Mountain Stage with Larry Groce Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Listen: Glen Phillips Has The Mountain Stage Song Of The Week

Hear Glen Phillips makes his eighth appearance on Mountain Stage starting this weekend and enjoy this preview with his performance of “Held Up,” recorded in January of 2020.

From his work as singer and songwriter behind the hit-making group Toad the Wet Sprocket, to his solo albums and side-projects like WPA and Mutual Admiration Society, Glen Phillips is one of the most revered songwriters of his generation. This week we revisit his career-spanning set, accompanied by the Mountain Stage Band, on stations around the country.

1 of 6 — Larry Groce holds a poster from this week's show.

Larry Groce holds a poster created by Base Camp Printing Company. We revisit this show starting January 29 on our public radio affiliates.

Brian Blauser / Mountain STage

2 of 6 — Nellie McKay on Mountain Stage, 2020

Nellie McKay performing on Mountain Stage, in January 2020. Hear this episode starting January 29 on our public radio affiliates.

BRIAN BLAUSER / Mountain Stage

3 of 6 — Chris Barron of Spin Doctors on Mountain Stage 2020

Hear Chris Barron on Mountain Stage starting this Friday January 29 on our NPR affiliates.

BRIAN BLAUSER

4 of 6 — Hot Club of Cowtown, 2020

Hot Club of Cowtown joins us on this week’s encore broadcast, starting January 29 on our NPR stations.

BRIAN BLAUSER / Mountain Stage

5 of 6 — Jonathan Something on Mountain Stage, 2020

Jonathan Something makes his first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded in 2020. Hear the episode again starting January 29.

BRIAN BLAUSER / Mountain Stage

6 of 6 — finale song from January 2020

Artists gather for one more number to close the show back in 2020. Hear this episode on our NPR affiliates starting January 29.

BRIAN BLAUSER

For Phillips’ entire set, tune in to this week’s encore episode, starting January 29. We also hear engaging live performances, recorded in Morgantown, W.Va. with WVU Arts & Entertainment, from Chris Barron of Spin Doctors, Nellie McKay, Hot Club of Cowtown and Jonathan Something.

Find a station where you can listen here, and be sure to follow our social media for the latest updates.

Listen: Tyler Childers Has The Mountain Stage Song of the Week

Our Song of the Week comes from Kentucky’s renowned country artist Tyler Childers.

Childers first appeared on Mountain Stage in 2017 and has been one of the fastest rising stars in all of music. In September of 2020, Tyler surprised many by announcing the release of his fifth studio record, ‘Long Violent History’, which accompanied a 5-minute video calling for justice for Breonna Taylor while encouraging his fans to dig deep into the issues surrounding systemic racism. The album showcases Tyler’s newly acquired fiddle chops and the string band roots that have surrounded him in eastern Kentucky.

1 of 6 — Miss Tess & The Talkbacks

Miss Tess & The Talkbacks made their Mountain Stage debut in 2019 during the show’s 36th anniversary celebration.

Jimmy Downard

2 of 6 — Mary Gauthier

Mary Gauthier and Jaimee Harris perform on Mountain Stage.

Jimmy Downard

3 of 6 — Johnny Staats

West Virginia super-picker Johnny Staats and The Delivery Boys joined the 36th anniversary line-up in 2019.

Jimmy Downard

4 of 6 — Larry Groce

Larry Groce, artistic director, host and co-founder of Mountain Stage opening the show.

Jimmy Downard

5 of 6 — Bil Lepp

Storyteller Bil Lepp made a repeat appearance to commemorate 36 years of Mountain Stage.

Jimmy Downard

6 of 6 — Finale line-up

Finale song closes out the 36th anniversary episode recorded in December of 2019.

Jimmy Downard

On this week’s show we’ll also hear from songwriting great Mary Gauthier, mandolin super-picker Johnny Staats and the Delivery Boys, some jazzy-alt-country from Miss Tess & the Talkbacks, plus we’ll be visited by West Virginia Storyteller Bil Lepp. Click here for the playlist.

Find a station where you can listen here, and check out our video of “All Your’n” via our NPR Music Live Sessions Channel below.

Listen: Birds of Chicago Have our Song of the Week

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.

Brian Blauser / Mountain Stage

Since this recording vocalist and songwriter Alison Russell joined Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Leyla McCalla to release “Songs of Our Native Daughters,” and Russell’s first solo album is due on Fantasy Records in 2021.

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.

Click here to find a station that carries Mountain Stage in your area. Be sure to check out our page at NPR Music and sign up for our newsletter for periodic updates in your inbox.

Listen: The Steel Wheels have the Mountain Stage Song of the Week

The Virginia-based roots group The Steel Wheels expanded their sound with additional percussion for their 2019 album Over the Trees. Hear their performance of “Keep On” as our Song of the Week.

The band has just released a new album, Everyone A Song Vol. 1. They took stories from their fans and created the album while spread throughout the country during the 2020 pandemic. The band gathered stories from fans and set them to song, relying on the perceptive wit and imaginative pen of their own Trent Wagler.

This week we revisit the band’s 2019 appearance, their fourth on Mountain Stage since 2011. The Steel Wheels showcase their expansive sound, layering percussion, fiddle and plenty of vocal harmony beneath their introspective and often inspirational lyrics.

Our Song of the Week, “Keep On,” appears on the Sam Kassirer-produced Over the Trees.

Hear the band’s entire set, plus performances by Radney Foster, Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert and Eilen Jewell, on this week’s encore episode of Mountain Stage.

Find a station in your area that carries the show, and be sure to follow Mountain Stage on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.

Pops Staples – "Why Am I Treated So Bad?"

Our Song of the Week is the title song for this week’s special episode of Mountain Stage. Larry has curated a show in four parts, turning an ear to songs about the oppressed, the overlooked, and the experiences of those who are misunderstood.

Roebuck “Pops” Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000) was the patriarch of the gospel-soul family band The Staples Singers. Pops performed twice on Mountain Stage, in 1992 and 1994, and both times he performed his song “Why Am I Treated So Bad?”

Staples performed the song while traveling with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and he tells in his introduction, that King called it “My song.”

This episode is called “Why Am I Treated So Bad” and highlights songs about experiences of people of color, Native Americans, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, women, and those living on the economic edge.

Mavis Staples, acclaimed singer and daughter of Pops, also appears on this week’s broadcast, singing one of her father’s songs.

We also hear from Mavis Staples, Arlo Guthrie, John Trudell, Odetta, Amy Ray, Rhiannon Giddens and others.

Check out the playlist to see what’s in store, and make plans to tune in or stream through one of these stations starting Friday, Sept. 11.

Clare & The Reasons Cover Genesis For Our Song Of The Week

This week we continue our look back at some favorite episodes from the Mountain Stage archives. We’re going back to 2010 for a show recorded in Morgantown, W.Va. with Jakob Dylan & Three Legs, The Watson Twins, The Tallest Man on Earth, April Smith and the Great Picture Show and Clare & The Reasons.

Listen this week on these NPR stations.

These days, Olivier and Clare Manchon primarily do their composing for films, advertising, television and movies. Their work has been heard across many avenues and on networks like PBS, HBO, FOX and NBC.

Clare & The Reasons on Mountain Stage in Morgantown, WV

In a prior musical life, so to speak, they released three studio albums, two live albums and went on several world tours as Clare and the Reasons. When they appeared on Mountain Stage in April, 2010, Clare & The Reasons brought a full ensemble and songs from their collection Arrow. Our Song of the Week is the band’s inventive take on “That’s All,” originally recorded and popularized by Genesis.

You can hear the band’s entire set, plus classic performances by Jakob Dylan & Three Legs (featuring Neko Case and Kelly Hogan), The Watson Twins, The Tallest Man On Earth, and April Smith and The Great Picture Show, on this week’s episode of Mountain Stage. Tune in or stream through one of these stations starting Friday Sept. 4.