JT Nero and Allison Russell release music as Birds of Chicago, who made their third appearance on Mountain Stage in 2019, as we’ll hear on this weekend’s encore broadcast, hitting NPR Music stations starting January 15.
Joined by guitarist Steve Dawson, our Song of the Week is Birds of Chicago’s “Lodestar,” which appears on Love in Wartime, the band’s 2018 full-length release.
1 of 5 — San Fermin, 2019
Indie-pop ensemble San Fermin performing on Mountain Stage in 2019.
BRIAN BLAUSER / Mountain Stage
2 of 5 — Birds of Chicago, 2019
Birds of Chicago performing on Mountain Stage in 2019.
BRIAN BLAUSER / Mountain Stage
3 of 5 — Fruit Bats (solo) 2019
A solo appearance by Fruit Bats on Mountain Stage from 2019.
BRIAN BLAUSER / Mountain Stage
4 of 5 — Cataldo, 2019
Cataldo performing on Mountain Stage in 2019
BRIAN BLAUSER / Mountain Stage
5 of 5
Artists gather for the finale song in November 2019. Hear this episode on your favorite public radio station soon.
Closing the show are indie-pop mini-orchestra San Fermin, whose immersive set includes songs from the first volume of their two-part series, The Cormorant I. The Cormorant I & II are the first releases from composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone and vocalist Allen Tate’s new label venture with Sony Masterworks called Better Company. The Cormorant II was released in February of 2020 and both albums can be purchased and streamed at San Fermin’s website.
We’ll also hear solo sets from Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson and one from Eric Anderson- who records as Cataldo, plus New York City indie-quartet Office Culture, on this week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce.
JT Nero and Allison Russell release music as Birds of Chicago, who make their third appearance on Mountain Stage on this weekend’s show, hitting NPR Music stations starting December 13. Joined by guitarist Steve Dawson, our Song of the Week is Birds of Chicago’s “Lodestar,” which appears on Love in Wartime, the band’s 2018 full-length release.
Credit Brian Blauser/ Mountain Stage
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Mountain Stage
Guest artists gather around for one last number on this week’s broadcast. Find a station and tune in for the whole episode starting Friday Dec. 13.
You can hear the rest of Birds of Chicago’s set, as well as live performances by San Fermin, Fruit Bats, Office Culture and Cataldo, on this week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce. Click here to find a station that carries Mountain Stage in your area. Be sure to check out our page at NPR Music and subscribe to our podcast so you don’t miss a note.
Two November live events have been added to the schedule for Mountain Stage and both shows are on sale at a special rate to Mountain Stage Members today.
Sunday, November 3 Mountain Stage host Larry Groce will welcome Andrew Combs to the Culture Center Theater. He first joined us after his album Canyons of My Mind came out in 2017. Combs returns to play songs from his highly anticipated latest, Ideal Man, due September 20. Combs worked with producer/engineer Sam Cohen (Kevin Morby, Benjamin Booker) to capture the songs live in Cohen’s Brooklyn studio.
He collaborated with some of his favorite writers on the album, including Dylan LeBlanc, Jeff Trott, Joe Henry, and Kenny Childers. After U.S. tour dates this fall, Combs spends the rest of 2019 touring Canada, Germany, Sweden, Spain, United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
More guests for November 3 will be announced in the coming weeks.
Stars of Longing – Andrew Combs
Credit Annie Beedy
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On Sunday, November 24 we’re back at the Culture Center Theater as host Larry Groce welcomes Merge Records recording artist Fruit Bats. Songwriter Eric D. Johnson, the primary creative force of Fruit Bats will perform solo. Fruit Bats’ latest, Gold Past Life, was released in June. Promo materials say Gold Past Life “marks both an end and a beginning. It’s the end of an unintentional thematic trilogy of records that began with 2014’s EDJ (a solo record by name, but a Fruit Bats release in spirit) and hit an emotional peak with 2016’s Absolute Loser. They encompassed years of loss, displacement, and the persistent, low-level anxiety of the current political climate. They were written in the wake of friends who left these earthly confines and families that could have been.”
The new record also features more keyboard influences and a range of guests including Greta Morgan (Springtime Carnivore, Vampire Weekend), Trevor Beld Jimenez and Tim Ramsey (Parting Lines), Meg Duffy (Hand Habits), and the late Neal Casal (Circles Around the Sun).
Literally Main Street, set for release September 27, is the latest album from Eric Anderson, who releases music as Cataldo. Produced by John Vanderslice, the album is filled with Anderson’s lyrical wit, driving pop arrangements, and observations about “early middle age.” Mountain Stage Assistant Producer Alexis Palmer covered “Ding Dong Scrambled Eggs” for NPR Music’s “Station Breaks” saying its “quick-witted, melodic view of the world that simultaneously exudes affection for the past.”
Also confirmed for November 24 are New York based “Sophisti-Pop” group Office Culture, who are set to release their new record A Life of Crime on November 1. The single, “Hard Times In The City,” has our appetite piqued, and we’re excited to hear the band’s live take on these songs when they join us November 24.
Tickets for both November 3 and 24 are only $10 for Mountain Stage Members that make a recurring gift of $10/month or a one-time gift of at least $120. Members check your email inbox for your code.
Interested in becoming a Mountain Stage Member? Browse our levels of support and contribute here, and please allow 1-3 business days for your membership to be processed. You’ll receive a code via email to access your presale.
Advance tickets for both shows will be $20, available online and at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston, starting Friday September 20. All tickets are general admission.
Allison Moorer appears on Mountain Stage Sunday Oct. 27 in Charleston, W.Va.
Elsewhere in our ever-expanding calendar of live events, we’ve added writer and singer/songwriter Allison Moorer to the line-up on Sunday October 27, alongside Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, and Mick Flannery. This will be her fifth appearance on Mountain Stage since 1998.
In October, Moorer will release her memoir and companion album, both titled Blood, which are available for pre-order. Moorer is embarking on an intimate tour throughout November presenting conversations about the book with acoustic performances. Blood marks her first memoir and her first album of original songs since 2015. Kathy Mattea is our guest-host October 27, and tickets for available online and at Taylor Books.
Blood, which are available for pre-order. Moore is embarking on an intimate tour throughout November presenting conversations about the book with acoustic performances. Blood marks her first memoir and her first album of original songs since 2015. Kathy Mattea is our guest host October 27, and tickets for available online and at Taylor Books.
On Sunday, October 6 we’ll showcase two flatpicking guitar greats in the duo of Tyler Grant & Robin Kessinger. A long-admired champion flat picker, Robin Kessinger has appeared on Mountain Stage in many configurations over the years. This time he’s partnered with another flatpicking champ, Tyler Grant, who also leads the funky roots rock group Grant Farm. The two convened in Bud Carroll’s studio near Point Pleasant, W.Va. and tracked “Kanawha County Flatpicking.” We’re excited to include them on this line-up alongside Shovels & Rope, Kelsey Waldon and Cris Jacobs. Tickets are available online and at Taylor Books.
Robin Kessinger teams up with Tyler Grant for an appearance on Mountain Stage October 6.
You can always sign up for our email newsletter to get updates in your inbox. You can glimpse behind the scenes on our Instagram, where we’re currently giving away a pair of tickets to see Delta Rae when they’re in Charleston next week.
