demand group in their own right, releasing four acclaimed albums. Here they perfrom "The 84," from this week's premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce.

A pinch of folk, a dash of soul and a good dollop of bluegrass. Mix it all together and what do you get? This week's "Mountain Stage After Midnight!" Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Broadcasting, "Mountain Stage After Midnight" takes the best episodes from the show's 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners. Each week we'll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes that'll alternate order each night. 

Last year, "Mountain Stage After Midnight" posed a question to its music-loving fans: Who do you want to listen to overnight weekends? You voted on our Facebook, we tallied'em up and Bela Fleck and Robert Cray were crowned the victors.

You know that ol' Wendy's slogan, "Eat Great, Even Late?" Well the same holds true for "Mountain Stage After Midnight," a delicious public radio program that feeds music lovers into the wee hours of morning. Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, "Mountain Stage After Midnight" takes the best episodes from the show's 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners.

National Bubble Bath Day was this past week (yes, that's a thing), but why not keep the relaxation celebration alive this weekend by unwinding, lighting some candles and listening to some smooth music provided by "Mountain Stage After Midnight?" Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, "Mountain Stage After Midni

We continue our look at our favorite stories of 2014 first with a visit to the Kanawha Charleston Humane Association. In August, Roxy Todd reported the association in the past few years has decreased their euthanization rate by some 95 percent.

Liz McCormick visited Paw Paw High School in the fall as students teamed up with NASA to build a full scale model satellite. The project started after the 7-12 school's only science teacher took her students on a field trip and thought, why can't we do that? She says her students also learned more than science along the way.

This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage features a performance by guitar virtuoso Julian Lage. He was playing with Bela Fleck at age 11, was the subject of an Oscar nominated documentary, and is member of fiddle legend Mark O'Connor's trio. He appears here with his own band, performing the instrumental "For Critter," which he wrote for his friend Chris Eldridge of Punch Brothers.

Iconic Midwestern folk singer John Gorka returned to Mountain Stage in February 2014 with a brand new song that he introduced as his "love letter to Charleston" in its time of need. Here he performs "Give Us Back Our Water," from this week's special encore broadcast.

R&B singer Bettye LaVette is comfortable covering material ranging from Tom Waits to Bob Seeger. Here she lends her soulful voice to Bob Dylan's classic "Everything is Broken."

Mountain Stage is hosting a holiday pop-up shop this Wednesday and Thursday  from 11am - 6pm at 600 Capitol Street in Charleston. Please feel free to stop by to say hello and pick up gifts, music, merchandise, and holiday cheer for the public radio fanatic or music lover in your life. We will be accepting Visa, Mastercard and cash. Tell your pals!

Holly Williams’ lineage is bonafide country royalty: her father is Hank Jr. and her grandfather is Hank Sr. But as a singer-songwriter, her voice is all her own, as you'll hear in the song "Drinkin'," from her acclaimed album The Highway.

It's not stretch to call Catherine Russell one of the most respected and versatile singers working today. Blessed with a voice that doesn't confine her to a single genre, she worked with everyone from Paul Simon to David Bowie and Dolly Parton. But jazz is what she does best - here she performs "Aged and Mellow," live from this week's premiere broadcast.

This Sunday, December 7, point your browser to MountainStage.org at 7pm EST to watch "Mountain Stage" with Larry Groce celebrate the end of their 31st season of live performance radio. You'll be able to watch performances by Canadian singer/songwriter Rose Cousins, new-time string-band The Stray Birds, Kentucky's Joan Shelley, Portland's Black Prairie (featuring members of the Decemberists) and pop-culture icon Lisa Loeb. This will be episode #834, and the last live production of the year.

Both Marshall and Concord Universities head into the weekend with big games before them. Marshall will take on Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Championship in Huntington and Concord will meet Bloomsberg for the Super Region One Championship in Athens.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller gave his farewell speech on the U.S. Senate floor Thursday, thanking his family, staff and fellow West Virginians for allowing him to serve.

This episode also include the Mountain Stage Song of the Week "Whatch'a Gonna Do" by Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn.

First Family of the Banjo Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn return to Mountain Stage this week, with songs from the first album they've recorded together as a duo. Over a bed of intertwined banjos, Abigail takes the lead on a song Bela wrote, lyrics and all, "What'cha Gonna Do?"

On West Virginia Morning, Jessica Lilly talks with the father of one of the victims of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion who welcomes the news that former CEO of the company that owned the mine has been indicted.  And Dave Mistich reports from Parkersburg about the posted signs asking people not to give money to panhandlers.

Since this week's A Change of Tune is dedicated to indie/alternative takes on Disney music, it would only make sense to chat with West Virginia Public Radio's very own Mouseketeer, Larry Groce. His contributions to records like Disney's Children's Favorite Songs ​and Disney's Christmas Favorites were understated (you'll never see his smiling, bearded face on a record cover) but impactful (millennials know how "Froggie Went A-Courtin'," thanks to Larry).

On West Virginia Morning, Glynis Board talks with a health care worker who spent a month assessing the Ebola virus in Liberia. And the Public Service Commission is holding public hearings across the state on a rate increase request from American Electric Power.  Jessica Lilly attended one in Mercer County.