Public radio listeners know acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. WNYC recently released "Our Common Nature," a new podcast that follows the musician and producer Ana Gonzalez as they explore the country. This included a visit to West Virginia. Inside Appalachia’s Mason Adams spoke with Gonzalez about the podcast. We listen to an excerpt.
"I just can't believe the people that I'm sharing the stage with tonight." -Patty Loveless
Want to celebrate musicians’ birthdays late at night from the comfort of your home but don’t know how? This weekend’s “Mountain Stage After Midnight” performances have got you covered. Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, “Mountain Stage After Midnight” takes the best performances from Mountain Stage’s 31 year history and shares them with our late night listeners. Each week, we’ll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes and they’ll alternate order each night.
Since bluegrass-country virtuoso Alison Kraus and eclectic rockabilly band NRBQ’s Alan “Al” Anderson celebrated birthdays this past week, expect to hear their music (among others) on the Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27 editions of “Mountain Stage After Midnight.”
First, an episode from August 2001 featuring “The Queen of Mountain Soul” Patty Loveless, Canadian alt-folk band Crash Test Dummies, silky-voiced Americana artist Irene Kelley, and July birthday girl Alison Krauss.
Speaking of anniversaries, did you know that NRBQ celebrated Mountain Stage’s 100th show back in 1988?
Next, you’ll hear a 2003 episode featuring the likes of American blues guitarist Robert Cray, blues harmonica master Kim Wilson, Chicago blues singer-songwriter E.G. Kight, legendary pop producer and musician Don Dixon, and spontaneous rock group NRBQ (of which July birthday boy Al Alderson was the lead guitarist from 1974-1994).
Have a Mountain Stage performance in mind that you’d love to hear overnight weekends? Send us your recommendations over at the show’s Facebook and Twitter. While you’re at it, make sure to check out The Mountain Stage Podcast for even more reasons why Mountain Stage remains the home of live music on public radio.
On this week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage, we revisit the first of two 41st anniversary shows, which were recorded at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia in December 2024. Guest host and CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton welcomes Stephen Kellogg, Jill Sobule, Mindy Smith, Caleb Caudle & The Sweet Critters, and The David Mayfield Parade.
Appalachian Power customers may be seeing another price hike, caregivers are under stress, particularly during the holidays, and a new mountain roller coaster is a destination for fun seekers in Mercer County.
On this West Virginia Week, the body of a missing miner was recovered, guaranteed median income comes to Mercer County, and with Halloween over and Thanksgiving a few weeks away, what can you do with those leftover pumpkins?