West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage with Larry Groce returns to Morgantown Sunday (June 3) with an incredible mix of musical talent. Scheduled to appear are: Justin Townes Earle, Alejandro Escovedo, Elizabeth Cook, The Quebe Sisters Band and Todd Burge. Showtime is 7 p.m. June 3 at the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 day-of-show. Tickets can be purchased at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, online at ticketmaster.com, or by calling 304-293-SHOW and 800-745-3000.

Currently featured in Rolling Stone’s “Big Issue,” and No. 1 on the Americana Music Association Chart, Justin Townes Earl creates stark portraits with elements of acoustic blues and folk. After cutting his teeth in bluegrass/ragtime combo The Swindlers and the rock oriented The Distributors, Earle—the son of legendary singer/songwriter Steve Earle—began to focus on songwriting. With inspirations as diverse as Townes Van Zandt (for whom he was named), The Replacements, Ray Charles and The Pogues, Earle forged his own brand of American roots music. In 2009, Earle won the “Best New and Emerging Artist” at the Americana Music Awards. He then appeared on HBO’s “Treme” with his father and was named by GQ Magazine as one of the “25 best dressed men in the world” in 2010. The title track to his 2010 release, “Harlem River Blues,” garnered a “Song of the Year” award at the 2011 Americana Music Awards. His latest album, “Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now,” was recorded live over four days at an old converted church recording studio in Asheville, N.C. and boasts contributions from guitarist Jason Isbell and fiddler Amanda Shires.

An artist that Rolling Stone recently described as “in his own genre,” Alejandro Escovedo has led a succession of cutting edge bands, beginning with San Francisco-based punkers The Nuns, Rank and File and the True Believers (which included Alejandro’s brother Javier and singer/songwriter Jon Dee Graham). In the ‘90s, Escovedo struck out on his own earning the moniker “Artist of the Decade” from No Depression magazine. In 2008, he teamed with noted producer Tony Visconti for “Real Animal” and its follow up, “Street Songs of Love,” produced and co-written with Chuck Prophet. Escovedo’s latest release, “Big Station,” which again teams him with Visconti and Prophet, incorporates guitar rock and ethereal horns, and includes the Spanish language “Sabor a Mi,” a classic Latin pop song that dates back to 1959.

Singer/songwriter Elizabeth Cook has been described by country-folk legend Nanci Griffith as “this generation’s Loretta Lynn.” Cook’s father learned to play upright bass in a Georgia prison band while serving time for running moonshine. Her mother was a West Virginian who played guitar and mandolin and sang on local radio shows. Cook was singing on stage with her mother at age four and had a band by age nine. After graduating college with degrees in accounting and computer information systems, she released “Elizabeth Cook/The Blue Album” in 2000. A major label debut followed but fell prey to label restructuring. Her next album was “Balls,” produced by Rodney Crowell, and it included the anthem “Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman” and a cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning.” The title of her latest record, “The Welder,” was inspired by her father’s welding business in central Florida that supported Cook’s musical career. Produced by Don Was, “The Welder” contains unflinching songs like “Heroin Addict Sister,” “Snake in the Bed” and “Yes to Booty.” Cook is also a popular satellite radio host on Sirius XM’s “Outlaw Country,” a gig which landed her on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

Formed in Fort Worth, Texas in 2000, The Quebe Sisters—Grace, Sophia and Hulda—are all National Old-Time Fiddlers Contest champions. The sister’s perform a blend of western swing, hot jazz and swing standards. Their songs are laced with intricate triple fiddles and three-part harmonies. The sisters’ mentor, champion fiddler Joey McKenzie, now joins them on stage playing arch top guitar. The group also includes upright bassist Drew Phelps. The band has performed at the Cambridge Folk Festival in the U.K. and on a Houston broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Employing wry humor, dexterous guitar work and drawing on a rich variety of life experiences, Todd Burge has emerged as one of West Virginia’s most prolific singer/songwriters. A native of Parkersburg, W.Va., Burge attended WVU where he became an integral part of the Morgantown music scene in bands like The Larries, Triple Shot and 63 Eyes. His 2008 CD “My Lost and Found” was produced by W.Va. native Tim O’Brien. In 2012, he released a pair of CDs, “Building Characters”—produced by Don Dixon and featuring Tim O’Brien—and a children’s CD, “Character Building.” The latter will serve as an ongoing fundraiser for The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Burge’s high-energy shows are packed with songs and stories of bizarre characters and critters, from dogs to sharks to humans and beyond.

Tickets for the June 3 show are $15 in advance or $20 day-of-show and can be purchased at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, online at ticketmaster.com, or by calling 304-293-SHOW and 800-745-3000.

This event is presented by WVU Arts & Entertainment. For additional event information, call 304-293-SHOW, or visit events.wvu.edu. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/wvuevents and follow us on Twitter at @wvuevents for the most up-to-date show information.

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dr/05/31/12

CONTACT: David Ryan; WVU Arts & Entertainment
304.293.8222; David.Ryan@mail.wvu.edu

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