Home » LISTEN: Tim O’Brien Has Our Song Of The Week, Recorded At The Kennedy Center

Adam Harris Published August 4, 2022 - 11:05 am

LISTEN: Tim O’Brien Has Our Song Of The Week, Recorded At The Kennedy Center

Tim O'Brien & Jan Fabricius.JPG — Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius perform during a live taping of the NPR program ‘Mountain Stage’ at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. recorded Sunday, October 24, 2021. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for NPR)

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This week’s episode was recorded at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Mountain Stage and host Kathy Mattea were a part of the Center’s 50^th Anniversary Season, and welcomed Texas Swing legends Asleep at the Wheel, soul-blues singer Ruthie Foster, multi-cultural folk singer Leyla McCalla, indie-pop songwriter Carsie Blanton and Grammy-winning West Virginian Tim O’Brien with Jan Fabricius. Join us starting Friday, August 5 on our NPR affiliates.

Our Song of the Week comes from the duo of O’Brien and Fabricius who perform “Nervous,” a timely commentary about modern times that appears on O’Brien’s latest album He Walked On.

In this new world they say digital is best But I need to take a rest, I just can’t find the fun In all the zeros and the ones, I’m nervous

Tim O'Brien – "Nervous"

Tim O'Brien & Jan Fabricius "Nervous," Live on Mountain Stage

Recorded at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Mountain Stage, as part of the 50th Anniversary Season.

Listeners will also hear a special performance by Kathy Mattea and our pianist Bob Thompson, accompanied by a string quartet of National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellows, of Dave Mallet’s touching ballad “Summer of My Dreams.”

Kathy Mattea with Strings.JPG — Kathy Mattea performs with National Youth Symphony fellows during a live taping of the NPR program ‘Mountain Stage’ at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, October 24, 2021. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for NPR)

It just so happened that our final guests, Asleep at the Wheel, were celebrating their 50^th anniversary as well. They treated us to a career spanning set of Texas Swing that only they can deliver. Too bad you can’t hear juggling on the radio!

1 of 7 — Asleep At The Wheel celebrated 50 years on Mountain Stage, recorded at The Kennedy Center in 2021.

The band Asleep at the Wheel performs during a live taping of the NPR program ‘Mountain Stage’ at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, October 24, 2021. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for NPR)