One of America’s pioneering filmmakers had nothing to do with Hollywood but nevertheless left his mark on the emerging industry. Oscar Micheaux was a homesteader, who then turned his attention to making movies in the early 1900s. He was a Black man who made movies for Black audiences at a time when they weren’t allowed into mainstream, white-only theaters. And for several pivotal years in the 1920s, he operated out of Roanoke, Virginia.
Need to countrify your weekend? Of course you do, and that’s why “Mountain Stage After Midnight” is here to help with performances from some amazing alt-country, bluegrass, and folk artists. Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, “Mountain Stage After Midnight” takes the best episodes from the show’s 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners. Each week we’ll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes and they’ll alternate order each night.
Tune your dials to West Virginia Public Radio this Saturday October 11 and Sunday October 12 for two good ol’ performances on “Mountain Stage After Midnight.
First you’ll hear a 2011 performance featuring Seattle folk pop band Ivan & Alyosha, indie folk group The Low Anthem, singer-songwriter duo Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, folk supergroup Red Horse, alt-country legend Lucinda Williams (who just released her eleventh studio album). See the playlist.
Credit Brian Blauser / Mountain Stage
/
Little Big Town made their first appearance on Mountain Stage in 2007.
Next is a 2007 performance featuring Virginia-based alt-bluegrass ensemble Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Canadian folk pop chanteuse Rose Cousins, West Virginia country band The Davisson Brothers Band, contemporary jazz vocalist Catherine Russell, and country group/The Voice mentors Little Big Town (who are releasing a new record, Pain Killer, this month). See the playlist.
WVPB will be screening excerpts of Ken Burns’ recent PBS documentary series "The American Revolution" this week at Marshall. Us & Them host Trey Kay will moderate the event, and he spoke recently with WVPB News Director Eric Douglas about why revisiting the nation’s founding story matters today. Also, a bill to temporarily delay moving a child to homeschooling during an active case of abuse or neglect hit a snag in the Senate on Monday.
One of America’s pioneering filmmakers had nothing to do with Hollywood but nevertheless left his mark on the emerging industry. Oscar Micheaux was a homesteader, who then turned his attention to making movies in the early 1900s. He was a Black man who made movies for Black audiences at a time when they weren’t allowed into mainstream, white-only theaters. And for several pivotal years in the 1920s, he operated out of Roanoke, Virginia.
This week, in the 1920s, Oscar Micheaux was an entrepreneur filmmaker in western Virginia. He became a world-renowned director and producer. Also, Kentucky’s poet laureate lives down the road from what has been called the country’s most lethal cryptid. Attempts to spot it have led to deaths. And, we talk soul food with Xavier Oglesby, who’s passing on generations of kitchen wisdom to his niece.
We listen to an excerpt from the latest Inside Appalachia and learn about the influence and contributions of Oscar Micheaux, an African American filmmaker who lived in Virginia in the 1920s and shattered stereotypes.
