Our Song of the Week comes to us from two flat-picking champions, Tyler Grant and Robin Kessinger.
A treasure of West Virginia flatpicking and old-time music, Robin Kessinger comes from a prominent musical family. Kessinger first met Tyler Grant in 2005 at the Wayne Henderson Festival and Contest in Virginia. Kessinger was a judge for a flatpicking contest that was won by Grant. The pair developed a friendship and, eventually, made some duo arrangements of classic material connected in some way to the Kessinger family. The friendship and arrangements would grow into the album called Kanawha County Flatpicking.
Our Song of the Week, “My Blue Ridge Mountain Home,” was used as a theme by Robin’s father Bob Kessinger and his band, “The Mountaineers.”
1 of 5 — Shovels & Rope, 2019
Shovels & Rope performing on Mountain Stage in 2019
2 of 5 — Kelsey Waldon 2019
Kelsey Waldon and her band performing on Mountain Stage in 2019
3 of 5 — Wayne Graham, 2019
Wayne Graham, the band, performing on Mountain Stage in 2019.
4 of 5
Robin Kessinger and Tyler Grant performing on Mountain Stage in 2019.
5 of 5 — Finale Song
Hear Tyler & Robin’s entire set, plus music from Shovels & Rope, Cris Jacobs, Kelsey Waldon and Wayne Graham on this week’s new episode of Mountain Stage. Find a station in your area here and be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a note.
Our Song of the Week comes to us from two flat-picking champions, Tyler Grant and Robin Kessinger.
A treasure of West Virginia flatpicking and old-time music, Robin Kessinger comes from a prominent musical family. Kessinger first met Tyler Grant in 2005 at the Wayne Henderson Festival and Contest in Virginia. Kessinger was a judge for a flatpicking contest that was won by Grant. The pair developed a friendship and, eventually, made some duo arrangements of classic material connected in some way to the Kessinger family. The friendship and arrangements would grow into the album called Kanawha County Flatpicking.
Our Song of the Week, “My Blue Ridge Mountain Home,” was used as a theme by Robin’s father Bob Kessinger and his band, “The Mountaineers.”
Hear Tyler & Robin’s entire set, plus music from Shovels & Rope, Cris Jacobs, Kelsey Waldon and Wayne Graham on this week’s new episode of Mountain Stage. Find a station in your area here and be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a note.
Credit Brian Blauser/ Mountain Stage
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Members of the Mountain Stage cast return to the stage for one last number. Hear the entire show starting this Friday on 240 NPR stations across the country.
Mountain Stage Members are first in line for tickets to the latest additions to the Mountain Stage live show schedule.
The Mountain Stage calendar continues to fill up as the long-running public radio program is announcing two live events for October here in Charleston, W.Va. Both shows will be at the Culture Center Theater and advance tickets are only $20. Mountain Stage Members get online access starting now, then tickets will be available at Taylor Books and via Eventbrite starting Friday July 19 at 10a.m.
On Sunday October 6 Mountain Stage host Larry Groce will welcome Americana music darlings Shovels & Rope back to the show for the fourth time since 2013. Their new album, By Blood, was released by Dualtone Records back in April. Writing for NPR Music, Brittney McKenna saidBy Blood is “an impressive feat of song craft from one of roots music’s most exciting, unpredictable acts.”
Shovels & Rope- “Mississippi Nuthin’”
Kelsey Waldon just signed to John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, and appears Sun. Oct. 6 in Charleston, WV on Mountain Stage.
Kelsey Waldon will also join us October 6, just two days after the release of her new album White Noise/White Lines. Garden & Gun called Waldon one of “classic country’s rising torchbearers,” and last month she became the first artist to sign to John Prine’s Oh Boy Records in 15 years.
Waldon has played on the Grand Ole Opry and has been featured on some of the country’s biggest festival lineups, including ROMP Fest, Pickathon, Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion, National Folk Festival, and Gasparilla, to name a few.
The festival scene in our region and across the country is already well acquainted with songwriter and singer Cris Jacobs. An original member of Baltimore jam-outfit The Bridge, Jacobs has appeared solo on Mountain Stage twice, but will be bringing his band with him on October 27. (UPDATE: We have re-scheduled Cris Jacobs to October 6 at the request of the artist.) The band is nearby at the inaugural 4848 Festival at Snowshoe Mountain July 12.
Robert Randolph & the Family Band return to Mountain Stage Sun. Oct. 27 in Charleston, WV.
Sunday October 27 we will welcome some true roots-music all-stars together on the same bill. Starting with renowned pedal steel style-blender Robert Randolph & the Family Band, who will return to Mountain Stage for the first time since 2001 with songs from their upcoming album, Brighter Days, due August 23. Randolph and company’s inviting sound finds them at home on the jam scene, at jazz festivals, on blues cruises and at performing arts centers alike. Their previous effort, Got Soul, was nominated for a 2018 Grammy award.
The duo of Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams will return on October 27 with songs from their new album Contraband Love. They just returned from shows in Italy, followed by a gig with Phil Lesh & Friends at Mountain Jam. Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Paul Simon and Phil Lesh are among their biggest fans and occasional collaborators, and Larry and Teresa were both members of Levon Helm’s band until he passed away. They appeared on Mountain Stage in 2015 (Listen via NPR Music) and we are excited to welcome them back.
We’ve been working to finalize the other live shows that are already on sale and we are pleased to welcome back Maya De Vitry, who has joined us before with The Stray Birds (8/4) and Amy Speace (9/29). Visit the Live Show Schedule for more details on each show.
*UPDATE: Chely Wright has requested to postpone her appearance on Mountain Stage Sunday August 11. We will work to reschedule her as soon as possible. Look for updates on the August 11 line-up on social media and MountainStage.org.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
