Do you remember the 18th of September, 2016? If you were at Mountain Stage you sure do. It was a ladies’ night and the feeling was oh so right.
Recorded at Mountain’s Stage home-base, the Culture Center Theater at the West Virginia Capitol Grounds, the show featured iconic folk heroes the Indigo Girls, up-and-coming alt-country roots rocker Lydia Loveless, songwriting and guitar goddess Patty Larkin, and the one and only wild-eyed Kentucky soul of Wynonna Judd.
Wynonna made her first trip to Mountain Stage, emerging that night with songs from her 2016 album Wynonna & The Big Noise, her first album in 13 years. Host and artistic director Larry Groce immediately made her feel at home framing her career in a hallowed light. “She is an American music icon, a country music superstar. She has won over 60 awards in country music. She has also won five Grammy Awards,” Groce said as the crowd erupted for Judd, who has sold more than 30 million records, including more than 20 million with her mom Naomi as The Judds – the most successful duo in country music history.
Groce said perhaps the most incredible gift of Judd’s is a voice so good she could sing any genre. “If you had never heard this woman before – and you know what she was in country music – she could have been the same thing in rock music and the same thing in blues music and the same thing in jazz music.”
Throwing down the kickstand and revving up her band, Wynonna, who has notched up six No. 1 singles of her own as a solo artist, threw back her hair and let the crowd know they were in for a ride. “How many of you have never seen me in concert before? Well, it’s about frickin’ time!” The sold out audience had bought their tickets before the country icon had even been announced as part of the bill, and by the time this set wrapped up, they were all converts to her rock-infused style of country and soul.
Wynonna let loose a call of the wild growl and the band slid straight and hard into the good ‘n’ greasy blues belter, “Ain’t No Thing,” co-written by fellow country soul singer and Eastern Kentucky native Chris Stapleton with John Scott Sherrill.
Staying right in pocket in that slide-guitar blues rivulet carved through hearts by Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna burned up “Staying in Love,” by Raphael Saadiq, famed R&B and neo soul producer and founder of Tony! Toni! Tone!
Wynonna gave a sweet confessional intro to “You Are So Beautiful” co-written by Ashley Warren with her husband and drummer Cactus Moser. “So, let’s talk about me. I am in love with a concept. At my age, there is hope girls… Everything just looks different, it tastes different, and it looks like that, ” Wynonna told the crowd pointing at her husband Cactus, formerly of Highway 101, on the drums.
Credit Brian Blauser/ Mountain Stage
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Wynonna, who would share a total of seven songs from Wynonna & the Big Noise (Curb, 2016), was at her best viewing her visit through the lens of home.
"My people.” Wynonna cried out to the audience introducing the haunting song, "Keeps Me Alive." "My hometown is an hour from here, I have been thinking all day about the years we spent here in Appalachia. My mama raised me and my sister with nothing, but our hopes and dreams. I had my guitar and I would stand out on the back porch and sing to the heavens and beg God to take me off of that mountain and he did. But as life would have it, I have to return to the well. It reminds me of who I am – that 18 year old singing from my toenails and playing my guitar like it was on fire. That is where my dreams began. A girl that had nothing and that wanted everything and that is what this song is all about."
Then slowly, surgically and soulfully, she peeled back the emotional layers of Sarah Siskind’s “Keeps Me Alive,” which featured Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi on the recorded version. With a hushed acoustic burn and Charlie White’s searing slide guitar, Wynonna cried out for all the lonely dreamers like her. “This is my story, this is my glory/this is what keeps me alive/This is me flying, this is me trying/This is what keeps me alive.”
Ain’t No Thing (John Scott Sherrill/Chris Stapleton) Staying in Love (Raphael Saadiq) Keeps Me Alive (Sarah Siskind) You are So Beautiful (Ashley Warren/Cactus Moser) Cool Ya (Lisa Carver/Andrew Ripp) Things That I Lean On (Travis Meadows/Mark Daniel Sanders) You Make My Heart Beat Too Fast (Julie Miller)
Wynonna Judd makes her Mountain Stage debut during this week’s episode, where she wins a new audience over in a matter of seconds with her powerful voice and magnetic stage presence. She closes her set with the song “Things That I Lean On,” in a show that also features sets by the Indigo Girls, Lydia Loveless and Patty Larkin.
Like what you hear? Download the entire show right now on the Mountain Stage podcast (just look for Ep. 878).
While you’re at it, make sure to subscribe, leave us a rating/review and send us a tweet with your favorite song: we’re @mountainstage.
And across seven venues in four states, we recorded over 120 live sets that showcased the best and brightest musicians in the world today. Along the way, we video streamed eight of our shows through VuHaus and made some new #gotowv friends along the way (with posters and glass records in tow!). Of course, none of this would have happened without your support.
Before we embark on another musical year around the sun, Larry Groce and the Mountain Stage crew have picked out 33 performances that deserve another listen and another round of applause. From A to Z, these are our favorite Mountain Stage performances of 2016. (Hint: click the Episode # for their Mountain Stage podcast episode, where available.)
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Aoife O’Donovan – In the Magic Hour (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on October 30, 2016 – Episode #883)
Credit Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage
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Aoife O’Donovan on Mountain Stage
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Billy Bragg & Joe Henry – Gentle On My Mind (Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, PA on September 25, 2016 with WYEP & Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – Episode #879)
Mountain Stage fans are a passionate lot. Last month, we announced the return of The Indigo Girls to our nationally-syndicated live performance radio program, leading to a totally sold out show within hours of the announcement.
Without our loyal fans and public radio members, there would be no Mountain Stage, and we never forget that. Which is why we invite you to join us on Sunday, September 18 at 7pm as we stream this live recording of Mountain Stage via VuHaus and MountainStage.org.
This September 18 taping will mark Mountain Stage’s 878th episode and will include performances from The Indigo Girls, Wynonna & the Big Noise, Patty Larkin, and Lydia Loveless.
Whether you’re watching from home or traveling on the road, we hope you tune in on your computers and smart devices for this special video stream. And wherever you are, be sure to share your streaming experience with us! Tweet and post along with us on social media by using #MountainStage and #gotowv.
Back in June when Mountain Stage announced that Indigo Girls were returning to Mountain Stage September 18 in Charleston, WV, it only took a few hours for tickets to sell out. Sometimes we can’t believe our own luck, as it turned out that September 18 we’d be joined by a country-music icon and her new band, Wynonna & the Big Noise.
We do have an extremely limited (only 3 pair available as of this writing) allotment of tickets available as our way of saying “Thank You” for a pledge of $500 to West Virginia Public Broadcasting. You and a guest can enjoy the show live, September 18, plus you’ll receive a commemorative poster from Base Camp Printing, preferred seating and an optional backstage tour with our host Larry Groce. The gift is available only over the phone- 800.RADIO.87, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.
“Wynonna is one of the most iconic voices in country music," Says Mountain Stage host and artistic director Larry Groce, " so what a treat it is that she's taken that powerful talent into new musical territory. Like every true artist, she's never satisfied with repeating what she's done before, and we can't wait to hear what she's doing now."
Rounding out the show will be Bloodshot Records recording artist Lydia Loveless, and singer/songwriter/guitarist Patty Larkin, who will make her ninth appearance on Mountain Stage since 1988.
Since we can’t add seats the Culture Center Theater, and there’s a lot of people who would like to be at this show that we can’t accommodate, we have the next best thing lined up. Thanks to our friends at VuHaus.com, you’ll be able to watch the entire show LIVE, as it happens, via MountainStage.org and VuHaus.com. Just point your browser there starting at 7pm EST, sit back, and enjoy the show.
Sets will start at 7pm with Lydia Loveless, followed by Wynonna & the Big Noise around 7:25pm. Patty Larkin will start the second hour, approximately 8:15pm and the Indigo Girls will close out the night at approximately 8:40pm.
For more Mountain Stage video content, please check out VuHaus.com/WestVirginia for some recent performances by Mountain Stage guests like Lucius, Brett Dennen, Ona, William Matheny and more.
