Todd Snider - A frequent “Mountain Stage” guest, outspoken, Nashville-based songwriter Todd Snider has been called "One of the best singer-songwriters in America" by Time Out NY.After releasing “The Devil You Know” in 2006, Snider contributed to tribute records for Kris Kristofferson, Peter Case and Kinky Friedman. None other than Kristofferson said: “Todd Snider is a true songwriter; with the heart and humor of John Prine, the wild unpredictability of Roger Miller and a fresh original spirit and freedom of imagination that’s absolutely his own.” Of 2008's  “Peace Queer,” one writer noted that Snider had “morphed from a wisecracking country-ish journeyman to the sharpest and funniest protest singer working today." The EP spent five weeks at the top of the Americana chart, and “Spin Magazine” dubbed Snider, "One of roots music's slyest, smartest songwriters." Following 2009's “The Excitement Plan” which was produced by Don Was, Snider released the live double album  “The Storyteller” which features backing by fellow guests Great American Taxi.  

Railroad Earth - When singer/songwriter/guitarist Todd Shaeffer, an alumni of the popular group From Good Homes, joined forces with some veterans of the East Coast bluegrass scene, the band was an instant hit. With a mix of bluegrass, folk and rock coupled with hints of world beat and a blue-collar attitude, the band quickly developed a vast following through heavy festival touring. The New Jersey based group includes fiddler Tim Carbone (who has played with Peter Rowan and Rick Danko), multi-instrumentalist Andy Goessling and sought-after session player John Skehan. Railroad Earth's new self-titled release finds the band exploring new territory with rousing ballads, string-band funk and wistful waltzes, assisted by producer Angelo Montrone, whose résumé ranges from work with Matisyahu to Natalie Cole.

Great American Taxi - Dubbing its music “Americana Without Borders,” Great American Taxi has become one of the best-known headliners on the jam band circuit. The band came into being in March 2005, when Leftover Salmon’s singer, guitarist, and mandolinist Vince Herman joined keyboardist/singer Chad Staehly at a benefit for the Rainforest Action Group in Boulder. With a mix of acoustic and electric instruments and styles ranging from swampy blues and progressive bluegrass to New Orleans and Southern boogie, the group invokes the spirit of legendary names like the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, The Byrds, and Little Feat. For the band’s second release, "Reckless Habits," it enlisted Railroad Earth’s Tim Carbone as producer.

Sean Rowe - Already drawing comparisons to Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen, singer/songwriter Sean Rowe utilizes a soulful baritone and the skill of a poet to sketch a world where man and nature lie down uneasily side by side. An avid naturalist, the Albany, NY native derives inspiration from his own wilderness experiences (30-day wilderness treks on which he takes along nothing but a knife and the clothes on his back) along with the writings of transcendentalists like Henry David Thoreau. “Metroland Magazine” recently proclaimed that "Rowe's baritone is one of those rare singing voices that will leave you forever changed. His debut on Anti-Records is titled “Magic.”

Corey Smith - Nearly 10 years after cutting his teeth playing the bars around Athens, GA, Corey Smith is one of modern country’s hottest young artists, playing shows that are regularly sold out. “Keeping Up with the Joneses” is the sixth release on Smith’s own Undertone Records label and has a more radio friendly sound than his earlier discs which focused on his talent as a solo acoustic performer. His new full-length "The Broken Record" is scheduled for a Spring 2011 release.

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 This episode is scheduled for distribution by NPR on April 22, 2011.  

For more information, including hi-res photos , please contact Adam Harris at  304.556.4900