Rhett Miller Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Listen: Hot Club of Cowtown Have Our Song of the Week

This week on Mountain Stage we look back to another classic episode from 2010, this time featuring live performances from Cake, Hayes Carll, Old 97s and Hot Club of Cowtown. Tune in on one of these public radio stations starting this Friday, May 1.

When they appeared in 2010, Texas trio Hot Club of Cowtown were touring in support of their excellent Texas swing album What Makes Bob Holler? This tribute to the pioneer of Western Swing Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys found the band covering classics like “Stay a Little Longer” and “Faded Love.” Our Song of the Week, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby” appears on their 2003 album Continental Stomp.

Hot Club of Cowtown joined us earlier this year with songs from their latest The Finest Hour. A live album recorded in Minneapolis, The Finest Hour is filled with a “glorious array of music on the radio across the United States in 1945 at the end of WWII and celebrates artists from Bing Crosby to Billie Holiday, Bob Wills to Doris Day.”

Members of Old 97’s, Hot Club of Cowtown, Hayes Carll and Cake gather for the finale song on December 5, 2010,

You’ll also hear an interactive set from alt-rockers Cake, a band set from Hayes Carll, and a predictably raucous set from country-rockers Old 97s. Check out the playlist and find out where you can hear the show on one of these public radio stations and enjoy the sound of audience applause that we’re all admittedly missing right about now.

WATCH LIVE: Mountain Stage feat. Shovels & Rope, Todd Snider, Rhett Miller & more

This Sunday, October 23, point your browser to MountainStage.org at 7pm EST to watch a LIVE recording of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce via VuHaus.

Sunday’s sold out show at Charleston’s Culture Center Theater marks Mountain Stage’s 882nd episode and features performances by Shovels & Rope, Todd Snider, Rhett Miller, Joe Purdy, and River Whyless. Our radio listeners will hear this episode (as well as special guest host and CBS Sunday Morning contributor Conor Knighton) on over 180 NPR stations via NPR Music starting November 18.

For those of you watching along online, make sure to share your listening/watching experience with us! Use #MountainStage and #gotowv.

Tag Mountain Stage on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook. Find VuHaus on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook.

Watch more Mountain Stage performances (including Qiet, William Matheny and Lucius) on VuHaus.

Conor Knighton Returns Home to Host Mountain Stage

On Sunday October 23 Mountain Stage will welcome special guest host Conor Knighton to present the long-running radio show’s event as part of FestivALL Fall. Mountain Stage has also added “Nashville gonzo outlaw” songwriter Todd Snider to the line-up that already includes Shovels & Rope, Rhett Miller, Joe Purdy and River Whyless. The show takes place at the Culture Center Theater and ticket info is available here. ~~Less than 100 tickets remain as of this writing.~~ UPDATE: Advance Tickets to this event have sold out.

Conor Knighton is currently out “On The Trail,” taking a year-long, cross-country look at America’s National Parks, airing every other week on CBS Sunday Morning. From Acadia to Zion, Conor will be reporting and producing the series of stories from the parks, coinciding with the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service.

“I’ve been headed to all the national parks for CBS Sunday Morning,” Knighton said in a video released on Monday. “But I think the trip I’m most excited for is for a Sunday evening in October. Larry Groce has invited me to come home to West Virginia where I grew up, and host Mountain Stage. I can’t tell you what a huge honor it is. I’ve been such a fan of the show ever since I was a kid.”

Conor joins a short list of guest hosts in the show’s 32 year history, joining Tim O’Brien and Joni Deutsch, as the only hosts to fill in for Larry Groce in over 878 episodes.

In addition to his work on Sunday Morning, Knighton has had stints on AMC (“The Movie List”) and Biography Channel (“My Viral Video”) and he helped launch Current TV in 2005. His commentary has been featured on CNN, HLN, TV Guide, MTV, E!, Oxygen, and KNBC.

Find out more about Conor on his website and check out his https://youtu.be/_6udZ8YcsnE”>hosting reel.

Todd Snider’s latest is due October 7 on Aimless Records.

October 23 will be Todd Snider’s 14th appearance on the show since 1995 . Snider is touring in support of his latest album, “East Side Bulldog”, set for release on October 7. The new album brings life to Snider’s Elmo Buzz pseudonym, a name he has used to play in Nashville while dodging radius clauses. The song “Hey Pretty Boy” is available to stream now.

This episode of “Mountain Stage” is scheduled for distribution via NPR Music starting November 18.

Mountain Stage News: October Live Shows Announced

Mountain Stage with Larry Groce has announced three live shows for October in Charleston, including two at the Culture Center Theater on the State Capitol Grounds, and one at The Clay Center with an on-stage intimate experience.

Tickets for events at the Culture Center Theater are $20 in advance, and $25 day of show, MountainStage.org, and by phone at 877-987-6487, locally at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston and also at the upcoming live shows.

On Sunday, October 16, Mountain Stage will record episode #880 at The Clay Center with an on-stage limited seating event. The show (which will later be heard on over 170 NPR Stations nationwide) will include Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance, who is signed to Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records, and Australian folk-pop duo Oh Pep!. It will also feature the return of Amanda Shires, who has appeared twice as a solo performer and once with husband Jason Isbell. Philadelphia-based pop-folk songwriter Carsie Blanton and folk blues rocker Chris Kasper will also perform on this October 16 show.

Tickets are already available for Clay Center subscribers. Single tickets go on sale for the general public on August 8 and are $35 in advance and $40 day of show.

On Sunday, October 23, Mountain Stage returns to the Culture Center Theater for a show presented by FestivALL Fall, which will feature the third appearance of husband and wife garage-folk duo Shovels & Rope, folk troubadour Joe Purdy, Asheville folk-poppers River Whyless, and Rhett Miller of Old 97’s returning for his second solo appearance on the show.

Tickets for this October 23 show are $20 in advance and $25 day of show, available online, by phone (877-987-6487), and locally at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston.

On Sunday, October 30, Mountain Stage records episode #883 at the Culture Center Theater. Aoife O’Donovan, of groundbreaking string band Crooked Still and the folk-noir trio Sometymes Why, returns for her seventh total appearance, second as a solo performer. Folk singer Willie Watson will also return to the Mountain Stage for this October 30 show, along with country songwriter Brandy Clark, Grammy-nominated Irish multi-instrumentalist John Doyle, and indie folk duo Frances Luke Accord.

Tickets for this October 30 show are $20 in advance and $25 day of show, available online, by phone (877-987-6487), and locally at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston.

Stay up to date on Mountain Stage show news and ticket deals by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Tumblr and signing up for our e-mail newsletter. And if you’re looking for a new soundtrack between now and then, subscribe to the Mountain Stage podcast on iTunes.

Rhett Miller with Black Prairie – "California Stars" – Live from Mountain Stage

Keeping with the spirit of giving, we have a special bonus Song of the Week from our upcoming broadcast. Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s teams up with alt stringband Black Prairie to cover the Woody Guthrie-penned “California Stars,” from Wilco’s Mermaid Avenue project.