Daniel Johnston recorded songs in his parents' basement in rural West Virginia that would eventually inspire artists such as Kurt Cobain, Beck, Wilco, and Sonic Youth. In this award-winning episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay explores the life, art, and enduring legacy of the late singer-songwriter and visual artist whose creative genius and struggles with bipolar disorder made him one of America's most influential outsider artists.
By our best count, Bela Fleck has appeared on Mountain Stage more than 15 times, including trips with his wife Abigail Washburn, alongside his band The Flecktones, small group performances with Edgar Myer, Zakir Hussain, Chris Thile and his very first, which occurred in 1989 as a member of New Grass Revival.
New Grass Revival, 1989, courtesy of Mountain Stage Archives.
Fleck’s most recent appearance is perhaps the most star-studded yet. Bela Fleck My Bluegrass Heart features the banjo master along with Sierra Hull on mandolin, Michael Cleveland on fiddle, bassist Mark Schatz, multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses, and guitarist Bryan Sutton. The corresponding album My Bluegrass Heart won top honors in the Bluegrass Album category at the 2022 Grammy awards.
Our Song of the Week is the opening track on that album, “Vertigo,” performed live on Mountain Stage.
Join us starting Friday, Nov. 24 on these public radio stations, and be sure to visit our podcast page for fresh episodes coming soon. Sign up for our e-mail updates to plan your trip to be a part of our radio audience.
Freebo & Alice HoweSierra Hull & Bela FleckThe Brother BrothersThe Bing Brothers & Jake KrackWV Poet Laureate Marc HarshmanFinale Song
Add WVPB as a preferred source on Google to see more from our team
Our Song of the Week comes from Ray Benson. During his tenth visit to the show, he performed "Faded Love," a Bob Wills tune often covered by Benson's longtime band, Asleep at the Wheel, who have been creating music together for over 50 years.
Our Song of the Week is “The False Lady,” performed by Dublin-born singer-songwriter and guitarist John Doyle and Manchester-born flute, whistle, and uilleann pipes maestro Michael McGoldrick.
