On this West Virginia Morning, working through her grief, Amanda Held Opelt studied grief rituals and wrote a book. Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with her about grieving, writing about grief and her sister Rachel.
On this West Virginia Morning, the 2019 death of religious writer Rachel Held Evans shook many who looked to her as a voice for young, progressive Christians. It was also a terrible blow to her sister Amanda Held Opelt of Boone, North Carolina.
Working through her grief, Opelt studied grief rituals and wrote a book. Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with her about grieving, writing about grief and her sister Rachel.
Also, in this show, our Mountain Stage Song of the Week comes to us from Darlingside, who is described by NPR as “exquisitely arranged, literary-minded, baroque folk-pop.” We listen to their performance of “Ocean Bed,” which appeared on their 2020 album Fish Pond Fish.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.
West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Caroline MacGregor, Curtis Tate, Chris Schulz, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, Randy Yohe, and Shepherd Snyder.
Eric Douglas is our news director. Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and producer.
Teresa Wills and Chuck Anziulewicz are our hosts.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
This week’s broadcast of “Mountain Stage” revisits a show from last April with special guest host Kathy Mattea that includes an awe-inspiring set from New England quartet Darlingside. Our Song of the Week is the band’s harmony-rich performance of “Hold Your Head Up High,” recorded in Morgantown, West Virginia in partnership with WVU Arts & Entertainment.
"If it's possible to embrace distopia with optimism and curiosity, these are the guys to do it." -Kathy Mattea, introducing Darlingside.
The song is included on the band’s critically acclaimed album Extra Life.
Credit Brian Blauser/ Mountain Stage
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Guests from the show gather for one last number at the WVU Creative Arts Center in Morgantown, W.Va.
Hear the entire set from Darlingside, plus performances by Greg Brown, Lula Wiles, Sean McConnell, and Si Kahn & The Looping Brothers, on this week’s encore episode of Mountain Stage with our special guest-host Kathy Mattea.
Find the station where you can listen here, and be sure to visit our Live Show Schedule so you can make plans to be in the audience for a live taping of Mountain Stage. We have NINE shows currently on sale to help you make your plans to visit #AlmostHeaven.
You can be in the radio audience for performances by Leftover Salmon, Tim O’Brien’s Bluegrass Band, Matt Nathanson, Darlingside and more.
Mountain Stage has announced five additions to its Live Show Schedule, with Mountain Stage Members already enjoying exclusive pre-sale access to the Charleston, W.Va. shows. Mountain Stage Members make a recurring gift of $10/month or more and receive pre-sale online access to live shows, frequent discounts, member newsletters with playlists and more perks throughout the year. Click here to become a Mountain Stage Member and as soon as your donation is processed you’ll receive your member code to purchase tickets.
Credit Bob Carmichael
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On Sunday March 3 we welcome back perennial jamgrass innovators Leftover Salmon, who are celebrating the February release of their new book by Tim Newby, “30 Years of Festival.” Emerging traditional Irish group The Jeremiahs will join us as well. This show falls during Charleston’s Celtic Calling weekend of events. More guests will be announced soon.
March 24 marks the return of our frequent guest and long-time friend Tim O’Brien with a new batch of songs and a new bluegrass configuration. Joining the bill will be 2018 IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. More info here.
Sunday April 7 we are in Athens, OH as guests of OU Performing Arts and our affiliate WOUB. Joining The Lone Bellow on campus at Memorial Auditorium will be emerging songwriter Anna Tivel. Tickets are already on sale here.
On Sunday April 14 Mountain Stage returns to our home at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston to welcome back two of our favorite singer-songwriters- Matt Nathanson and Stephen Kellogg- along with journeymen Virginia rockers Carbon Leaf and pianist Pete Muller. Tickets are on sale now to Mountain Stage Members.
The show returns to Morgantown, WV on Sunday April 28 as guests of WVU Arts & Entertainment. We will mark the highly anticipated return of indie-folk charmers Darlingside, whose first appearance on Mountain Stage wowed audiences in person and on radio. All tickets are reserved seating in Morgantown and are on sale here.
The indefinable sound of multi-instrumentalist David Bromberg and his Quintet will be featured guests on Sunday May 12 in Charleston. This roots music mainstay’s new record, The Blues, the Whole Blues, and Nothing But the Blues, was produced by Larry Campbell and finds the Americana godfather touching on the blues music that inspired him early-on.
Combining influences that range from 60’s folk and bluegrass to classical music and indie rock, Massachusetts-based quartet Darlingside perform lush, cinematic songs around a single microphone. Here they perform “God of Loss” from this week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage that also features Sam Bush, Chuck Prophet, Corb Lund and Patrick Sweany.
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)
Public radio hosts from across the country came together this past month to pick their favorite songs of 2015. The result? An NPR Music Best Songs of 2015 playlist, of course! Here’s a recap of that list and the music you heard this past year on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Mountain Stage host and artistic director Larry Groce was one of the 50 public radio music hosts selected for NPR Music’s year-end list. His favorite song of 2015 came from Darlingside, an indie folk group who performed on Mountain Stage this past fall and appeared on our own Inside Appalachia podcast. This is what Larry had to say about their music:
Darlingside, "God Of Loss" The instrumentals are just as meticulous as the harmonies, the harmonies just as haunting as the lyrics, and the lyrics a testament to the Boston quartet's success to come.
Mountain Stage assistant producer and “A Change of Tune” host Joni Deutsch had this to say about the emerging electro-R&B act who left an impression on her:
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" From its Tarantino spaghetti western start to its groovy "Purple Rain" end, this single by the Portland-by-way-of-New Zealand band is a cinematic treat for our ears.
The NPR Music list includes other familiar faces, like singer-songwriter Sam Gleaves, whose song about an openly gay, West Virginia coal miner led to an interview with Roxy Todd for Inside Appalachia and Us & Them, as well as a guest appearance on Mountain Stage.
Morgantown native Dave Bello also chatted with “A Change of Tune” about his band The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die and their 2015 single “1/10/2014” long before it became an NPR Music pick, as did Beach House drummer and West Virginia native Graham Hill, The Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Rhiannon Giddens and Canadian crooner Andy Shauf.
And our locally-produced music programs Eclectopia, Lost Highways and Sidetracks spun more than a few NPR Music favorites from Jason Isbell, Courtney Barnett, Laura Marling, Hiatus Kaiyote, The McCrary Sisters, Turnpike Troubadours and more.
Listen to the complete list of NPR Music’s Best Songs of 2015 here and subscribe to West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s podcasts (including Mountain Stage, Inside Appalachia, Us & Them and more) here.
Want to keep emerging music and thoughtful stories alive on West Virginia airwaves? Make a contribution in any amount here.
