Mountain Stage Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

LISTEN: Amy Ray Band Has The Mountain Stage Song Of The Week

Amy Ray returns to Mountain Stage on this week’s encore broadcast, along with her band, New York trio The Lone Bellow, progressive banjo player Alison Brown, slide guitar master and banjo champion Tony Furtado, and Nova Scotia folk group Villages. This episode was recorded at the People’s Bank Theatre in Marietta, Ohio with guest host Larry Groce.

Amy Ray returns to Mountain Stage on this week’s encore broadcast along with her band. We’ll also hear New York trio The Lone Bellow, progressive banjo player Alison Brown, slide guitar master and banjo champion Tony Furtado, and Nova Scotia folk group Villages. This episode was recorded at the People’s Bank Theatre in Marietta, Ohio with guest host Larry Groce.

Our Song of the Week is by Amy Ray Band, who has been performing on Mountain Stage since 1990 as a solo artist and with Emily Saliers to make up the Indigo Girls.

“A Mighty Thing” is the leading title off her 10th solo album, If It All Goes South. On the recorded album and for this live performance, Ray includes the banjo skills of Alison Brown and her live touring band to round out its rich harmony-driven chorus.

Tune in to this week’s episode starting Friday, Feb. 29 on these public radio stations to hear Amy Ray Band’s full set, plus performances by The Lone Bellow, Alison Brown, Tony Furtado and Villages.

Be sure to check out our podcast page for the newest episodes, including this episode (1,014), and check out our live show schedule to help plan your trip to be a part of our live radio audience.

Foxfire Book Origins And The Song Of The Week, This West Virginia Morning

One West Virginia Morning we get an update on the two West Virginia State Troopers injured in a shooting last month and learn about the origins of the folklife books known as Foxfire.

On this West Virginia Morning, we get an update on the two West Virginia State Troopers injured in a shooting last month and learn about the origins of the folklife books known as Foxfire.

We also hear acoustic music icon Peter Rowan, who has been coming to Mountain Stage since 1985 performing “From My Mountain (Calling You).”

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 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, Briana Heaney, Caroline MacGregor, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director.

Teresa Wills is our host.

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

Joy To The World Tickets On Sale Now

Bob Thompson’s annual holiday jazz celebration is back! The event is at the West Virginia Culture Center Theater Thursday, Dec. 14, and Friday, Dec. 15.

Special Guests Vocalist Maria Muldaur and Trumpeter James Moore Join Annual Holiday Celebration

Thursday, Dec. 14 and Friday, Dec. 15, 2023

CHARLESTON, WV: Bob Thompson’s annual holiday jazz celebration is back! For over 30 years, Joy to the World has been delighting audiences with old and new holiday favorites.

The event is at the West Virginia Culture Center Theater Thursday, Dec. 14, and Friday, Dec. 15.

Joy to the World is presented by West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from the West Virginia Lottery.

Doors will open at 7:30 p.m.

All seats are general admission and are available online at Eventbrite or at https://mountainstage.org/.

Dec. 14 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/732959610927?aff=oddtdtcreator

Dec. 15 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/732982689957?aff=oddtdtcreator

“I’m looking forward to our 31st edition of Joy to the World,” shares Bob Thompson. “And I’m really looking forward to working with Maria Muldaur. Most of us know her from her classic hit, ‘Midnight at the Oasis,’ but she brings with her a history of being immersed in many genres of American roots music – Blues, early jazz, gospel, folk and New Orleans music are all part of her rich heritage. When you add trumpeter James Moore to our band, and we’ll have all the proper ingredients for a great Holiday party!”

Early-bird tickets are $25 when purchased before 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 24. Tickets will be $30 from Nov. 25 until the day of show. Joining Thompson on stage is his long-time band: Timothy Courts on drums, Ryan Kennedy on guitars, John Inghram on bass, and special guest vocalist Maria Muldaur and Special Guest James Moore on trumpet.

Maria Muldaur is best known worldwide for her 1974 mega-hit “Midnight at the Oasis,” which received several Grammy nominations. Her 55-plus year career could best be described as a long and adventurous odyssey through the various forms of American Roots Music. Maria has toured extensively worldwide and has recorded 41 solo albums covering all kinds of American Roots Music, including Gospel, R&B, Jazz and Big Band. She has now settled comfortably into her favorite idiom, the Blues. In September 2019, the Americana Music Association awarded Maria “The Lifetime Achievement Americana Trailblazer Award” for her lifelong work of covering the depth and breadth of American Roots music.

The world-renowned jazz pianist Bob Thompson is the Mountain State’s best-loved musician and ambassador of jazz. Since 1991, he has been a pianist, and regularly featured artist, on WVPB’s syndicated radio show, Mountain Stage, distributed by NPR Music. For 30 years now, he has also been co-producer and host of Joy to the World, a holiday jazz show broadcast on public radio stations nationwide. In October 2015, Thompson was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. He makes his home in Charleston, West Virginia, and has enjoyed a long and active career as a performer, composer, arranger and educator. Learn more about his work at colortones.com.

Watch and listen for last season’s show coming in December on WVPB radio and television.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Kristi Morey, WVPB Marketing Communications
304.556.4911, kmorey@wvpublic.org

LISTEN: Alisa Amador Has Our Mountain Stage Song Of The Week

This week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage features the 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest Winner, Alisa Amador. As a bilingual sing-songwriter, Amador commands audiences with her soulful voice and mixture of rock, jazz, funk and alternative folk that is sweetly wrapped with the Latin music she grew up with.

This week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage features the 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest Winner, Alisa Amador. As a bilingual singer and songwriter, Amador commands the audience with her soulful voice and mixture of rock, jazz, funk and alternative folk that is sweetly wrapped with the Latin music she grew up with.

We also hear performances from premier Americana roots band Donna the Buffalo, North Carolina singer-songwriter David Childers & The Serpents, folk-country artist Jon Byrd, and multi-generational, bi-coastal duo, David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach.

Our Song of the Week, “Slow Down,” is the second track on Alisa Amador’s EP, Narratives. “This song is for anyone who’s feeling stressed,” Amador explains, speaking about those days and moments when you wish you could just slow down time.

This episode begins Friday, September 29 on these public radio stations.

If you are listening overseas or on a smart device, the Mountain Stage podcast is a great way to listen to new and old episodes. This episode will become available on October 10th.

W.Va. Native To Appear On America’s Got Talent Season Premiere

Philip Bowen, a fiddle-playing social media star and Montgomery, West Virginia native, is set to appear on Tuesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent.

Philip Bowen, a fiddle-playing social media star and Montgomery, West Virginia native, is set to appear on the Tuesday, May 30 episode of America’s Got Talent.

Bowen is one of the featured contestants auditioning for the talent contest. The show will kick off its 18th season.

He’s most known for his viral TikTok series called “Does It Fiddle?” where he improvises melodies over popular songs from different genres.

@philipbowenmusic
Coolio! Keep ‘em coming! I love you guys. #coolio #gangstasparadise #gangstersparadaise #fypシ #violin #mostrequested
♬ Fiddle Paradise – Philip Bowen Music

But he’s also making a name for himself as an Appalachian songwriter. He performed original songs at a Mountain Stage show last January. His song “Old Kanawha” was the program’s March 30 Song of the Week. His debut album, which is named after the song, is also set to release Aug. 18.

Bowen was also a recent subject of West Virginia Public Broadcasting podcast Us & Them. He spoke to host Trey Kay about growing up in Appalachia, and how his songwriting reflects realities of the Mountain State’s coal industry.

“I worked at Cracker Barrel one summer out of college, in Kanawha City. And these coal miners would come in for breakfast, like literally black head to toe,” Bowen said during a sit down interview with Kay about his song “Vampire in Appalachia.” “There’s nobody that’s gonna tell you breathing that stuff in for your whole career is gonna do your body any good. And so I just was getting really frustrated by all of that sacrifice to provide for a family.”

Bowen is not the first native West Virginian to receive attention through America’s Got Talent. Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., a jazz singer from Logan County, won the show’s sixth season.

America’s Got Talent will air Tuesday, May 30 at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Caring For Moms With Dementia And Our Song Of The Week This West Virginia Morning

situation himself.

For his ongoing series Getting Into Their Reality: Caring For Aging Parents, he spoke with Chris Schneider, the director of communications for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, about how to celebrate Mother’s Day when mom has dementia.

On this West Virginia Morning, Mother’s Day is not always a happy day for everyone — like when mom has dementia and is forgetting the family she raised. News Director Eric Douglas is facing this very situation himself.

Also, a National Science Foundation-funded project will help West Virginia University expand neuroscience education throughout the state and a new software app aims to help sixth and seventh graders in southern West Virginia with their homework and access to academic resources.

Our Song of the Week comes from Calexico. Their performance of “Cumbia de Donde,” from their album Edge of the Sun, is a bilingual masterpiece that puts an original spin on mariachi music. The Tex-Mex indie rockers made their fourth appearance on Mountain Stage this week.

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