Culture
Eclectic Line Up For Nov. 19 Mountain Stage with Larry Groce
By: Emily Votaw
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Mountain Stage with Larry Groce has been entertaining and enlightening listeners and viewers for decades – exposing them to everything from deeply traditional bluegrass and roots oriented blues to the likes of Cleveland’s own art rockers, Pere Ubu, and surrealist and psychedelic troubadour Robyn Hitchcock, every week.
On Sunday, November 19, Mountain Stage will be based out of the Culture Center theater on the grounds of the West Virginia State Capitol, featuring the likes of Robyn Hitchcock, Pere Ubu, Joan Shelley, Susan Werner, and The Chandler Travis Philharmonic.
“All of the acts are a little unusual, and we like to do unusual things from time to time here,” said the show’s co-creator and longtime host, Larry Groce. “All of them have been on Mountain Stage before, and Robyn (Hitchcock) and Pere Ubu were both first on the show in the early ‘90s. Robyn (Hitchcock) was recommended, alongside Billy Bragg, by Michael Stipe of R.E.M. for the R.E.M. show we had in the early ‘90s. Both of them have been on several subsequent times, people love them.”
Groce said that on the night of his Mountain Stage premiere, Hitchcock took his guitar out to the streets, serenading the people waiting in line for the R.E.M. show that would take place that evening. It’s worth noting that Pere Ubu’s first performance on the show was also the first for beloved West Virginia troubadour Todd Burge, as well.
“People really loved him because he’s funny, and very witty in his lyrics,” said Groce. “Both Pere Ubu and Robyn (Hitchcock) have very interesting sounds, and they are both somewhat avant-garde, although they don’t sound alike at all. They are both true artists, and they have continued to be throughout their careers.”