West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Mountain Stage with Larry Groce
When
Sunday, September 28 • 7pm
Where
WVU Creative Arts Center
Show Performers
Jerry Douglas Band
As the world's foremost dobro player, Jerry Douglas has toured and recorded with everyone from Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to David Grisman and Bela Fleck. Inspired by Josh Graves, the Ohio native started out playing in his father's band. After a stint with the Country Gentlemen, Douglas went to play with J.D. Crowe & the New South and the Whites. In 1993, Douglas began a longstanding musical alliance with guitarist Russ Barenberg and bassist Edgar Meyer. While based in bluegrass, his music draws on the improvisation of jazz, the structure of classical and the twang of country. But it includes hints of Indian ragas, Native American modal melodies and quick Celtic reels. His latest release, “Glide,” includes a tune titled “Trouble On Alum”—a Scottish-sounding jig bookended by a more serene melody to illustrate the river painting of William Matthews, the American artist of nature and the West—and named after Kanawha and Lincoln County's Alum Creek. The disc includes old friends Edgar Meyer and Sam Bush as well as country singers Rodney Crowell and Travis Tritt, and banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs. His touring group includes Doug Belote, Luke Bulla, Todd Parks, Guthrie Trapp
The Drew Emmitt Band
For more than a decade, Drew Emmitt served as the lead singer and mandolinist for longtime jam band/newgrass favorites Leftover Salmon. In 2002 he launched his solo career with the CD “Freedom Ride” which featured cameos from musicians he had shared festival stages with for years. After touring as the Emmitt-Nershi band (with Billy Nershi of The String Cheese Incident) and making several reunion appearances with Leftover Salmon, “Long Road,” Emmitt's third solo release, finds him taking a fresh approach to bluegrass. The disc includes songs co-written with John Cowan and Jim Lauderdale as well as covers of tunes by Supertramp, the Marshall Tucker Band and Van Morrison. Again, Emmitt is joined by a “Who's Who” of players including Stuart Duncan, Darrell Scott, Alison Brown and members of The String Cheese Incident, The Infamous Stringdusters and The Aquarium Rescue Unit.
Jayme Stone & Mansa Sissoko
After studying with masters including Béla Fleck and Tony Trischka, banjo-playing composer Jayme Stone has followed the evolution of the instrument back to its African roots. Stone traveled to Mali and spent seven weeks studying with the likes of Djelimady Sissoko, Adama Tounkara and Bassekou Kouyate. Stone's music is influenced by sources as diverse as Japanese poetry and Brazilian literature and, at one point, he composed what he described as a “tiny symphony that takes place inside an imaginary light bulb.” The Jayme Stone Quartet includes bassist Mark Diamond, fiddler Adam Galblum and guitarist Grant Gordy. His new CD, “From Africa to Appalachia,” is a collaborative effort with griot singer and kora player Mansa Sissoko and features Bassekou Kouyate on ngoni and Casey Driessen on fiddle.
Amy MacDonald
“This is the Life,” the debut from Scottish singer/songwriter Amy Macdonald was released in July 2007, and has now sold more than 1 million copies. MacDonald started playing acoustic coffee house gigs at age 15. Next she embarked a mini-tour of Scotland with Travis—one of her biggest influences—and fellow Scot Paolo Nutini. Since the release of her CD, she has played shows and music festivals such as Glastonbury, Hyde Park, T in the Park, and V festival.
Julie Fowlis
Scottish singer and instrumentalist Julie Fowlis has earned rave reviews from the likes of Radiohead's Phil Selway and KT Tunstall. In a few short years, she has won numerous Scottish music awards and was recently voted BBC Radio 2's “Folk Singer of the Year 2008.” Singing in Scottish Gaelic—a language understood by 60,000 people—she brings ancient songs from the Hebridean Islands to audiences around the world. Fowlis is also an accomplished musician, adept on Highland bagpipes, whistles, oboe and cor anglais. In addition to performing, Fowlis hosts two music shows on BBC Scotland, the traditional “Traveling Folk” and the world music show “Global Gathering.” A documentary titled “Bliadhna Julie/Julie's Year,” was broadcast by the BBC in 2007.
Brooke Waggoner
After studying classical piano for nearly 20 years, Brooke Waggoner earned a degree in music composition and orchestration, hoping to score films and orchestrate her own projects. With a sweet voice and piano playing that's a cross between Little Richard and Rachmaninov, her songs tell of a “lone 22-year-old girl, sagas of daily life and bits of poetry.” Influenced by artists as diverse as Simon and Garfunkel, Electric Light Orchestra and Rodgers & Hammerstein, she attempts to “connect the ‘classical world’ with the ‘mainstream world’.” Waggoner was a finalist in MTVU's “Best Music on Campus” competition and was a semi-finalist in the “John Lennon Songwriting Contest.” She was recently included in the “Best of What's Next” feature in the September 2008 issue of Paste magazine.
Tickets on sale now
General Admission
$15 in advance; $20 day-of-show
Mountainlair Box Office
Creative Arts Center Box Office (Hours 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.)
304-293-SHOW (7469), 304-292-0220
Buy Tickets online