Revisiting an episode from 2013 featuring Billy Bragg, The Flatlanders, Amy Speace, Joe Pug, and Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche. Support for this podcast is provided by Digital Relativity. https://digitalrelativity.com/
Tag: Billy Bragg
Listen: Billy Bragg & Joe Henry on Mountain Stage
Revered singers and songwriters Billy Bragg and Joe Henry perform on this week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage, with songs that celebrate the wide-open romance of the American railroad.
Here they perform the John Hartford classic “Gentle on My Mind” in a show that also features performances by Chris Smither, Robert Ellis, LAU, and Kaia Kater.
Like what you hear? Download the entire show right now on the Mountain Stage podcast (just look for Ep. 879).
While you’re at it, make sure to subscribe, leave us a rating/review and send us a tweet with your favorite song: we’re @mountainstage.
A Big Band Comes To A Small Town: R.E.M. on Mountain Stage at 25
When R.E.M. appeared on NPR‘s Mountain Stage on April 28, 1991, they were one of the biggest bands in the world. Though when they released Out of Time, in March of that year, they decided against touring behind it, opting for media appearances instead. One of these appearances was Mountain Stage.
25 years later, that spring weekend has become legendary in Charleston, West Virginia, when a big band visited a small town.
Their Mountain Stage set is being commercially released for the first time as part of an expansive reissue of the band’s critically acclaimed album Out of Time. The Mountain Stage recording will make up the third disc of the four-disc Deluxe Edition.
To mark the occasion for ourselves, we’ve compiled stories of the weekend into “A Big Band Comes To A Small Town: R.E.M. on Mountain Stage at 25.” We’ll hear from Mountain Stage founders Larry Groce and Andy Ridenour, music journalist Annie Zaleski (who wrote the liner notes for the Out of Time reissue, who explains why the band didn’t tour), and of course, members of the Mountain Stage audience that night in 1991.
Mountain Stage After Midnight: Billy Bragg, Joe Pug, Amy Speace
It’s National Pizza Party Day this weekend (seriously), so why not grab a pie, a pal and a Pug (acoustic rocker Joe Pug, to be exact) for Mountain Stage After Midnight.
Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 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.
Pair your pizza with some archived tunes Saturday May 15 and Sunday May 16 on Mountain Stage After Midnight.
Hear an April 2013 show recorded on the campus of West Virginia University, featuring Billy Bragg, The Flatlanders, Joe Pug (isn’t his new record dreamy?), Amy Speace and Suzzy & Lucy Wainwright Roche.
Credit Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage
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We also have a February 2009 show that includes Dierks Bentley, Jessica Lea Mayfield (have you heard her recent collab with Seth Avett?), Regan Boggs, Grayson Capps and Andy Driedman & the Other Failures.
Still hungry for more Mountain Stage? If you’re in the Philly area, keep an eye out for Larry and the Mountain Stage crew at WXPN’s Non-Commvention. If you’re not in the Philly area, you can still keep an ear out for Mountain Stage sets on our 24/7 Mountain Stage stream (made possible by your support!). Connect with the show and check out our show shenanigans on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. Join our monthly email newsletter for up-to-the-minute show announcements and ticket deals. And if Mountain Stage isn’t available in your neck of the woods, contact your public radio station and let them know that you’re hanker’n for Mountain Stage and great live performances.
Mountain Stage at 30: Songs From the Doc (Part Four)
Ask anyone who has worked on Mountain Stage or has been to the show more than a few times and they’ll tell you picking a favorite show or act would be like asking someone to choose their favorite child. There’s simply been too much incredible music to whittle it down to just one or two favorites.
That remains ever-so-true for me, too, but this post is my hands-down personal favorite of the ‘Songs From the Doc’ series I’ve put together. It’s not just because of the inclusion of R.E.M. and how great their crew has been to West Virginia Public Broadcasting and to me personally. I’m a rock and roll guy at heart (it’s fair to say the music of The Band has changed my life) but, I have really come to grasp the importance of Bob Thompson’s incredible playing.
The Mountain Stage archive is massive and this slice of it proves it with performances that are–to steal a phrase about the show widely used by others–of “Smithsonian grade.”
R.E.M. – “Losing My Religion”
When R.E.M. shared the Mountain Stage documentary on their website and social media channels, their fans have begged for the release of this entire set and for good reason. With the band only playing three shows in 1991 to promote the release of their chart-topping release Out of Time, their appearance on Mountain Stage has appropriately reached legendary status.
Billy Bragg – “Tank Park Salute”
The most fascinating part about music for me is its potential to be catalyst for personal discovery and its ability to articulate the way we feel in such a way that we couldn’t (or hadn’t been able to) express ourselves. Of all the songs included in ‘Mountain Stage at 30: A Radio Retrospective’ none more hits as close to home for one member of the Mountain Stage family as this tune does. I could tell the story myself but, I’ve only witnessed it second hand. It’s all best left up to Mountain Stage crew member Lance Schrader. Ask him sometime, and I’m sure he’ll have no problem telling you about the bond he’s forged with Bragg thanks to this song.
BillyBragg_TankParkSalute.mp3
Billy Bragg – "Tank Park Salute"
Bob Thompson – “Blues for America”
Credit Brian Blauser / Mountain Stage
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Mountain Stage
Although Bob Thompson had been a frequent guest on Mountain Stage since the very beginning (he was even one of the acts on the March 1981 pilot show), it wasn’t until 1991 when he became a member of the Mountain Stage Band.
This tune, penned by Thompson himself is included on his Live On Mountain Stage release from 2007 and was recorded at the Paramount Theater Bristol, Tennessee in July 2006.
Thompson is true a treasure to Mountain Stage and West Virginia and we sure are glad to have him.
BobThompson_BluesforAmerica.mp3
Bob Thompson – "Blues for America"
The Band – “The Shape I’m In”
The only show Mountain Stage’s audio wizard Francis Fisher ever missed was when The Band was booked at the last minute in January 1994. Assistant engineer Dave McClanahan took the reigns and had to deal with some seemingly impossible technical issues but somehow found a way to make the show go on. The results are exactly what you’d expect.
TheBand_TheShapeImIn.mp3
The Band – "The Shape I'm In"
Editor’s Note: Mountain Stage at 30: Songs From the Doc is a multi-part series that serves as a companion to a recent documentary that details the history of the show. Stay tuned to wvpublic.org as the series is rolled out over the Christmas and New Year holidays.