Iconic musician, songwriter and producer Nick Lowe returned to Mountain Stage flanked by surf-rock legends Los Straitjackets last Fall. They performed a legendary set, including tunes from their latest EP “Love Starvation/Trombone,” and Lowe’s most timeless song, “(What’s So Funny About) Peace Love and Understanding.”
Lowe was producer on the early works of Elvis Costello, who popularized Lowe’s song “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding.” Here the song is reprised by Lowe and the Straitjackets as the set-closer of the group’s appearance on this week’s episode of Mountain Stage.
Listeners will also be treated to a set of beautiful new songs from Patty Griffin, an amped up performance from alt-rock poet Craig Finn & Uptown Controllers, and the fresh sound of Shook Twins. Find a station that carries Mountain Stage here and be sure to tune in to this ‘can’t miss’ episode.
Be sure to follow along on social media and subscribe to our newsletter for periodic updates and more musical performances.
Credit Brian Blauser/ Mountain Stage
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Patty Griffin appears on this week’s episode of Mountain Stage hitting the airwaves nationwide starting November 8.
It’s sure to be a busy summer for live-music fans in our area as the Mountain Stage schedule continues to grow with some exciting artist additions to our upcoming events.
Ticket prices vary by show, so be sure to click through for the details.
We’re thrilled to add Craig Finn & the Uptown Controllers and Shook Twins to the line-up Sunday September 22 in Charleston, WV. This show already includes Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets and Patty Griffin, so we expect a quick sell out. Tickets are on sale now online and at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston.
Craig Finn’s latest on Partisan Records is I Need A New War, another brilliant collection in the great tradition of rock and roll story songs from the front man and songwriter for the widely beloved group The Hold Steady. He has said I Need a New War was made for “People who are living in a modern world who are doing their best to try and change at a pace that allows them to keep up with the world changing in various ways.”
Craig Finn – Blankets
Shook Twins join us Sept. 22 along with Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, Patty Griffin and Craig Finn & the Uptown Controllers.
From Portland, Oregon, Shook Twins is comprised of identical twins, Katelyn and Laurie Shook, and Niko Daoussis. The band makes harmony rich folk pop with twin vocals layered upon acoustic and electric instrumentation balanced with inventive, percussive loops. Their newest release is called Some Good Lives.
The band has won praises from the likes of author Neil Gaiman, and Mountain Stage alums like Langhorne Slim, Laura Veirs, Mason Jennings
More updates follow just below this video.
Shook Twins – Stay Wild
Corey Zinn
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Big Possum Stringband will appear on Mountain Stage Saturday July 27 during the Augusta Heritage Festival in Elkins, WV.
We’ve finalized the line-up for our Saturday July 27 show in Elkins, WV as we help close-out the Augusta Heritage Festival with the Big Possum Stringband. A 21st century Appalachian roots trio, Big Possum Stringband have been winning ribbons and trophies throughout the region’s many string band and instrumental competitions, including 1st place in the Traditional Band category at the 2018 Appalachian String Band Festival, commonly known as “Clifftop.” Comprised of Tessa Dillon on fiddle, Seth Swingle on banjo and Evan McBrayer Collins on guitar, the band is looking to release their debut album later this Summer.
Also appearing on July 27 will be Chance McCoy, the trio of Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer and Sam Gleaves, roots-blues luminary Jody Carroll, and percussive dance-driven string band T-Mart Rounders. Tickets are available online and at the Augusta Heritage Center on campus of Davis & Elkins College.
Credit Courtesy of the Artist
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Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis just released their latest duets album “Beautiful Lie.”
One last addition to announce, for now: The Texas based duo of Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis will appear for the first time as a duo on Mountain Stage Sunday September 15 with songs from their brand-new record “Beautiful Lie.” Keep scrolling to see the beautiful video for their song “Astrodome.”
Bruce & Kelly join the bill alongside Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplansky and Rebecca Loebe. Tickets are available online and at Taylor Books.
We also announced two new shows last Friday, that are on sale now to Mountain Stage Members. Public on-sale for both Aug. 11 and Sept. 29 is this Friday, June 28 at 10a.m. Our guests include Beth Nielsen Chapman, Carrie Newcomer, Erin Rae, The Steel Wheels and Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert. Read more about those shows here.
Be sure to visit our Live Show Schedule for the complete list of chances to be a part of our live audience as we record for NPR Music. Most of these shows will be hitting NPR stations in late-summer and early fall.
Singer and songwriter Craig Finn is best known as the frontman of the raucous punk-influenced rock band The Hold Steady. But in his solo work, Finn turns his focus to quiet themes of perseverance and redemption, as we can hear on this Mountain Stage performance of “Christine” from his latest album Faith in the Future.
This week’s broadcast also features performances from wildly soulful roots rocker Langhorne Slim, Oklahoma country-flavored rock outfit Turnpike Troubadours, alt-country musician Rayland Baxter, and soft-singing folkers Tall Heights.
Like what you hear? Download the entire show right now on the Mountain Stage podcast (just look for Ep. 857). While you’re at it, leave us a rating/review and send us a tweet with your favorite song: we’re @mountainstage.
2015 was a big year for Mountain Stage. We began a beautiful friendship with public radio music discovery machine VuHaus. We created a new, bite-size podcast called Mountain Stage 2 Go.
And across nine venues in four states, we recorded over 100 live sets that showcased the best and brightest musicians in the world today. (Of course, none of this would have happened without your support!)
Before we embark on our 33rd musical year around the sun, Larry Groce and the Mountain Stage crew have picked out 27 performances that deserve another listen and another round of applause. From A to Z, these are our favorite Mountain Stage performances of 2015. (Hint: click the Episode # for their Mountain Stage podcast episode, where available.)
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Allen Toussaint (Keith-Albee Theater in Huntington, WV on February 15, 2015 – Episode #838)
Singer and songwriter Craig Finn is best known as the frontman of the raucous punk-influenced rock band The Hold Steady. But in his solo work, Finn turns his focus to quiet themes of perseverance and redemption. Here he perfroms the song “Christine,” from his latest album Faith in the Future.
