New Orleans roots rockers the Iguanas will join Mike Doughty, Charlie Mars, Jeffrey Foucault and A City On A Lake as part of West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage with Larry Groce when it returns to the WVU Creative Arts Center Sunday, Nov. 11. Showtime is set for 7 p.m. 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.

Based out of New Orleans for the past couple of decades – save for a short, Katrina-imposed exile in Austin – the Iguanas define a sound of Americana that crosses cultures, styles, eras and even languages. Their latest album, “Sin to Sin,” is their first studio recording since 2008’s “If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times,” which coincides with their appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The Iguanas’ two-decade road may not exactly have driven them from sin to sin, but it’s taken them all over the map, both figuratively and literally.

Mike Doughty has been known as the front man of Soul Coughing for much of his career, but his solo efforts have been met with much of the same acclaim. His mature vocals and intelligent song-writing have carried Doughty as far as Madison Square Garden and Late Show with David Letterman, and continue to lead him through the landscape of indie alternative. “Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well” from his Dave Matthews-produced 2005 album has received significant airplay. Doughty’s latest live-recording album, “The Question Jar Show,” was released in January 2012 as a two-disc set in which he and collaborator Andrew “Scrap” Livingston answer questions that audience members wrote and placed in a jar at the front of the stage before shows. His latest, “The Flip Is Another Honey” is available Nov. 6.

Charlie Mars’ smooth vocals and modern-love lyricism have landed him among comparisons to Jason Mraz and Josh Rouse, and performances at South by Southwest and Austin City Limits. The clarity and simplicity of his sound distinguishes him from other singer-songwriters, and a description as “a tougher edged version of Jeff Buckley” from The Boston Globe. Mars has also been featured in Esquire Magazine’s songwriting challenge.

Jeffrey Foucault has spent the last decade mining the darker seams of country and blues, producing a string of spare and elemental albums of rare power while garnering accolades across the United States and overseas for a tersely elegant brand of songwriting set apart by its haunting imagery and weather-beaten cool. The New Yorker says Foucalt “sings stark, literate songs that are as wide open as the landscape of his native Midwest.” His 2011 release, “Horse Latitudes,” is a cross-country collision of rock, country, and folk featuring full-band ragers and whispered solo pieces, delivering a collection of songs that inhabit the borderlands of heartbreak and memory.

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Alex Wong is the primary force behind A City On A Lake. The moniker is derived from the history of Mexico City, which was built on the site of an ancient lake. But it can also be a metaphor for the classical orchestration and stirring harmonies layered upon Wong’s signature rhythmic approach. Or the musical and life experiences as a producer, composer, collaborator and performer that provided the foundation for the group’s self-titled debut album, which features vocal performances from Ari Hest and Ximena Sariňana. His song, “Oceanside,” was featured as American Songwriter’s Song of the Day in May and performed on Time Out New York in August.

Showtime is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are $18 in advance and $23 on the 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.

This event is produced 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.

-WVU-

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

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