West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Telling West Virginia's Story
We’re looking back to this 2016 episode featuring Hayes Carll, Darrell Scott, Parker Millsap, Carrie Rodriquez and Brennen Leigh.
Recorded just five days after the loss of songwriting great Guy Clark, who passed away May 17, 2016. The show quickly turned into somewhat of a tribute to Clark since each of the guests had a personal connection of some sort to the highly respected tunesmith.
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We revisit our Anniversary show from 2018 this week with Amy Ray Band, Crash Test Dummies and more.
Singer and songwriter Amy Ray has been a member of beloved folk-duo Indigo Girls for over 30 years, and has released several albums over her own material since 2001. She brings her band and songs from her latest release, Holler, to this week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage, including our Song of the Week, “Sure Feels Good Anyway.”
Also joining in the celebration are alt-rock darlings Crash Test Dummies, who reunited for the 25th anniversary of their landmark album “God Shuffled His Feet.” You’ll also hear Oklahoma roots-rocker Parker Millsap with a gripping solo performance, plus songwriter and recent-Broadway playwright Anais Mitchell and West Virginia’s own power pop journeyman William Matheny.
Listen this week on your favorite public radio station, and be sure to follow Mountain Stage on Facebook for lots more content.
UPDATE: Thanks to our colleauges at VuHaus and the Video Production department of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, we will be offering a live video webstream of this Sunday’s 35th Anniversary Celebration of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce.
Point your browser to this post, VuHaus.com or MountainStage.org to watch the show, starting at 7p.m. EST.
UPDATE: As of 4:30pm Friday advance tickets have sold out. Any available tickets will be placed on sale starting at 5p.m. at the Culture Center Theater, first come first served.
ORIGINAL POST- November 29, 2019: Less than 50 tickets are available for this Sunday’s special Mountain Stage as Larry Groce and the gang celebrate 35 years of live performance radio from the Mountain State of West Virginia.
Advance tickets are general admission and can be purchased online or at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston while supplies last.
Larry will welcome long-time friend of the show Amy Ray, who makes her third appearance as a solo artist after seven performances with the Grammy Winning duo Indigo Girls. Ray’s new album Holler features guest spots from Derek Trucks, Vince Gill, Brandi Carlile, The Wood Brothers and Lucy Wainwright Roche among others. Banjo virtuoso Alison Brown, also featured on Holler, will appear this Sunday as part of Ray’s band.
Also on the bill are Canadian alt-rockers Crash Test Dummies, who are taking their own celebration on the road as they reunite for the 25th anniversary of God Shuffled His Feet. While the hits from that record, “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” and “Swimming In Your Oceans” among them, are how most of us got to know the band, their first appearance on Mountain Stage was nearly two full years before that album was released. It’s fitting to welcome them back as a band that has never been easily categorized, and they’ve always honored their artistic vision. Maybe we’ll recreate this shot from their 2001 appearance!
It was 2007 when Anais Mitchell first performed a song from her folk-opera “Hadestown” on Mountain Stage. Now the critically acclaimed musical is in residency at the National Theatre in London and, as recently announced in the New York Times, it will debut on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on March 22.
Oklahoma native Parker Millsap will return for his third appearance on Mountain Stage- his first solo- and he brings songs from his latest Other Arrangements. Released in May, Rolling Stone Country calls Other Arrangements Parker’s “tightest, sharpest and most infectious set of songs to date.”
2018 was a great year for artists from our region, with the likes of Tyler Childers, Ona, The Parachute Brigade and Hello June making waves on the national scene. William Matheny has been one of the work-horses of the field since he released his critically acclaimed Strange Constellations in 2016. Matheny included his 2016 Mountain Stage performance on his EP Moon Over Kenova, which was followed earlier this year by a new single, “Flashes and Cables/Christian Name.” He and his band of Appalchia-based rockers return to the show this Sunday.
Be sure to follow Mountain Stage on social media, as we’re destined to spend a little bit of time roaming down memory lane in the next few days. We’re on Instagram and Twitter, and you can help spread the word by clicking “going” on our Facebook Event.
The lineup has been finalized for Mountain Stage’s 35th Anniversary show in Charleston, W.Va., Sunday December 2.
Host Larry Groce will welcome back Oklahoma native Parker Millsap, who wowed audiences with his 2016 appearance on Mountain Stage. Millsap will return Dec. 2 for a solo set featuring songs from his acclaimed CD Other Arrangements, released in May. He’s had a string of highlights in recent years including his network television debut on CONAN, a performance with Elton John at the Apple Music Festival in London, an Austin City Limits taping and an Americana Music Association nomination for Album of the Year. He has also received praise from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, LA Times, Austin Chronicle and Rolling Stone to name a few.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytL0OBltspc
Rounding out the lineup is West Virginia’s own rock-n-roller William Matheny and his band. Rolling Stone Country just named Matheny one of “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know” in October 2018, praising his “melodic, garage-influenced twang.”
In addition to countless miles on the road in 2018, Matheny released Moon Over Kenova, an EP of live tracks and rarities that also includes tracks from his 2016 Mountain Stage performance, and a new single, “Flashes and Cables/Christian Name,” both on Misra records. His 2017 full-length record Strange Constellations won praise across the board and includes, “Living Half to Death,” a favorite in the Mountain Stage office. Watch a live version on our VuHaus Channel.
Already scheduled to appear for the 35th Anniversary celebration are Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, who has a new country album called Holler, reunited alt-rockers Crash Test Dummies, and venerable songwriter and playwright Anais Mitchell.
Tickets are available online, at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston and by phone at 877.987.6487. This episode will be scheduled for distribution by NPR Music in March 2019.
Stay tuned to Mountain Stage on social media as we’ll be announcing our first two live shows of 2019, our 36th season, this Friday.
The 2016 Americana Music Awards nominations are in! We’re proud to see so many of Mountain Stage’s guests on the list. Click on the artist’s name to hear their recent performance on Mountain Stage.
Congratulations to the nominees who will perform on Mountain Stage in the coming weeks, including Parker Millsap (Album of the Year) and Lake Street Dive (Americana Duo / Group of the Year)! We can’t wait to see these emerging Americana stars return to the Mountain Stage May 22 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston and June 5 at the Clay Center in Charleston. Ticket and artist information is available at mountainstage.org.
Another shout-out to Mountain Stage alumni who have racked up 2016 Americana Music Award nominations, including Jason Isbell, Lucinda Williams, Chris Stapleton, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, The Milk Carton Kids, Tedeschi Trucks Band (here playing as the Derek Trucks Band), John Moreland, Cindy Cashdollar, Stuart Duncan, Jedd Hughes (here playing with Rodney Crowell) and Sara Watkins.
Missed hearing these talented folks on Mountain Stage? Make sure to subscribe (and rate/review) the Mountain Stage podcast on iTunes and sign-up for our email newsletter for future show announcements! You might just hear/see the next big artist before they start grabbin’ Americana Awards.
Good luck to all the nominees! And if you haven’t already, go out and hear some live music wherever you are just as soon as you can.
