Mountain Stage Offers FREE Admission to Thank Community After Water Crisis

So many West Virginians have responded to the water crisis by helping their community. We’ve checked on elderly neighbors, we’ve delivered bottled water to the needy. Our emergency workers have put in long hours to restore our way of life.

So we’re saying “thank you” on Sunday by making this week’s Mountain Stage show free to the public. People who attend the show will be encouraged to donate to non-profit groups that are helping people hurt by the crisis.

“This is a chance for West Virginia Public Broadcasting and our program, Mountain Stage, to show our community how much we appreciate what they did during the water crisis,” said Executive Director Scott Finn.

The Sunday, January 19 show is at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The show begins at 7 p.m. Free tickets can be picked up at the Culture Center box office starting at 5 p.m. on a first-come-first serve basis.

“We’re starting 2014 over with a New Year’s Party at Mountain Stage,” said Mountain Stage host and artistic director Larry Groce. “January 19 is the new January 1! After the water disruption and the extreme weather, we all need a chance to re-boot and I think an evening of good music seems like a fine way to do it.”

Sunday’s show features soul and R&B singer Bettye LaVette, Israeli superstar David Broza, family-based North Carolina quartet Matrimony, modern Irish singer/songwriter Declan O’Rourke and Noah Gundersen from Seattle, Wash. More information on the show can be found on the Mountain Stage website.

“Please be our guest at this Sunday’s show, and if your budget allows it, we hope you’ll use your ticket money to have dinner at your favorite restaurant before you come, and be generous to the staff who have been unable to work in the past week,” Groce said.

“Let’s celebrate our family, friends, community and everyone who pitched in to help keep things going during the recent crisis.”

Anyone who already purchased a ticket may exchange it at the box office for a gift certificate or a ticket to an upcoming show.

Read the Charleston Gazette’s feature on Bettye LaVette.

Read The Charleston Daily Mail’s feature on David Broza.

For more information on Sunday’s Show, visit the Mountain Stage website.