Appalachia has a rich history of protest music. Today, some regional musicians are using their voices to oppose data centers being built across Appalachia and the artificial intelligence they power. Folkways Reporter Andrea “river” Peterson has more.
Turkey and post-turkey naps aside, Thanksgiving is really about spending time with loved ones. With that in mind, this week’s “Mountain Stage After Midnight” showcases friends and kin coming together for the sake of great music. Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, “Mountain Stage After Midnight” takes the best episodes from the show’s 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners. Each week we’ll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes that’ll alternate order each night.
Put down the gravy and turn on the radio for great tunes this Saturday November 29 and Sunday November 30 on “Mountain Stage After Midnight.”
First is an April 2012 show from the Keith Albee Theater in Huntington, West Virginia, featuring folk rock band Delta Rae, Huntington native-turned-Broadway star-turned-folk singer Michael Cerveris, blues rocker Paul Thorn and folky-family band Arlo Guthrie & Boys Night Out.
Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin performed a special extended set on Mountain Stage.
Next up is a Mary 2013 show with husband-and-wife duo Marti Jones & Don Dixon, Bronx singer-songwriter Ari Hest, Americana crooner Aoife O’Donovan and legendary singers and longtime friends Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin.
Thanksgiving Fact #2: In 2008, Mary Chapin Carpenter released a holiday record titled “Come Darkness, Come Light,” which featured a “Thanksgiving Song.”
Appalachia has a rich history of protest music. Today, some regional musicians are using their voices to oppose data centers being built across Appalachia and the artificial intelligence they power. Folkways Reporter Andrea “river” Peterson has more.
AI proponents say the technology will revolutionize our lives. It’s also started a conversation about creativity and what’s really art. That applies to kinds of expression that seem to have nothing to do with machines, like crochet. Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch brings us this story of how crocheters found AI invading their communal spaces and what they plan to do about it.
More than 3,000 pumpkins decorate the Pumpkin House in Kenova, an event that has turned into a community carnival but started out with five simple carved pumpkins.
On this West Virginia Week, urban cryptids get us into the Halloween spirit, a researcher revives forgotten musicians and a conversation with a journalist covering data center development.