Tonight marks the 30th anniversary of the long running National Public Radio show, Mountain Stage. There will be a live webcast of the show broadcast, starting at about 7:00 PM and I will be there! http://wvpublic.org/...
Mountain Stage began as a live broadcast of local bands and touring groups and has morphed into an amazing venue for independent singer songwriters, rising groups and old favorites. Some folks think it is all Bluegrass, but it is so diverse. Larry Groce has turned Mountain Stage into a voice for arts in the regions, promoting the Festivall in Charleston WV every June, coinciding with West Virginia Day. He has also promoted Create West Virginia, a local movement supporting all the creative arts as well as entrepreneurship.
Tonight's show will feature:
Todd Snider
Lucy Wainwright Roche
Diego Garcia
Mollie O'Brien & Rich Moore
Special appearances by:
Deni Bonet
WV Poet Laureate Marc Harshman and other unannounced guests.
Larry will be announcing the show as he has every one of the past 800 some shows- an amazing run. He will be singing with the Mountain Stage Band featuring Julie Adams as the soloist and the amazing Bob Thompson on the Steinway playing jazz.
I feel part of this Mountain Stage community- when I am in town, I have my tickets purchased in advance. They know me at the will call! This is my major source of culture and it tunes me in to so many new artists I would never otherwise hear.
I love the finale, where all the artists come together and perform one number- only a little rehearsed sometimes. I love when the different groups come out and play a unique number together, or the Mountain Stage band comes out and plays with different groups, or Julie sings backup. I even love the silly crowd warm up jokes that never make it on the air- the regulars laugh when they hear them over and over, and know to applaud twice so the engineer, Francis Fisher, (who has only missed one show in 30 years) needs the louder sound check.
You can listen online if your local station doesn't carry it. You can download the archives and listen on pod casts. You can sign up on Facebook or Twitter to get all the latest. And most of all, you can listen to a live performance if you come through Charley WV on a Sunday night. Check out the webpage for future performances and tune in tonight if you want to see it live along with me. I'll be in my usual seats with the spouse!