Banjo Inspiration, Statehouse News And Our Song Of The Week This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, discovery in a woodshop led a punk rock musician to connect with a retired banjo maker and his handmade tools. Also, we have the latest statehouse news and we listen to this week’s Mountain Stage Song of the Week.

The West Virginia House of Delegates sent their twelfth bill to the Senate in only the second week of a 60-day session. One of the twelve, HB 2007, allows people with certain occupational licenses from other states to apply for the same license in West Virginia, without having to go through a new certification process. Emily Allen reports.

Lawmakers in the West Virginia House of Delegates debated amendments Thursday to a bill that would make changes to the governor’s emergency powers. WVPB has the latest.

Last spring, West Virginia University students didn’t get to walk across a stage in front of a stadium packed full of friends and family to receive a diploma. As Duncan Slade reports, this rite of passage is coming back.

Lots of people have picked up new hobbies during the pandemic – or renewed old ones. Some people started knitting, baking or mountain biking. For many, those hobbies have a way of turning into passions that play out over years and sometimes decades. The Inside Appalachia team is sharing stories about people with different passions — poetry, music and making hot dogs, to name a few. All have touched others with their dedication to their craft. In this weekend’s episode of Inside Appalachia, we meet a 20-year-old punk rocker in Harlan County, Kentucky who picked up the banjo that led to a search for a 97-year-old banjo maker. Inside Appalachia folkways reporter Nicole Musgrave has the story.

Songwriter Joe Pug has made six appearances on Mountain Stage since 2008. His ability to paint a scene is among his greatest gifts, as you can hear in our Song of the Week, “After Curfew.”

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Glynis Board, Dave Mistich, Caitlin Tan, Jessica Lilly, Liz McCormick, Eric Douglas, Emily Allen, June Leffler, Duncan Slade and Roxy Todd.

Andrea Billups is our news director. Eric Douglas was our producer this week.

Teresa Wills and Chuck Anziulewicz are our hosts.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning