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On this West Virginia Week, the world’s largest transportable Ferris wheel arrives in Charleston, the SNAP ban on soda is blocked, and we look at an effort to expand local medical care through EMS.
Listen: Looking Back To The Year 2001 For Our Song of the Week
Performing Songwriter Eric Taylor, live on Mountain Stage in 2001.Mountain Stage Archive
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This week’s special archive edition of Mountain Stage looks back to 2001 for performances by Nanci Griffith, who we lost in 2021. We’ll also hear from Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Ireland’s Karan Casey, plus songwriter Mark Selby.
We also hear a set from singer, songwriter and guitarist Eric Taylor, who passed in March 2020. At one time married to Griffith, who appeared on the program the same night, Taylor has our Song of the Week, his masterpiece story-song, “Prison Movie.”
Eric Taylor-Prison Movie, live on Mountain Stage
Eric Taylor performing "Prison Movie" on Mountain Stage in 2001.
2 of 5 — Eric Taylor performing on Mountain Stage, 2001
Eric Taylor performing on Mountain Stage, 2001
Mountain Stage Archive
3 of 5 — Finale Song from April 1, 2001
Artists gather for the finale song from April 1, 2001
Mountain Stage Archive
4 of 5 — Karen Casey on Mountain Stage, 2001
Karen Casey on Mountain Stage, 2001
Mountain Stage Archive
5 of 5 — Mark Selby performing on Mountain Stage, 2001
Mark Selby performing on Mountain Stage, 2001
Mountain Stage Archive
For the next several weeks, we’ll be featuring more classic episodes from our archives, with legendary performances by the likes of Richard Thompson, Olu Dara, John Mayall, Buddy Guy, Delbert McClinton, Natalie Merchant and many more. Check out our upcoming schedule by clicking “On the Radio” at Mountainstage.org.
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This week, some folks are working to preserve the memory of Bristol, Virginia’s Black Bottom, a largely African American community wiped out by urban renewal. Also, small food producers embrace digital technology for the humble farm stand. And, kudzu; it’s coming for us.
Urban renewal in the last century was supposed to revitalize struggling cities, but it often sacrificed Black neighborhoods and business districts, like Black Bottom in Bristol, Virginia. Inside Appalachia’s Mason Adams spoke with organizer Tina McDaniel about “The Souls of Bristol’s Black Bottom,” a project in Bristol that remembers the community through interpretive signs, public art and digital storytelling. McDaniel says learning about Black Bottom was a revelation.
Construction is underway for the America 250 Wheel, the world's largest portable Ferris wheel and a centerpiece of West Virginia's America250 celebration.