There’s a reason why artists like Tim O’Brien, Kathy Mattea and Nellie McKay keep coming back to the Mountain Stage year after year. Between the good home cooking (provided by the lovely Judy Byrne) and the jam band togetherness of our finale song, each show feels like a musical family reunion of sorts.
This weekend, we invite you to join us (and potentially bring a nice casserole) to one of our live performance radio get-togethers known as 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.
Gather your friends and family Saturday June 13 and Sunday June 14 for a bit of rock, folk and Americana on Mountain Stage After Midnight.
We’ll start off with a September 2011 show recorded at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN (a sight of a site that we’ll be returning to this fall). This show features Tim O’Brien, Kathy Mattea, John Vezner, Sally Barris, Great Lake Swimmers and Cathie Ryan.
Credit Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage
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Our kooky cool aunt Nellie (McKay) on the Mountain Stage in 2011.
The second show comes from April 2011 and includes sets from Amos Lee, Nellie McKay, Wailin’ Jennys and Lauren Pritchard.
The #MSAM party’s over. Now what? Well, you can tell us your favorite Mountain Stage “family members” on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. Hear what we sounded like “back in the day” with archived sets on our 24/7 Mountain Stage stream. Sign-up for our monthly email newsletter for show announcements and ticket deals. Come see what live performance radio looks like at one of our live shows. And if Mountain Stage isn’t available wherever you are, contact your public radio station and let them know what they’re missing out on!
Chestnuts are roasting, Jack Frost is nipping and Mountain Stage is jingling with a holly jolly holiday special! Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, “Mountain Stage After Midnight” takes the best performances from the show’s 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners. Each week we’ll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes that’ll alternate order each night.
Tune in this Saturday December 20 and Sunday December 21 on “Mountain Stage After Midnight” for the best holiday playlist.
You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m tell’n you why: Santa Larry is coming to town! Mountain Stage’s Larry Groce joins Joni Deutsch for two hours of hand-picked Mountain Stage songs and stories that invoke the holiday season and its musical brightness. Hear Larry’s holiday stories from the Mountain Stage, not to mention holiday ditties from Tim & Mollie O’Brien, Kathy Mattea, The Roches, Michael Martin Murphey and more.
Credit Brian Blauser / Mountain Stage
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Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, performing on Mountain Stage in 2009.
Next you’ll hear a 2009 holiday show featuring progressive bluegrass singer John Cowan, rock-icana outfit Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, West Virginia-based ragtime duo Pianafiddle, seasonal artist collective Winterbloom and Canadian jazz singer Holly Cole.
Need some more holiday music? Head to West Virginia PBS on December 21 at 8pm to watch Joy to the World 2014 with Bob Thompson and guest vocalist Mollie O’Brien. Starting next Tuesday at 8pm, you can hear marathon of Joy to the World 2013 with Bob Thompson and guest vocalist Heather Masse on West Virginia Public Radio.
As always, you can learn more about Mountain Stage on our new website, which features past show playlists and even a 24/7 Mountain Stage stream? Keep in touch with us on the show’s Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram, and subscribe to The Mountain Stage Podcast on iTunes to hear the best live performances around these public radio parts.
What goes best with Doctor Who’s Season 8 premiere this weekend? A big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey live performance radio! Jump into our TARDIS as we travel through the Mountain Stage archives to hear two great 2013 performances on “Mountain Stage After Midnight.” Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, “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. Each week we’ll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes and they’ll alternate order each night.
Tune in for some great 2013 performances that will air Saturday August 23 and Sunday August 24 on “Mountain Stage After Midnight.”
First you’ll hear a January 2013 performance from London-by-way-of-Kansas singer Piney Gir, indie rocker Bahamas, alt-country troubadour Bonnie Prince Billy, surrealist folk group Camper Van Beethoven, and indie Tex-Mex collective Calexico. See the playlist.
Credit Brian Blauser / Mountain Stage
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Shovels & Rope made its first appearance on Mountain Stage in 2013. They’ll make their second appearance this year as part of Mountain Stage’s fall schedule.
Next a February 2013 performance featuring Americana singer-songwriter Bonnie Bishop, alt-country duo Shovels & Rope (who are coming back to Mountain Stage this fall), country-pop singer Kim Richey, Canandian chanteuse Kathleen Edwards, and West Virginia’s own Kathy Mattea. See the playlist.
Have a hanker’n for more Mountain Stage performances? Join the music discussion over on the show’s Facebook and subscribe to The Mountain Stage Podcast to hear why Mountain Stage remains the home of live music on public radio.
Kathy Mattea returns to Mountain Stage on this week’s broadcast with ‘Coal Tattoo,’ written by fellow West Virginian Billy Edd Wheeler. Mattea has said she enjoys playing this song because it allows her band to “stretch out” on their instruments – especially her long-time guitarist and sideman Bill Cooley.
Mountain Stage’s 30th anniversary season was certainly one for the books. While some might think this year’s stellar roster of artists is extraordinary in some sense, the truth of the matter is that the impressive list of musicians that Larry Groce and the Mountain Stage crew put together sticks pretty closely to what the show has been targeting since its inception.
For their big 3-0, Mountain Stage stuck with their tried and true for formula of mixing world renowned talent with emerging artists for a year’s worth of music that spans the gamut–rock, country, indie, blues, and then some–virtually everything found its way on Mountain Stage.
Keen is one of those great songwriters in that, if it weren’t for the increasingly saturated nature of music in the 21st century, every one would own one (or all) of his records. His style undoubtedly pulls from his Texas roots and mixes While Keen’s was featured on the show as early as 1989, his music remains so relevant I can’t think of a better choice for a headliner to kick off the show’s 30 season.
Kathy Mattea – “Coal Tattoo”
Kathy Mattea is such an incredibly warm and friendly person that Mountain Stage web coordinator Josh Saul and I refer to her in casual conversation as “Aunt Kathy”. (Aunt Kathy–if you’re out there reading this and are bothered by it, please let us know and we will stop.)
Returning to Mountain Stage for their 30th season, Mattea performed a set highlighted by her latest record Calling Me Home. It was her captivating rendition of Billy Edd Wheeler’s “Coal Tattoo” that made the cut for the documentary.
KathyMattea_CoalTattoo.mp3
Kathy Mattea – "Coal Tattoo"
Jason Isbell – “Flying Over Water”
Alabaman Jason Isbell first made a name for himself as a guitarist and songwriter for Drive-By Truckers in the early 2000s. Since then, his solo career has skyrocketed, particularly with the release of his latest album, Southeastern.
As Isbell told me for the documentary, playing Mountain Stage affords him the opportunity to “preach to somebody besides the choir.”
JasonIsbell_FlyingOverWater.mp3
Jason Isbell – "Flying Over Water"
Ben Sollee – “Whole Lot to Give”
“There’s not a path through the woods of the music industry for a signing cellist. That’s very, very true,” Sollee told me when I interviewed him for the documentary.
“But, when I come on Mountain Stage I feel like there is an opportunity to connect with a community that is very accepting, that has an open mind as to what music can be.”
Simply put: he nailed it with those words. It’s almost as if artists like Sollee and Mountain Stage have figured out how to feed off of one another but keep a unique identity.
If you’ve never heard Mr. Sollee, do yourself a favor and start here. But I’ll warn you: his potential and musical ability cannot be limited to just this. Dig deeper. You can thank me later.
BenSollee_WholeLotToGive.mp3
Ben Sollee – "Whole Lot to Give"
Dawes – “Most People”
Ask Larry Groce what he thinks about the L.A.-based rock band Dawes and he’s likely to begin by mentioning the song “A Little Bit of Everything”. While that song comes from the group’s sophomore record Nothing is Wrong, they have maintained their ability to craft timeless rock-drive song like the song “Most People” from their latest release, Stories Don’t End.
Hello again and welcome back (presuming, of course, you stopped by for the first installment in this series a few days ago)! While Monday’s post is a nice run-down of the earliest moments of Mountain Stage, from here on out you can expect some incredible performances from a wide range of artists included in ‘Mountain Stage at 30: A Radio Retrospective’.
I really can’t emphasize enough the fact that the music used in the documentary barely scratches the surface of the Mountain Stage archives. With over 1,200 artists and 2,000 hours of live performance radio, an hour-long documentary couldn’t ever do the show’s history due justice. But never fear: soon enough the full vault will be available to the public. In the meantime, Mountain Stage could use some help in making that possible.
The Fabulous Twister Sisters – “Look What I Do To You”
After appearing on the show’s first episode in December 1983, Deni Bonet and Julie Adams were recruited rather quickly to have reoccurring role on Mountain Stage as The Fabulous Twister Sisters. With an incredible pop-based sensibility, The Twisted Sisters twisted their vocals around one another for a sound all their own. Here they are performing together on Mountain Stage’s first regular broadcast in December 1983.
Hot Rize – “Radio Boogie”
There’s arguably no other musician who has played Mountain Stage that’s been a bigger champion and ambassador for the show as Wheeling, West Virginia native Tim O’Brien. Mountain Stage jumped quickly at the chance to feature his nationally recognized bluegrass group Hot Rize when O’Brien’s mother wrote a letter to the show asking to have him on. Hot Rize’s appearance helped take the show to the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina in June 1985, which was the first time Mountain Stage was broadcast nationally via NPR.
HotRize_RadioBoogie.mp3
Hot Rize – "Radio Boogie"
Kathy Mattea – “Love at the Five and Dime”
Country music star and West Virginia native Kathy Mattea first appeared on Mountain Stage in 1985 as a then-unknown. By the time she came on a second time in April 1986, the trajectory of her own career and Mountain Stage’s popularity were already headed straight up. Here’s Mattea performing on the show in San Diego at the Public Radio Program Director’s Conference.
KathyMattea_LoveAtTheFiveAndDime.mp3
Kathy Mattea – "Love at the Five and Dime"
Stark Raven – “Can’t Go Back”
As the Mountain Stage band began to solidify its lineup in the mid-’80s, the show recruited musicians from locally revered band Stark Raven, which included Bonet and Adams. Drummer Ammed Solomon, bassist John Kessler, and guitarist Ron Sowell of the band were all added very early on to the mix. Here they are performing a song by Steve Goodman as one of the featured acts on Mountain Stage in April 1984. Members of Stark Raven reunited for the Mountain Stage’s 30th anniversary celebration in December.
Credit Amos Perrine / nodepression.com
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nodepression.com
StarkRaven.mp3
Stark Raven – "Can't Go Back"
Townes Van Zandt – “If I Needed You”
Townes Van Zandt signs the wall backstage at the Capitol Plaza Theater while Guy Clark looks on. The two performed on Mountain Stage together in 1987 and again in 1991.
There’s pretty much nothing that can be said to fully describe the emotional heft of this performance by Townes Van Zandt on Mountain Stage. Just listen.
TownesVanZandt_IfINeededYou.mp3
Townes Van Zandt – "If I Needed You"
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.
