'mountain Stage' Takes All Kinds

You would think that after 500 broadcasts, the producers of NPR's Mountain Stage would have focused on a single genre of music. Instead, they continue to embrace artists performing everything from rock to country to Celtic music.

This iconoclastic combination of artists has not gone unnoticed by one record executive. "I grew up in the '60s, when rock radio played everything. You'd hear a rock'n'roll record, then you'd hear a bluegrass record those days, when formats weren't so strict and so rigid. You'd just hear music, and it sequenced itself so beautifully. That's also the beauty of Mountain Stage—there are no barriers, there are no formats. They bring a combination to each show that works in a musical context; that's the love of it for me."

Started in 1984 on four radio stations in West Virginia, the acoustic Mountain Stage was the forerunner of the unplugged movement. Producer Andy Ridenour launched the program, recruiting Larry Groce to host it. Groce, who has recorded 22 albums—including six platinum ones—for Walt Disney Records, also recorded the 1976 top 10 novelty hit "Junk Food Junkie."

While the basic format has remained the same, today's shows draw bigger names from a wider range of musical styles than the early shows did. "We didn't encompass as wide a variety of music as we do now. It's not that we didn't want to; it's just that we didn't have the resources to get the kind of people that we wanted," Groce says.

A number of shows have been standouts because of the combination of artists they showcased, or the once-in-a-lifetime duets that occurred before their microphones. For Groce and Ridenour, a personal highlight came in 1991 when R.E.M. chose Mountain Stage as one of three venues to perform in support of its hugely successful album Out of Time.

"It opened some doors and shined a spotlight on us and got us some national exposure," Groce says. In fact, the members of R.E.M. are such big fans of Mountain Stage that they underwrite its presentation on their local NPR station in Athens, Ga.

There are still a number of artists Grace and Ridenour want to get before the 800 people who pack the Capital Plaza Theater in Charleston, W.Va., each Sunday night. Their wish list includes Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Brown, and Van Morrison, to name a few. "They've all influenced so many of the artists that have been on our show," Groce says.

Although the hourlong program is taped for broadcast, Ridenour says Mountain Stage "is a celebration of live music" both in performance and its presentation, which tries to preserve the feel of the live show. "I view it not only from the artist standpoint but the art of broadcasting as well," he adds.

SHOW GIVES ARTISTS EXPOSURE

For record labels, Mountain Stage gives them an opportunity to introduce their artists to a nationwide audience, although neither Groce or Ridenour will take credit for breaking an artist.

"I think you'll find a lot of people that have been around a long time understand the interest and importance of a show like ours, because it's not easy to expose an artist or break an artist that's not exactly in the middle of the mainstream, and we're a place that can," Groce says. "We can't make or break anyone, but we can shine a small spotlight on someone."

Among the acts that received early exposure from Mountain Stage are Lyle Lovett, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sheryl Crow, Crash Test Dummies, Ani DiFranco, Sarah McLachlan, and Barenaked Ladies.

"They're oblivious to chart activity, formats, and single success. They just have a great appreciation for all kinds of music, and they love to expose their audience to it," says Chris Palmer, senior VP of marketing for Warner Bros./Nashville. "Not only does it offer us an outlet for artists that may not be the centerpiece for what's happening on commercial radio, but we also get on radio stations that no artists are getting on, so it's a wonderful asset."

Palmer notes that as the show has become more popular, it has become more difficult to get acts booked. That said, among the acts Warner has placed on the show are the Fairfield Four, Leslie Satcher, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Maura O'Connell, and Kevin Welch.

True North Records artist Bruce Cockburn was among the seven artists who took the stage in March to record Mountain Stage's 500th presentation, which will air the weekend of May 4. "Everybody was aware it was particularly meaningful to our hosts," Cockburn says. "It meant a lot to them, and it meant a lot to me that they felt that I belonged there at that moment. It was a definite sentimental and celebratory feeling."

Cockburn had been on Mountain Stage a half-dozen times before the anniversary-night show, including one show that featured only Canadian acts. "It's one of a very few live radio shows that exist, and the atmosphere is great to work in," he says.

Because the artists on stage run the gamut from roots to reggae, Cockburn says, the reception he receives from the audience varies. "If the other artists are all in my ballpark, I get a different reaction than if the big draw is somebody who is totally