Published: Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, October 5, 2010 00:10
A variety of acts performed at the Creative Arts Center Sunday night as part of the Mountain Stage concerts.
Mountain Stage is a recorded radio show that is broadcast on National Public Radio, which showcases bands of many different genres including folk, gospel, bluegrass, alternative, jazz and blues.
The performances are shown throughout the Appalachian area.
Sunday's Mountain Stage show featured six different artists including Lizz Wright, Fruit Bats, The Holmes Brothers, Deolinda, Raul Midon and the Paper Raincoat.
The audience seemed to most impressed with the variety of concerts offered at the single ticket price of $20.
"You can't really beat the price of $20 for six bands," said Ann Finley, a WVU senior.
The opening band, the Paper Raincoat, is a folk/pop band based out of Brooklyn, headlined by songwriters Amber Rubarth and Alex Wong. The group closed out its four song set with an a capella version of one its originals.
The band Fruit Bats is a Chicago based folk/rock band that is signed to Sub Pop Records.
The lead singer of the band is Eric Johnson, who is also a member of indie folk bands like Califone, and recently joined the Shins.
Fruit Bats played a small set of songs showcasing its career.
The highlight of the performance was its song "The Ruminant Band," the title track from its 2009 Sub Pop release.
One of the highlights of the show was the Portuguese quartet Deolinda, which is on its first American tour.
Deolinda is a traditional fado style of Portuguese music that also shows influences of flamenco guitar and jazz upright bass as the rhythm section.
The group is fronted by Ana Bacalhau, a humorous woman with an angelic voice.
The next group, the Holmes Brothers, are a soulful blues trio formed by brothers Sherman and Wendell Holmes.
The trio has recorded music with the likes of Willie Nelson and Van Morrision.
The group played tracks from their most recent album "Feed My Soul" on Alligator Records.
Raul Midon, however, stole the show. As a blind singer-songwriter from New Mexico, Midon played a unique style of folk and R&B all with his guitar.
The show ended with a performance by the jazz artist Lizz Wright.
Wright performed songs from her album "Fellowship," which was released in September.
The next Mountain Stage to come to Morgantown will be Nov. 7 at the Creative Arts Center.
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