Across the nation, more than 390,000 children rely on foster care. However, a shortage of licensed foster homes is creating a national crisis. While official foster care cases are carefully tracked, many informal examples of kinship care aren’t part of the data. For this Us & Them episode, we hear the experiences of those who’ve been part of the foster care system.
Pianist and WV Music Hall of Fame member Bob Thompson has announced Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. will be the featured vocalist on Thursday, December 14 at 8pm for a special 25th anniversary edition of “Joy to the World.” The holiday jazz program, produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and heard nationally on radio stations across the country, will once again emanate from the Culture Center Theater on the state capitol grounds in Charleston, WV. Tickets will be available Friday, November 3 at 10a.m.
Advance tickets will be $30, available by phone at 877.987.6487, online or at Taylor Books, 226 Capitol St. in downtown Charleston. Tickets will be $40 on show day, if available.
“Joy to the World” will feature Murphy performing holiday classics and new favorites along with Thompson’s band- Doug Payne on Saxophone, Timothy Courts on drums, Ryan Kennedy on guitar and John Inghram on bass.
“I am so excited to have Landau lined up to help mark this very special occasion,” says Thompson, who is also the show’s artistic director and co-producer. “The band and I love working with a vocalist of his caliber because he can really bring out the best in us with his energy. Landau always delivers, no matter what style or setting.”
Murphy is the winner of the sixth season of NBC’s competition show “America’s Got Talent.” Since then he has toured all over the country, as well as China and Germany. His debut album, “That’s Life,” was released in 2011 to critical acclaim, and he recently released a love letter to his home state, “Come Home to West Virginia.”
Thompson and Murphy have performed together at the WV Music Hall of Fame ceremony, at charity events, and even on Murphy’s holiday album “Christmas Made For Two,” which features arrangements and instrumentation from Thompson and his band on two songs. Hear the title track below.
Joy to the World is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting. The television and radio premieres of this season’s show will simulcast on WVPB Thursday, December 21 at 8pm ET.
Joy to the World with Bob Thompson 25th Anniversary Celebration Featuring vocalist Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. Thursday December 14, 2017 Doors 7:30pm Show 8pm.
Advance Tickets $30 Day of Show $40 On Sale Friday, November 3 at 10am. Available by phone at 877.987.6487, Online or locally at Taylor Books, 226 Capitol St. Downtown Charleston.
Amy Ray returns to Mountain Stage on this week’s encore broadcast, along with her band, New York trio The Lone Bellow, progressive banjo player Alison Brown, slide guitar master and banjo champion Tony Furtado, and Nova Scotia folk group Villages. This episode was recorded at the People's Bank Theatre in Marietta, Ohio with guest host Larry Groce.
One West Virginia Morning we get an update on the two West Virginia State Troopers injured in a shooting last month and learn about the origins of the folklife books known as Foxfire.
Bob Thompson's annual holiday jazz celebration is back! The event is at the West Virginia Culture Center Theater Thursday, Dec. 14, and Friday, Dec. 15.
This week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage features the 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest Winner, Alisa Amador. As a bilingual sing-songwriter, Amador commands audiences with her soulful voice and mixture of rock, jazz, funk and alternative folk that is sweetly wrapped with the Latin music she grew up with.