Mountain Stage

For one of the many great things about West Virginia, I went to Mountain Stage in Princeton on Sunday night. As always, an excellent show. Julie Adams and Larry Groce of the Mountain Stage Band were in fine voice, and the Band was as tight as ever.

I went to see Steve Earle, especially to hear him sing stuff from the new Townes album. It was just Steve and an acoustic guitar to end out the show, and he didn't disappoint, with a talking folk beginning about Townes, followed by Pancho and Lefty, and adding a pretty rousing Copperhead Road. The rest of the show was a real pleasant surprise, with folks I had not heard before. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver did some classic bluegrass and gospel with some soaring harmonies. I probably liked Sara Watkins the best as she showed some considerable range from her days with Nickel Creek. King Wilkie was sort of interesting with a mix of bluegrass and almost Beatle like songs. The Lovell Sisters were the most surprising with a tight set of fiddle, mandolin and dobro backed by bass and drums.

If you ever get the chance to see Mountain Stage, it is well worth the price of a ticket, which ranges from $12 to 18 bucks.