Mountain Stage

In her sixth appearance on the program, the heralded songwriter plays a couple of her hits and songs from her new album. The Loving Kind is named after a Virginia couple who overturned a state ban on interracial marriage, and represents a return to form for Griffith.

A Felice brother and a self-appointed monarch have banded together to form a songwriting duo. Simone Felice and Robert "Chicken" Burke perform original material from their debut album Nothing Gold Can Stay.

The youngest of New Orleans' first family of funk, Neville spent many years performing with his brothers before collaborating with a variety of popular artists. He recently released Brand New Blues, his fourth solo album.

The Oklahoma-raised Crain writes with evocative imagery and sings with an impassioned, hushed delivery. With her backing band the Midnight Shivers, she performs songs from her debut full-length release, Songs in the Night.

The singer-songwriter has been touring in support of major-label recordings since his early teens, which he spent in the band Radish. As a solo artist, Kweller continues to evolve: His latest efforts sport a country feel.

Beginning with The Blasters and later in a long solo career, Alvin has enjoyed a long and varied career in the roots-rock world. His latest project finds him performing with an all-female band. Here, they perform on Mountain Stage.

Canadian-born folk singer Ferron issued her 14th release in 2008, titled Boulder. A collection of revisited songs, the album was recorded and produced by indie-rock violinist B——, who accompanies Ferron here in live performance on Mountain Stage.

Making his third appearance on Mountain Stage, Billy Bragg is best known in America for teaming up with Wilco to set some newly unearthed Woody Guthrie lyrics to music on 2000's Mermaid Avenue. But in his native England, Billy Bragg is highly regarded as an egalitarian songsmith who sings for the working class.

Songwriter, composer and guitarist Bruce Cockburn takes listeners on a brief career overview in a live performance recorded at New York's legendary Town Hall. Already a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Cockburn is one of the most heralded and awarded musicians in his native Canada, having won numerous Juno awards and reached gold and platinum sales on multiple releases.

Houston-born songwriter Rodney Crowell took his talents to Nashville in the 1970s and has been evolving ever since. His 1988 album Diamonds and Dirt garnered five No. 1 country singles, including one with his then-wife Rosanne Cash (with whom he still works today). In this Mountain Stage appearance, he performs music from some of his most recent albums, including this year's Sex & Gasoline.

Recorded at New York City's historic Town Hall, and just down the road from her home, singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash performs an acoustic set for her third appearance on Mountain Stage. Included is music from her critically acclaimed album Black Cadillac, as well as a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Two Girls."

One of the most distinctive voices in modern bluegrass, Dan Tyminski visits Mountain Stage for the first time with his own band to perform songs from his second solo release, Wheels. The set closes with "Man of Constant Sorrow," the bluegrass standard prominently featured in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Singer-songwriter Karla Adolphe and percussionist Caleb Friesen make up the Manitoba-based duo Jacob & Lily. On their recent Mountain Stage appearance, the two show off Adolphe's powerful, passionate voice and steady guitar strumming, along with Friesen's meticulous and driving rhythmic work.

Based out of his tiny, rustic hometown of Slaughters, Ky., songwriter and guitarist Chris Knight writes backwoods poetry with introspection he's clearly gained by living the words he writes. On this Mountain Stage appearance, Knight performs songs from his latest album, Heart of Stone, as well as the title cut from his previous record, Enough Rope.

In their fourth appearance on Mountain Stage, the modern-day Irish traditionalists in Solas perform songs from their latest release, Love and Laughter. The set opens with a series of jigs and a traditional Irish love song, and later ends with a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Seven Curses."

Loveless has built a 20-year career by choosing great songs to complement her charming twang. On her fourth visit to Mountain Stage, she performs music from her latest release, for which she dipped into the classic country songbook and recorded some of the genre's most enduring and endearing songs.

Joe Pug's captivating voice and thoughtful storytelling immediately and understandably draw comparisons to a young Bob Dylan. On his first appearance at Mountain Stage, Pug performs selections from his debut EP, Nation of Heat.

Ten years since his last visit, singer Matthew Ryan makes his long-awaited return to Mountain Stage. Accompanied by Molly Thomas on piano and vocals, Ryan performs a humorous, if sometimes bumpy, set that features music from his latest album, Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State.

Welsh singer-songwriter Judith Owen has a knack for entertaining her audience with self-deprecating humor just before enchanting it with her elegant and emotional songs. In her third Mountain Stage appearance, Owen plays songs from her latest album, Mopping Up Karma.

The Alternate Routes' members have a knack for harmonies, hooks and stylistically diverse, feel-good rock 'n' roll. Katie Herzig, part of an emerging scene of alternative pop music out of Nashville, performs three songs from her latest album, Apple Tree.

Kitchell is a singer-songwriter seasoned beyond her years, having previously joined Herbie Hancock on a worldwide tour. For her appearance in Charleston, W.Va., she brought along the Boston-based indie-rockers in The Slip, who appeared on Mountain Stage in 2006. Together, they promote Kitchell's latest album, This Storm.

Combining wide-ranging influences like reggae and roots music into an electric/acoustic hybrid, the Drew Emmitt Band recently performed on Mountain Stage in an appearance recorded at the Morgantown, W.Va., campus of WVU. The band played music from Emmitt's latest album, this year's Long Road.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Julie Fowlis has made a huge name for herself overseas singing in Gaelic, a language understood by only 1 percent of the population in her native Scotland. She recently performed her unique music on Mountain Stage, accompanied by Dobro master Jerry Douglas in the final song of her set.

Louisiana native Brooke Waggoner studied composition and orchestration at LSU before moving to Nashville to advance her career as a performing songwriter. Her quirky sense of song structure and her experimental nature bring to mind the wide range of influences that Mountain Stage host Larry Groce mentions in his introduction: from Chopin to Simon & Garfunkel to Rogers & Hammerstein.