This week's premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded on the campus of West Virginia University at the Canady Creative Arts Center. On this episode, we hear live performances from Duke Robillard Band, Cedric Burnside, Sam Weber, Las Cafeteras, and The Black Feathers.
At the 16th annual Blues Fest in Wheeling this weekend it rained hard and shined hot, and at Wheeling’s Heritage Area Port the weekend blues musicians rocked on through it all. About 2,400 paying blues fans came from far and wide and dealt with both deluges of rain and sweltering sun.
The festival’s producer Bruce Wheeler says dedicated fans flock to Wheeling every year for several reasons:
“It’s a combination of the talent that’s on the stage, the volunteer crew that puts it together so well, and the setting of the Heritage Port in Wheeling, West Virginia.
“To sit here and look at the historic suspension bridge, listening to blues music right on the bank of the Ohio River that has it’s connections down to the delta where the blue started,” Wheeler said, “I think there’s some magic here.”
Fans and musicians came from Ohio, Georgia, Florida, California, Canada – and there were also local die-hards like West Virginia’s poet laureate, and Wheeling resident Marc Harshman. This is his 15th BluesFest:
“It’s such a shot in the arm – this high energy blues music. It ends the summer with just the right note for me. I feel like I’ve been revived after being here for three days listening to old time country acoustic blues, to high-powered electric rhythm and blues. I love it. And the best names in the business it’s really an incredible lineup year and year.”
On this West Virginia Morning, violets bloom across Appalachia throughout spring, but the flowers are more than just some extra color in the yard. They’ve long been a key ingredient in herbal remedies.
On this West Virginia Morning, the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, which caused the deaths of 29 miners, happened 14 years ago. Ashton Marra worked for WVPB at the time and covered the trial of Don Blankenship, CEO of the company that owned the mine. Briana Heaney sat down with Marra to talk about what it was like being a reporter covering the trial.
On this West Virginia Morning, after a new owner took over a Mercer County mobile home park, rents quickly went up while repairs slowed. One resident did some digging and found a reporter in California who had some unexpected answers about who this new owner was. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke with reporter Julie Reynolds.
Winners of the 2023 Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards were announced March 23 at the Awards Luncheon and Annual Membership Meeting at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. WVPB brought home five first place awards and seven second place awards in eight different categories.