Mountain Stage with Larry Groce will be returning to the hills of Athens Sunday for an evening of eclectic entertainment.
Mountain Stage, a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting since 1983, is a live two-hour radio show that will be broadcast on NPR stations. In Athens, it is sponsored by the Ohio University Performing Arts Series and WOUB Radio Network.
The show has been coming to Athens for more than 10 years, said Andrew Holzaepfel, associate director of the Campus Involvement Center.
This year’s lineup includes Pink Martini featuring the Von Trapps — the great-grandchildren of George and Maria Von Trapp, whose family inspired the story in The Sound of Music — Parkington Sisters, Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo and Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound.
“This is going to be a little different show because they’re giving Pink Martini and the Von Trapps a full hour,” Holzaepfel said. “Usually, it’s divided equally and everyone gets the same amount of time as other artists.”
Pink Martini was formed by pianist Thomas Lauderdale and features 10 to 12 members in what he describes as a “little orchestra” which performs a variety of multilingual pieces all over the world.
Joining Pink Martini will be Sofia, Melanie, Amanda and August Von Trapp, who have been singing together for the past 12 years under their legendary family name.
Together, Pink Martini and the Von Trapps released a new album Dream a Little Dream on March 4, which is a collaborative studio album.
Frank Vignola, a renowned jazz guitarist who has performed with legends like Les Paul, Madonna and Ringo Starr, will join Vinny Raniolo, guitarist and educator, on stage Sunday.
The Parkington Sisters are four songwriting, multi-instrumental sisters who have toured with Mavis Staples and the Dropkick Murphys. They shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen at the 2011 Bonnaroo festival.
Holzaepfel anticipates to fill nearly 1,000 seats.
“For us, it’s a wonderful opportunity to bring an established radio program that’s been going on because they always bring in an eclectic group of artists. Our audiences find it to be a treat to watch a live program being recorded,” Holzaepfel said. “For OU it’s important because not only do we get the performance but it ends up going out nationally, live from Ohio University.”
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