LISTEN: James McMurtry Has The Mountain Stage Song Of The Week

On this week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage, we hear the second part of our 40th anniversary celebration. This episode was recorded on Dec. 10, 2023 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia with host Kathy Mattea, James McMurtry, Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche, John Doyle & Mick McAuley, Tommy Prine, Cheryl Wheeler & Kenny White, and a special appearance from West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman.

With two nights of music, there was no shortage of memories being shared on stage and behind the scenes honoring the legacy of the show.

Our Song of the Week is “Painting by Numbers,” by James McMurtry, which appears on his album Too Long In The Wasteland. That album was released in 1989, the same year that McMurtry made his first appearance on Mountain Stage. Over the next three decades he would join us 15 times in all, making him a perfect fit for such a monumental occasion.

Hear the entire episode starting Friday, Nov. 22 on these public radio stations, and if you are listening overseas or on a smart device, the Mountain Stage podcast of this episode is now available.