Original Post: Since we’ve been unable to record fresh episodes recently, we reached out to the guests we’ve had to postpone appearances by and asked for performance video submissions. The results will premiere this Sunday June 28 at 7p.m. EST as we present “There’s a Stream,” a collection of virtual performances curated by Mountain Stage. Join host Larry Groce at MountainStage.org or LiveSessions.NPR.org to watch along as we enjoy remote performances from Steve Earle, Darrell Scott, Amy Speace, Karan Casey, Lilly Hiatt, Nobody’s Girl, Malcolm Holcombe, The Haden Triplets and Frances Luke Accord.
We’ll have a featured set from Earle, whose latest album, released on New West Records, is called The Ghosts of West Virginia. It features songs he wrote for the play “Coal Country,” which premiered in New York City in February but was shuddered shortly after due to the pandemic. The songs are built around the tragic explosion of the Upper Big Branch Mine that killed twenty-nine coal miners in 2010.
This and many more intimate performances await you this Sunday.
If you’re able, we hope you’ll help support these independent artists, and any artist whose work you appreciate, by purchasing music, making direct contributions, or streaming their work online. We’ll have helpful links to all the guests below, and in the video descriptions on Sunday. Be sure to RSVP on Facebook and share the event so others can enjoy.
“There’s a Stream” is presented as part of FestivALL Charleston’s VirtuALL schedule of events.
Due to public health concerns regarding COVID-19, our live Mountain Stage shows scheduled for March will be canceled. We will work to reschedule the artists as soon as we can.
If you purchased tickets for our March 15 or March 22shows at Taylor Books, they are prepared to issue refunds at your point of purchase. If you purchased tickets online through Eventbrite, Mountain Stage’s ticketing service, you can email live@mountainstage.org to request a refund. Refunds will be honored through March 30.
West Virginia University has canceled all on-campus events, including our Mountain Stage show at the Creative Arts Center in Morgantown, scheduled for March 29. Tickets for the WVU show will automatically be refunded by the point of purchase. Should you have any questions regarding this process, please call 304-293-SHOW (7469).
We encourage you to support your favorite artists by purchasing music or merchandise to help make up for lost revenue in this unprecedented time of uncertainty.
Stay tuned to our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for fresh news, and some welcome distractions… like this Tyler Childers segment that just went up at NPR Music!
Mountain Stage is adding guest artists to their array of live shows already on the calendar.
There are currently six shows on sale for audiences to be a part of our live Mountain Stage events. Browse the entire schedule for details on each show, and let us know you’re coming on Facebook. Be sure you’re signed up for our e-mail newsletter, and better yet make sure you sign up for Mountain Stage Membership, as we have three live shows coming for the month of June in our hometown of Charleston, WV- including some exciting plans during FestivALL Charleston.
But first….
Darrell Scott, bonafide troubadour and musical beacon, has been added to the bill on March 15 when Kathy Mattea returns to guest host with a talent-packed lineup that already includes J2B2 (featuring John Jorgenson on acoustic guitar, mandolin and vocals; Herb Pedersen on banjo, acoustic guitar and vocals; Mark Fain on bass; and Patrick Sauber), Ireland’s Karan Casey, Western North Carolina’s rustic blues maestro Malcolm Holcombe, and critically acclaimed artist, producer and musician Jonathan Wilson.
Scott just memorialized the anniversary of the passing of Hank Williams on New Years day by releasing the first single from his upcoming album Darrell Scott Sings the Blues of Hank Williams. You can hear “My Sweet Love Ain’t Around” below and click here for tickets to see him live on March 15.
Credit Amber Estes Thieneman
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Joan Shelley will join the line-up Sunday April 26 in Athens, OH.
Our April 26 show at Ohio University has generated a lot of interest already with the buzz surrounding the 4 Grammy nominations for UK country-soul sensation Yola, who leads a bill with guest host Kathy Mattea that already includes Kim Richey and Carsie Blanton. Recognition keeps building for Yola, who was recently awarded both UK Album and UK Artist of the Year at the AmericanaFest UK.
Fitting nicely among those artists on April 26 will be revered folk singer and songwriter Joan Shelley. She appeared recently on the popular WTF podcast with Marc Maron, and last year released Like the River Loves the Sea. The hauntingly beautiful collection was recorded in Reykjavik, Iceland with James Elkington co-producing.
We’ve completed the line-ups for our upcoming February shows, including one that is already sold out. On February 16, guest host Kathy Mattea will welcome Dom Flemons, former member of the popular string-band Carolina Chocolate Drops, with songs from his 2018 release titled Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys. The album garnered a GRAMMY Nomination for “Best Folk Album” at the 61st GRAMMY Awards and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts, receiving multiple year-end album recognitions. Flemons was also nominated for “2018 Artist of The Year” at the International Folk Music Awards. He recently announced a deluxe re-issue of his 2014 album Prospect Hill, via Rolling Stone Country.
Tickets for February 16 have already sold out, thanks to a powerful lineup that also features The SteelDrivers, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, soulful folk artist Christopher Paul Stelling, and roots duo The Small Glories.
Emily Scott Robinson appears for the first time on Mountain Stage Feb. 23 in Charleston, WV.
There are still a limited number of tickets available for Sunday, February 23 when Larry Groce returns to welcome beloved “amplified string band with drums” Railroad Earth, ukulele phenom Jake Shimabukuro, singer songwriter and podcaster Joe Pug, and Red House recording artists The Mastersons. We’ve finalized the line-up with the addition of road-tested singer and songwriter Emily Scott Robinson. Robinson’s debut Traveling Mercies was named one of Rolling Stone’s 40 Best Country & Americana Albums of 2019.
Next up are THREE new events coming for the month of June, with news hitting Mountain Stage Member inboxes this Friday, February 7 around 10 a.m. Sign-up for membership here to enjoy presale access to all our Culture Center Shows before they’re available to anyone else.
Two shows in Charleston and one in Morgantown have been added to the live show schedule. Guests include J2B2, Karan Casey, Marc Cohn, Amy Speace, The Haden Triplets, Kat Edmonson and Ranky Tanky.
Friday Dec. 6, 2019 – Mountain Stage is adding to an already busy schedule of live tapings for 2020 with three shows just announced for the month of March. Two events scheduled for Charleston, WV are on sale NOW to Mountain Stage Members who make a recurring gift of $10 a month or $120 annually. Current Mountain Stage Members should check their e-mail inbox for instructions to get in on the pre-sale.
Our March 29 show in Morgantown, WV is on sale now.
Keep scrolling for all the show dates, times and artist info, and make plans to be a part of our national radio audience in 2020.
Credit Mike Melnyk
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J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band) appear on Mountain Stage March 15 in Charleston, WV.
On Sunday March 15, Mountain Stage will emanate from our home at the Culture Center Theater on the State Capitol Grounds. With an esteemed resume that includes stints in the touring band of Elton John, and a member of the country-rock purveyors the Desert Rose Band, guitarist John Jorgenson will appear March 15 with his bluegrass project J2B2. The band features an elite group of pickers and singers, including another former Desert Rose Band colleague, and a past member of legendary bluegrass group The Dillards, Herb Pedersen. Mark Fain (Ricky Skaggs, Dixie Chicks, Alabama) joins on bass and Patrick Sauber (Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis) will be on acoustic guitar and vocals.
J2B2’s debut album, From The Crow’s Nest, was recorded in Sheryl Crow’s home barn studio in Nashville,
Tennessee. The album was recently released as part of a John Jorgenson limited edition, 3-CD box set called DIVERTUOSO (Cleopatra Records). The collection also includes a set of gypsy jazz numbers, and electric instrumentals, both of which Jorgenson has developed an expert reputation. This will be Jorgenson’s fifth stop on Mountain Stage since 2006.
Alongside J2B2, appearing on March 15 will also be Karan Casey, one of Irish folk music’s most distinct and revered voices. In a career that has spanned over 25 years, Karan has released 7 solo albums, a children’s album and a duet release with John Doyle, in addition to countless other collaborations. This will make Casey’s fourth appearance on Mountain Stage since 2001.
Credit Andrea Furlan
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Making his fourth appearance since 2008 on March 15 is North Carolina’s authentic acoustic blues and roots singer Malcolm Holcombe, whose latest, “Come Hell or High Water” is “trademark Malcolm: chiseled out of a life abundant in both hard times and sweet ones.”
Tickets for March 15 will be available online and at Taylor Books, 226 Charleston, WV, starting Friday December 13 at 10a.m. EST.
Credit Courtesy of the Artist
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Grammy winner Marc Cohn returns to Mountain Stage on March 22, 2020.
Sunday March 22 Mountain Stage reconvenes in Charleston once again for a showcase of modern American roots music, with some world-renowned talents and some of the next generations emerging talents.
Revered singer, songwriter and Grammy winner, Marc Cohn will return on March 22, armed with songs from his prolific career that began with his smash hit song “Walking In Memphis.” His most recent output includes Work to Do, a highly praised collaboration with the veteran gospel stars Blind Boys of Alabama.
Joining us on March 22 will be Amy Speace (rescheduled from August), who will bring with her songs from the universally praised latest release Me And The Ghost Of Charlemagne. “An album about the colliding of dreams and reality,” Speace is at her most honest state on this record, recorded with long time collaborator Neilson Hubbard and recorded during the final weeks of Speace’s pregnancy with her first son. In November her song “Some Dreams Do” was featured at Rolling Stone Country as one of 10 Best Country & Americana Songs to Hear Now.
Amy Speace appears on Mountain Stage Sunday, March 22 in Charleston, WV.
The Haden Triplets—Petra, Rachel and Tanya— are preparing for the January 24 release of their new album, The Family Songbook (Trimeter Records / Thirty Tigers). Promo materials state “The Triplets’ sound is as otherworldly as ever—evocative of both the old, weird America and a specific brand of vocal charm that anyone who’s minded indie-rock since the early ’90s will recognize.” The Family Songbook contains Americana standards like “Wayfaring Stranger,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “Wildwood Flower” and “Pretty Baby,” as well as outside the box choices like Kanye West’s “Say You Will,” which gets a stark, flamenco-tinged treatment. They join us March 22 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV.
Also appearing on March 22, for their second time on Mountain Stage, is the alt-indie duo Frances Luke Accord. Founded while Nicholas Gunty and Brian Powers were attending University of Notre Dame, they moved to Chicago in 2013 while releasing two self-produced EPs. Their full-length debut, Fluke, arrived in 2016 to critical acclaim and led to their first appearance on Mountain Stage. Frances Luke Accord have done shows with Darlingside and Anais Mitchell, meanwhile drawing comparisons to legends like Simon & Garfunkel while embracing a style contemporary to Bon Iver and Jose Gonzales. Maria (2018) and Silver & Gold EP (2019) reflect their evolution with a fresh vitality and set the bar high for their upcoming sophomore LP, coming in 2020.
Tickets for March 22 will be available online and at Taylor Books, 226 Capitol St. Charleston, WV, starting Friday December 13 at 10a.m. EST.
Credit Courtesy of the Artist
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Kat Edmonson returns to Mountain Stage Sunday March 29 in Morgantown, WV.
Mountain Stage returns to Morgantown on Sunday March 29 for a show packed with talent and wide stylistic breadth. Regaled vocalist and songwriter Kat Edmonson, who has joined us three times previously, will be bringing her whole band and new songs from her anticipated album Dreamers Do, out on February 7 via Spinette Records (pre-order HERE). The album blends original compositions and reimagined mid-20th century classic Disney songs, and tells a story, which takes place over the course of one sleepless night.
You can revisit her lats appearance and hear some songs from Old Fashioned Gal via NPR Music.
Credit Peter Frank Edwards
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Ranky Tanky appears in Morgantown, WV on Sunday March 29 as part of Mountain Stage presented by WVU Arts & Entertainment
Recent Grammy-nominees Ranky Tanky will return to Mountain Stage on March 29 in Morgantown. This South Carolina group specializes in a regional blend of gospel, blues and roots that’s garnered praise from all over. Their new album Good Time was just nominated for next year’s Grammy Awards for Best Regional Roots Music Album.
We’re excited to bring the expansive sound of Moonlight Benjamin to Morgantown on March 29. This group’s new album Siltane boasts a fusion between “Caribbean voodoo melodies and rhythms, and the 70’s US blues rock.” Featuring Haitian vocalist Moonlight, the band’s “Voodoo Trance” is going to a hypnotic addition to the line-up.
