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This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA. On this episode, host Kathy Mattea welcomes GRAMMY-winning Australian rock star Colin Hay, Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, legendary folk and country artist Ramblin' Jack Elliott, San Francisco rocker Chuck Prophet and his band The Make Out Quartet, and folk duo The Lucky Valentines.
LISTEN: James McMurtry Has Our Song Of The Week — 'Vaquero'
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This week’s brand-new episode of Mountain Stage features one of Americana music’s most heralded and admired writers, James McMurtry, with songs from his latest album, The Horses and the Hounds, on New West Records.
We also get a set of enchanting new music from Aoife O’Donovan, a high-energy performance from the effervescent Sammy Rae & The Friends, plus Nashville based hit writer Natalie Hemby, and songwriter Heather Maloney.
Our Song of the Week, “Vaquero,” is another masterpiece from McMurtry, whose writing manages to capture the unique human experience in particularly vivid ways.
James McMurtry – Vaquero
mira vaquero (look yonder vaquero) se pone el sol (the sun sets) buen caballero viajando con Dios (fine horseman, travelling with God) mira vaquero (look yonder vaquero) no miramos atras (we don’t look back) nos vamos al campo (let us go to the cow camp) una vez mas, una vez mas (one more time, one more time)
Aoife O’Donovan performing on Mountain Stage, 2022
Chris Morris / Mountain Stage
2 of 6 — Sammy Rae – 2022
Sammy Rae and The Friends performing their high-energy set on Mountain Stage in 2022.
Chris Morris / Mountain Stage
3 of 6 — Natalie Hemby – 2022
Host Kathy Mattea introduces Natalie Hemby to the Mountain Stage.
Chris Morris / Mountain Stage
4 of 6 — Heather Maloney – 2022
Chris Morris / Mountain Stage
5 of 6 — Finale song 9-23-2022
Guest artists join host Kathy Mattea for the finale song at the end of the show.
Chris Morris / Mountain Stage
6 of 6 — James McMurtry – 2022
Chris Morris / Mountain Stage
Hear the entire episode, with performances from McMurtry, Aoife O’Donovan, Natalie Hemby, Sammy Rae & The Friends and Heather Maloney, starting Friday, Sept. 23 on these NPR Music stations.
This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA. On this episode, host Kathy Mattea welcomes GRAMMY-winning Australian rock star Colin Hay, Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, legendary folk and country artist Ramblin' Jack Elliott, San Francisco rocker Chuck Prophet and his band The Make Out Quartet, and folk duo The Lucky Valentines.
Across the nation, there are more and more local news deserts; communities with no local newspaper, television or radio station to cover what’s going on. When a small town paper like The Welch News in McDowell County, WV, can’t compete and shuts down, losing those local eyes and ears can affect accountability. No one is there to watch over things. Local news also provides a sense of cohesion and identity for a community. What happens when it’s gone? This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
Coles and Theresa “Red” Terry have been fighting over the Mountain Valley Pipeline nearly since it was first proposed in 2014. The project connects natural gas terminals in Virginia and West Virginia with a 303-mile pipeline that stretches across some of Appalachia’s most rugged terrain. Almost immediately after construction began, protestors tried to block it by setting up and living in platforms in trees along the route.
Here’s a story about a unicorn. Well, it’s really a story about an artist in Appalachia who lost her mojo. And it’s about the woman who helped her get her mojo back. With the help of the unicorn.