Yesterday (Friday 6/13) I received a note from John Lilly, the editor of Goldenseal (the magazine of West Virginia traditional life) and multi-talented acoustic music performer, telling me about what’s on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage show this coming week.

The programme schedule includes the recording of a show taped on March 16 in Beckley, West Virginia, featuring top band Blue Highway, the inimitable Larry Sparks, award-winning banjo and slide guitar player Tony Furtado, folk artist Carrie Newcomer and John Lilly, himself.

The show was shipped to 120 radio stations worldwide yesterday and will air locally in those markets during the coming week.

To find a station near you that carries the Mountain Stage programme visit the website.

Playlist details can be found elsewhere on the Mountain Stage website. The show will be available on-line for download in about two weeks time.

Footnote:

Lilly edited Mountains of Music: West Virginia Traditional Music from Goldenseal, the excellent collection of profiles of some of the state’s most colourful folk musicians from said magazine - University of Illinois Press.

We found two interesting articles online that should be of interest to banjo pickers, and folks who enjoy banjo music.

The first is a piece in today’s Washington Post (1/19/07) on John McEuen. Written by Post staffer Richard Harrington, the article covers John’s long career in music, from the early days as a high school banjo buddy of comedian Steve Martin, through The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the Will The Circle Be Unbroken album, to his current activities writing an autobiography and hosting a radio show on XM.

You can read the whole piece on the Washington Post site, though a brief, free registration may be required.

The other piece is on progressive banjo man Tony Furtado, and is found, oddly enough, on the Modern Guitars Magazine web site. It is a lengthy interview with Tony where he discusses both his banjo and guitar playing, and his musical influences, and which serves up a nice career overview of this gifted artist.

Find it online at Modern Guitars Magazine.