Mountain Stage Releases Recording Of Indigo Girls 'Closer To Fine'

NPR Music and West Virginia Public Broadcasting's live performance radio show Mountain Stage released today a recording of Indigo Girls performing their classic hit “Closer To Fine” from their appearance on the show in 2002.

The track is the latest to release from their upcoming compilation Live On Mountain Stage: Outlaws and Outliers, out on April 19th through Oh Boy Records. The album will feature a collection of live performances from various artists captured during Mountain Stage tapings over the past four decades, including Rhiannon Giddens, Margo Price, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, and Birds of Chicago featuring Allison Russell among many others. Pre-order/Pre-save Live On Mountain Stage: Outlaws and Outliers HERE.  

Rolling Stone debuted the new single and Indigo Girls stated, "Mountain Stage is a fantastic eclectic show, and we've loved playing it over the years, especially because we got to share the stage with world class musicians and singers hootenanny style. So, it's an honor that they put 'Closer to Fine' on their 40th Anniversary compilation.”

Mountain Stage shared the first single from the compilation earlier this year, a cover of “Space Oddity” by Wilco, released on what would have been David Bowie's 77th birthday on January 8th. "As a gratefully, if not begrudgingly, Earth-bound band, it's always an honor and a challenge to tackle any of David Bowie's space-soaring arrangements," stated Wilco. "Striving to reach the heights of his freedom and talent is a wise goal for any band. We thank Mountain Stage for letting us give this song another home on Earth." The news was picked up by Pitchfork, Consequence, SPIN, Brooklyn Vegan, NME, and The Line of Best Fit among many others.

"Mountain Stage has always been about our guests,” stated founder and original host Larry Groce. “Our only purpose has been to showcase their incredible talent. We've heard a lot in forty years and these songs are just a few of the treasures from our archives that we want to share with the world. When we got the chance to work with Oh Boy Records on this project, we jumped at it. John Prine is an American music icon who set the bar for performing songwriters like the ones in this collection. There's a lot of fun here but there's also a lot of insight as to what life is all about.”

“For over 40 years, Mountain Stage has been one of the most prominent voices in both the promotion and celebration of roots music,” said Oh Boy Records' Jody Whelan. “This record showcases some of the most legendary performances from the show's history, but also looks to the future and highlights a new generation of performers we'll be celebrating for the next 40 years. Oh Boy Records is so honored to be part of sharing this continuing legacy.”

Since its inception in 1983, Mountain Stage has become an institution, standing as one of the most beloved and enduring programs in public radio history, broadcasting thousands of unforgettable live performances by rising stars and veteran legends alike. Produced out of the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, Mountain Stage is heard weekly on over 250 public radio stations nationwide.

Each two-hour episode of Mountain Stage is recorded in front of an audience and features a variety of musical styles, in genres ranging from traditional roots, folk, blues, and country, to indie rock, alternative, synth pop, world music, and beyond. Some of their most iconic guests over the years have included John Prine, The Band, Odetta, Wilco, R.E.M., Angélique Kidjo, Phish, Pops and Mavis Staples, Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Alison Krauss, Townes Van Zandt, Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg, Miriam Makeba, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Now celebrating over 40 years of shows, Mountain Stage is the second longest running nationally distributed performance radio show, behind only the Grand Ole Opry. Its legacy has earned recent praise from NPR's Here & Now, Relix, Pollstar, and Rolling Stone who raved, “40 years is not only a milestone. It's also a testament to the blood, sweat, and tears of building something from nothing - one listener and one station at a time,” while Garden & Gun lauded “the live performance show has been a must-stop for countless musicians in the American roots music scene and beyond.”

Credit: Brian Blauser

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