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This October, the Adaptive Climbers Festival will gather in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge for the fifth year. In 2023, Folkways Reporter Emily Chen-Newton covered the event for Inside Appalachia. Since then, the Adaptive Climbers Festival has grown. Organizers say they’re nearly at capacity, with 300 climbers, caregivers and volunteers. Ahead of the festival, the campground has made accessibility improvements. Volunteers with the ACF have also been sprucing up the trails.
Live Show News: North Miss. Allstars, Robyn Hitchock on Mountain Stage in November.
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Mountain Stage with Larry Groce announces two live events for November and tickets are available now to Mountain Stage Members.
Tickets are on sale NOW to Mountain Stage Members for two live events in Charleston this November. Both shows go on sale to the public on Friday, August 25. On Sunday November5 Larry Groce will welcome a showcase of roots music mainstays featuring The North Mississippi Allstars, Paul Thorn and his Mission Temple Temple Fireworks Revival, Bonnie Bishop and Ireland’s Declan O’Rourke.
Credit Jason Lee Denton
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Soulful roots vocalist Bonnie Bishop returns to Mountain Stage on November 5. Tickets are available now to Mountain Stage Members.
Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson have long been carrying the torch of Hill-Country Blues as North Mississippi Allstars, which continues with their latest “Prayer for Peace.” PRAYER FOR PEACE affirms North Mississippi Allstars’ own unique place in the American musical tradition, simultaneously master curators, expert revivalists, and forward-thinking pioneers. “This is a new beginning for North Mississippi Allstars,” says Cody Dickinson. “This revitalizing cascade of creativity and explosion of music, it’s just been incredible. And I feel like we’re just getting started. There’s a long beautiful road ahead of us. We’re only just now hitting our stride.”
Audience members will also get a preview of Paul Thorn’s upcoming gospel influenced album, due in 2018, that features the Blind Boys of Alabama, The McCrary Sisters and others. In case you’re wondering where the band name comes from, here’s a reminder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIsDzRCO5yM
On Sunday November 19 Mountain Stage returns to the Culture Center theater to welcome back, at long last, singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock. He will make his eighth appearance on the show, the first of which was in 1991, the historic day that R.E.M. came to West Virginia (pictured below). Hitchcock is back now with a new self-titled album.
Credit Joanna Tabit
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Robyn Hitchcock performing outside the Capitol Plaza Theater in April, 1991, on his first appearance on Mountain Stage. Robyn returns November 19.
Also making a long-anticipated return to Mountain Stage, for the first time since October of 1991, will be “Avant Garage” band Pere Ubu. The next Pere Ubu studio album, “20 Years In A Montana Missile Silo”, is scheduled for release September 29 on Cherry Red Records. Following the success of their last album, ‘Carnival Of Souls,’ from which two tracks were used in cult TV show ‘American Horror Story,’ it is the latest in an extensive collection of albums that span the band’s 40+ year history. Read more and watch a brand new video via Brooklyn Vegan.
Joining the lineup on November 19 will be Mountain Stage favorites Joan Shelley, Susan Werner plus “probably the world’s only alternative dixieland / omnipop band,” The Chandler Travis Philharmonic.
Tickets for both shows are on sale NOW to Mountain Stage Members, who make a sustaining donation directly to the show. Our members receive exclusive access to tickets to all our Culture Center shows before they are available anywhere else. Visit MountainStage.org/Member to choose a level that’s right for you. Soon after making your gift, you’ll receive an e-mail with a code to purchase your tickets early (Email may take up to two days to generate. Thanks for your patience).
Since her estate made the announcement of her passing on Aug. 25, grieving fans have written tributes and fond remembrances. Mountain Stage Host and fellow country music star Kathy Mattea, who has spent a little time with Dolly, shared a few memories with Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams.
On this West Virginia Week, a second data center is coming to Mason County, the Rural Health Transformation Program Funds are beginning to be distributed in the state, and remembering Dolly Parton.
This week, we remember the one and only Dolly Parton. Dolly used her musical success to help others. She started the Imagination Library, a free book program for children that included some of her favorites, like the "Little Engine that Could." And, Dolly’s kindness touched people from all walks of life.
We remember Dolly Parton, not just as a musician and celebrity, but as a voice for Appalachian humor, resilience and kindness. Inside Appalachia’s Mason Adams spoke with Mountain Stage host and country star Kathy Mattea, who shares some of her memories.