ALERT (03/07/2024): Due to a lightning strike, WVPB TV will be off the air in the Bethany/Wheeling area until new parts arrive. Thank you for your patience.
Harpers Ferry is a historic West Virginia city and international tourist hub. But four years ago the national park and surrounding town were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Songwriter James McMurtry is highly admired by listeners and peers alike for his astute observations and ability to develop characters while painting scenery with just a few, well-chosen words. This week’s Song of the Week is McMurtry’s “State of the Union,” which depicts a family’s inner-conflicts, long-standing grudges and stubborn optimism.
"We're all in the family/The Cursed and the Blessed/It's the State of the Union I guess."
You’ll hear the rest of James McMurtry’s set, as well as performances from Inara George, The Low Anthem and John Moreland, on this week’s broadcast. Find out where you can listen on a station in your area here, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast below so you never miss a song.
UPDATE: You can hear McMurtry’s entire set, including songs not heard on the radio broadcast, at NPR Music. Scroll down to listen.
This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA. On this episode, host Kathy Mattea welcomes GRAMMY-winning Australian rock star Colin Hay, Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, legendary folk and country artist Ramblin' Jack Elliott, San Francisco rocker Chuck Prophet and his band The Make Out Quartet, and folk duo The Lucky Valentines.
This week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage was recorded in Morgantown, West Virginia on the campus of West Virginia University with our friends at WVU Arts & Entertainment. Guest host David Mayfield welcomes modern string band The Steel Wheels, Cincinatti based ensemble Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle, Grammy-nominated Leslie Mendelson, the perfect harmonies of Upstate, and Ivory Coast-born musician Peter One.
On this West Virginia Morning, Erika Howsare is the author of The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors, a book that takes some of the mystery out of the white tail deer that have lived on the edge of humanity for a very long time.
On this week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage, we hear the second part of our 40th anniversary celebration. This episode was recorded on Dec. 10, 2023 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia with host Kathy Mattea, James McMurtry, Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainright Roche, John Doyle & Mick McAuley, Tommy Prine, Cheryl Wheeler & Kenny White, and a special appearance from West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman.