LISTEN: John R. Miller Has The Mountain Stage Song Of The Week

On this week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage, host Kathy Mattea welcomes John R. Miller, Cris Jacobs, Lindsay Lou, Jeffrey Martin, and Margo Cilker to perform at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia.

Our Song of the Week comes from Appalachian songwriter, singer and picker John R. Miller. Hailing from the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, Miller has been performing across the U.S. and around the world, headlining and performing alongside some of Americana music’s heavy hitters since 2014. Tyler Childers is one of those musicians who says John is “a well-traveled wordsmith mapping out the world he’s seen, three chords at a time.”

On this episode, Miller and his band performed “Basements” from his 2023 album Heat Comes Down. This standout track features John’s distinct fingerpicking and gravely toned voice, telling us about his journey as a musician. In this full-circle story, he takes us from the excitement of early band practices to the hardships of the music industry and back down to the basement again.

Tune in to this week’s episode starting Friday, Feb. 21 on these public radio stations to hear John R. Miller’s full set, plus performances by Baltimore roots-mainstay Cris Jacobs, honey-toned songstress Lindsay Lou, poetic singer-songwriter Jeffrey Martin, and Americana artist Margo Cilker.

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