West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s live radio show “Mountain Stage with Larry Groce” returns to the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center stage on Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. The lineup includes David Lindley, Judy Collins with Ari Hest, The Brothers Comatose, Ben Sollee and Michael Cerveris. Tickets are on sale now at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, online at Ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 800-745-3000 and 304-293-SHOW (7469).

For more than 30 years, “Mountain Stage with Larry Groce” has been home to live music on public radio. The two-hour radio show, recorded before a live audience, is produced in West Virginia and distributed by National Public Radio weekly on more than 150 stations across America and around the world via NPR Music and mountainstage.org.

Headlining the April 17 show at the CAC is multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, widely known as Jackson Browne’s featured accompanist. Lindley performs music that redefines the word “eclectic.” He effortlessly combines American folk, blues and bluegrass traditions with elements of African, Arabic, Asian, Celtic, Malagasy and Turkish musical sources. He incorporates an array of stringed instruments into his performances that include the Kona and Weissenborn Hawaiian lap steel guitar, Turkish saz and chumbus, the Middle Eastern oud, and the Irish bouzouki to name a few. Lindley’s vocal mimicry and sense of humor continue to be highlights of his shows.

Singer, songwriter, activist and author Judy Collins has partnered with singer-songwriter Ari Hest on a new album “Silver Skies,” due out June 3. The album promises 11 original songs that showcase the magnetic chemistry between Collins’ legendary voice and Hest’s deep, velvety voice. The two deliver energetic and pulsing songs like “Drifting Away” as well as haunting ballads like “Run.”

This album comes on the heels of Collin’s 2015 “Strangers Again,” her highest charting album on the Billboard 200 in decades. “Strangers Again” also debuted at No. 1 on Amazon’s music chart. Collins’ career spans five decades and has garnered her several top-ten hits, and gold- and platinum-selling albums. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” from Collins’ landmark 1967 album “Wildflowers” has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Over a 15-year career, Ari Hest has released eight albums. His song “The Landlord” recently appeared in an episode of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Hest also scored a film titled “Dreamriders” in 2008 that won several independent film awards.

Brothers Ben (on guitar) and Alex (on banjo) Morrison front the southwestern-tinged rowdy string band known as The Brothers Comatose. Bassmaster Gio Benedetti, Philip Brezina on fiddle and Ryan Avellone on mandolin round out this band known for its high energy and audience-engaging shows. Their latest album, “City Painted Gold,” is described as expansive, uplifting and downright beautiful. Concert-goers will see why The Brother Comatose have become a nationally touring act in only a handful of years.

Ben Sollee is a cellist and composer who hails from Kentucky. Like his contemporaries Chris Thile and Abigail Washburn, Sollee’s music is difficult to describe. The New York Times has described his shows as ”... meticulous, fluent arrangements continually morph[ing] from one thing to another. Appalachian mountain music [gives] way to the blues … appended with fragments from a Bach cello suite, beautifully played.” Ben’s music can be heard in film and TV, specifically in ABC’s “Parenthood” and in HBO’s “Weeds” as well as in the documentary “Maidentrip.”

Tony Award-winner Michael Cerveris calls West Virginia home. Cerveris originated the role of Tommy in the world premiere of The Who’s rock opera Tommy at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. Since then, he appeared in countless Broadway productions winning Tony Awards for his role as John Wilkes Booth in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins and his role as Bruce in Fun Home. An acting role in the television series “Fame” as a British guitar student started him on the path of writing and playing music. Cerveris’ music recalls his West Virginia upbringing in folkier, country-tinged songs infused with the sounds and rhythms of New Orleans. Cerveris currently divides his time between his role in “Fun Home” on Broadway and touring with his band Loose Cattle.

Tickets for “Mountain Stage with Larry Groce” at the WVU Creative Arts Center range from $23 to $35, depending on location. WVU Student tickets are $10 at the campus box offices (limit: one discounted ticket per valid WVU Student ID). Tickets are on sale now at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, online at Ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 800-745-3000 and 304-293-SHOW (7469).

This event is part of the University Toyota University Arts Series produced by WVU Arts & Entertainment. For additional information, call 304-293-SHOW (7469), or visit events.wvu.edu. Stay connected with the latest event updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by following @wvuevents.

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ksg/4/12/16

CONTACT: Kristie Stewart-Gale, WVU Arts & Entertainment
304-293-8221, kristie.stewart-gale@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.