MOUNTAIN STAGE RADIO SHOW

Sunday August 2, 2009

Paramount Arts Center, Ashland, KY

Doors 6:30pm Show 7:00pm

All tickets RESERVED $20.00 Available ONLY PAC Box Office 606-324-3175 or TickeTmaster

Nanci Griffith - Bridging the gap between folk and country music with a style often dubbed "folkabilly," the Austin, TX, native got her big break in the mid-‘80s when Kathy Mattea scored a No. 3 hit with her song "Love At The Five & Dime." An artist with varied tastes, her records have featured guests ranging from Odetta and Chet Atkins to Matthew Ryan and Hootie & the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker. Griffith has traveled to Vietnam, Cambodia, Angola and Kosovo with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF). On her new album, "The Loving Kind," Griffith begins with a story song about Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and black woman who were the subject of a landmark 1967 Supreme Court case that ended the ban on interracial marriages in the U.S. From there, she moves to a heartfelt meditation on the death penalty, tunes about a couple of former presidents and a bittersweet tribute to Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt.

Todd Snider - Outspoken, Nashville-based songwriter Todd Snider burst on the scene in 1994 with songs, filled with harmonies, and melodic hooks that combine a keen sense of reality with scathing humor. Following a pair of full-on band releases in the late-‘90s, Snider signed to John Prine's Oh Boy label in 2000 and returned to his singer/songwriter roots. After releasing "The Devil You Know" in 2006, 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." His latest release, "The Excitement Plan," was produced by Don Was. One writer described it as "sorta JJ Cale meets Jerry Jeff Walker sounding with words that would hopefully impress Shel Silverstein, Bobby Bare, Chuck Berry, Kris Kristofferson or Randy Newman."

Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey - With an uncanny knack for penning songs driven by jangly guitars and filled with catchy melodies, these two childhood buddies from Winston-Salem have been dubbed "the Lennon & McCartney of ‘80s power pop." Holsapple and Stamey’s bands have included The Sneakers, the dB’s, Continental Drifters and Golden Palominos as well as individual associations with R.E.M., Bob Mould, Alex Chilton and Television’s Richard Lloyd. "HERE aND nOW" marks the first time in 17 years since the duo last collaborated on a studio album (1992’s "Mavericks"). 

The Greencards - In five years, this multi-national bluegrass trio, comprised of Australians Kym Warner (four-time winner of the Australian National Bluegrass Mandolin Championship) and Carol Young, and British fiddler Eamon McLoughlin, has racked up serious accolades: The group was voted "Best New Band" at the 2004 Austin Music Awards and nominated for "Best New Emerging Talent" at the 2004 Americana Awards. Texas singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen said of the Greencards’ music, "It’s the best bluegrass I’ve heard in 20 years." The Greencards won "New/Emerging Artist of the Year" at the 2006 Americana Music Association Awards and "Favorite International Artist" by popular vote in the 2006 HEMI Awards. Now based in Nashville, the band’s new release, "Fascination," was produced by Jay Joyce (Patty Griffin, John Hiatt) and marks a new direction for this adventurous group. 

Ashleigh Flynn - Kentucky-born, Oregon-based singer/songwriter Ashleigh Flynn's twangy tunes are rooted in the kind of Americana-tinged folk that nods to artists like Devon Sproule and Gillian Welch. Since releasing her self-titled debut in 1999, she has released three more CDs. Her live gigs include high-profile festivals like Bumbershoot, SXSW, Bonnaroo and a passel of regional folk festivals. Flynn has won numerous songwriting awards and toured the West Coast with artists like Nanci Griffith and Willy Porter. Her latest release, "American Dream," was issued in 2008.

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For more information contact Adam Harris 304 556 4900. This show will be distributed by NPR September June 25, 2010