This week, a poet and musician draws inspiration from a distant family connection to the Grand Ole Opry’s Little Jimmy Dickens. Also, for 15 years, a Virginia library has been hosting a weekly Dungeons & Dragons game for teens.
And, a taxidermist in Yadkin County, North Carolina found her calling before she could drive a car.
Calexico Has Our Song Of The Week As We Revisit 2013
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Mountain Stage is revisiting some of our favorite episodes from our archives while we wait to record new shows for our listeners. This week we go back to one of the first shows of our 30th season back in January 2013.
Calexico’s core duo, Joey Burns and John Convertino, relocated to New Orleans with co-producer Craig Schumacher for the bulk of the recording sessions for Algiers, living and working in a converted church in the outskirts neighborhood for which the record is named. It was the first time the band recorded outside of their home state of Arizona since forming in 1996.
Our Song of the Week is a performance of “Splitter,” a hard-driving song that builds to a horn filled crescendo.
Artists join Larry Groce for one last song to end the show.
Hear the entire performance from Calexico, plus more from Canadian groove-folk outfit Bahamas, revered songsmith Bonnie “Prince” Billy, alt-rockers Camper Van Beethoven and UK pop singer Piney Gir, on this week’s classic episode of Mountain Stage. Listen on these stations starting this Friday, and be sure to follow our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more great music.
On this West Virginia Week, another round of school consolidations in the state, the Republican caucus lays out plans for the upcoming legislative session and a Nashville poet and songwriter channels a connection to LIttle Jimmie Dickens.
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This week, a poet and musician draws inspiration from a distant family connection to the Grand Ole Opry’s Little Jimmy Dickens. Also, for 15 years, a Virginia library has been hosting a weekly Dungeons & Dragons game for teens.
And, a taxidermist in Yadkin County, North Carolina found her calling before she could drive a car.
A lot of people who came of age listening to the Grand Ole Opry know Little Jimmy Dickens. With his clever songs and his rhinestone-studded outfits, the West Virginia native influenced a generation of performers. Now he’s remembered in a new book of poetry.
For some Americans, this year’s political earthquakes hit close to home. Trey Kay reflects on federal budget cuts, the elimination of programs and agencies and the resulting layoffs of hundreds of thousands of workers. 2025 was also a year highlighting escalated immigration enforcement, and the deployment of National Guard troops in U.S. cities. One of those missions resulted in the tragic loss of a West Virginia National Guard soldier. On this end-of-year episode of Us & Them, we examine how today’s culture-war battles are reshaping the nation’s foundation.