Mountain Stage

Ranky Tanky are a South Carolina based band that specializes in "Gullah" music- a style born out of the coastal region and influenced by West African traditions. Here's the band's take on the American folk song, "O Death," for our Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

This week's Song of the Week is from Kenny White, a highly regarded session musician, producer, songwriter and pianist.

This week's episode of Mountain Stage features past performances from the show's archive by Grammy award nominees and winners. Our Song of the Week is "Forget About It," which comes from Alison Krauss and Union Station's 2005 performance on Mountain Stage.

On this West Virginia Morning, we hear from West Virginia high schools students gearing up for the March for Our Lives event in Washington, D.C.; a farmer and chef who uses maple syrup as a main ingredient in his recipes; a former coal miner and veteran who has been honored with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in volunteerism; and this week's Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

Dailey & Vincent's song "More Than a Name On the Wall" is what Larry Groce calls "one of the most patriotic songs ever performed on Mountain Stage." A beloved favorite for long time fans of Dailey & Vincent, "More Than a Name On The Wall" is for those who have lost loved ones who "died for God and Country in a place so far away." 

Indie-rock band The Mountain Goats have produced 16 studio albums, including their most recent called "Goths." On this week's Mountain Stage the group helps celebrate 34 years of live performance radio as they make their second appearance on the show.

"An aural anachronism of country, Western swing, ragtime, jazz, bluegrass and Americana [that] brings the nostalgia to Technicolor-life," critically-acclaimed Mid-Westerner Pokey LaFarge performs a rollicking "Hard Times Come and Go" during his fourth appearance on Mountain Stage with special guest host Todd Burge. 

On this week's encore Mountain Stage broadcast, critically-acclaimed "one-man orchestra of the imagination" Andrew Bird stops by with a set full of acoustic roots-pop (not to mention some A+ whistling).

On this week's encore broadcast of Mountain Stage, West Virginia super pickers Johnny Staats & Robert Shafer return with a new self-released record in tow titled Music from the Mountains, featuring this upbeat performance titled "El Cumbanchero." 

Piers Faccini is an English singer-songwriter with Anglo-Italian and Jewish roots who currently resides in Southern France. His music is just as storied as his past, blending folk, acoustic blues, and West African textures into his sound. For his Mountain Stage debut, he performs an even more colorful rendition of "Cloak of Blue" during this week's broadcast.

An ear for cinematic folk music, critically-acclaimed singer Iron & Wine performs "We Two are a Moon" during his Mountain Stage debut from the show's 33rd anniversary celebration.

Once part of the Grammy-winning duo The Civil Wars, Southern folk musician John Paul White returns to the Mountain Stage to perform cuts from his new solo release Beulah, including the atmospheric lament "Once and Future Queen." 

Spellbinding folk with a captivating voice. It would only make sense for such a performance by Aoife O'Donovan to be titled "Magic Hour," one of the many songs we'll preview on this week's Mountain Stage broadcast.

Somewhere between experimental folk and traditional Appalachian you'll find Asheville-based band River Whyless, an up-and-coming indie act making their Mountain Stage debut on this week's broadcast (which includes this trip-loopy performance of "All Day All Night").

"You're fired up and you say you want it. No, don't ever lose your will to fight. Or wane when you think upon it. It's hard work, but it will be worth it."

Mountain Stage host Larry Groce got together with staff for the daunting task of choosing some of their favorite performances from the year 2017. We truly enjoy all our guests, and choosing favorites can seem subjective. So here are our 34 Highlights from the 34th Season of Mountain Stage. Curated by Larry  and our staff- Executive Producer Adam Harris, Associate Producers Jeff Shirley and Vasilia Scouras, and our Digital Engineer Patrick Stephens- the list is presented in alphabetical order, from Andrew Bird to Mokoomba to Tyler Childers.

Tupelo, Mississippi born songwriter Paul Thorn has appeared on Mountain Stage nine times since 1997, each time charming the audience with his trademark humor, wit and introspection.

Songwriter and mutli-instrumentalist Seth Glier's latest album "Birds" was written from a very personal place, but based on his growing popularity, the album has a broad appeal.

This week's episode of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce is a special one, comprised of some of our favorite performances of the last couple of years.

Grammy winning songwriter and producer Dan Wilson performs his rendition of "Someone Like You," live on Mountain Stage. Wilson co-wrote and produced the song with Adele, for her tremendously successful album "21."