Lay Down, Lay Low by The Steel Wheels 
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The Steel Wheels: Americana, Made By Hand
May 10, 2012
The Virginia band embraces a hand-hewn quality in its music, which is a collection of American sounds reaching from mountains to fields. A heavy hymn, “Rain in the Valley” is sparse and dense at once, carried by four interlocking voices.
Mountain Stage: Kathy Mattea
Grammy winner and environmental activist Kathy Mattea, known for classic hits such as “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” has dreamed quietly about one day recording an album like Coal. Raised near Charleston, West Virginia, her childhood was steeped in the Appalachian culture and her mining heritage is thick: both of her parents grew up in coal camps, her grandfathers were miners and her mother worked for the local UMWA. But the songs on Coal are more than just mining songs. Mattea says she wanted to pay tribute to “my place and my people.”
The idea for Coal began to gel during the Sago Mine Disaster, which killed twelve WV miners in 2006. “I knew the time was right,” says Mattea. “I think there’s a mystery there. Somewhere in my DNA, there’s my great-grandmother singing, my grandma, and my people singing through me, with me.” Singer, songs, producer and pickers have come together flawlessly to form Coal, a career record for Mattea and a great gift for music lovers.
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Theft of the Dial: Trampled by Turtles
A Prairie Home Companion: Trampled by Turtles
Mountain Stage: Trampled by Turtles
NPR Music: Live at the Newport Folk Festival
Lead singer of Trampled by Turtles Dave Simonett stopped by to take over The Current airwaves for a Theft of the Dial session. Dave sat down with David Campbell and shared a few of his favorite songs from some of the most influential artists in his life.
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Sun Midnight Sun by Sara Watkins
First Listen: Sara Watkins ‘Sun’
The Current: Sara Watkins in the Current Studios
Singer, songwriter, fiddle player Sara Watkins was only eight when she, her brother Sean, and Chris Thile started Nickel Creek. The Grammy Award–winning acoustic trio spent nearly two decades winning fans with their innovative, genre-bending style before calling an indefinite hiatus a couple of years ago. Now Sara has struck out on her own. And while she had been thinking for some time about doing a solo recording project, the notion has finally become reality: This spring, she released her second album, Sun Midnight Sun, produced by Blake Mills and features guest appearances by Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Benmont Tench, and Sean Watkins.
Sun Midnight Sun includes songs written by Watkins, several collaborations with Mills, songs by Dan Wilson and Willie Nelson, and a rendition of The Everly Brothers classic “You’re the One I Love,” a duet with Fiona Apple.
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Listen to a preview of the CD until March 30th
A Prairie Home Companion: Little Heart guest interview
Full of infectious originals, Little Heart is a twang-tinged mix of country, rock, fold and blues, this album shows that Andra is poised to become the next big voice in country, American and roots music, but that is something A Prairie Home Companion fans have known for several years.
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