NPR News

Singer-songwriter Cheryl Wheeler makes her 10th appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded on the road in Grand Marais, Minn. A natural entertainer and gifted storyteller, Wheeler possesses a remarkable ability to write both touching ballads and witty social satire.

Chicago-based singer-songwriter Musikanto makes his first appearance on Mountain Stage here. Combining elements of indie rock, folk and soul, his album Sky of Dresses has received positive attention from Paste magazine and the roots-music site No Depression.

Even though the band was making its first appearance on Mountain Stage, the acoustic roots trio Red Molly earned a standing ovation from the sold-out audience at the Paramount Theater in Bristol, Tenn./Va. Formed around a campsite at the 2004 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Red Molly spent the next six years becoming a crowd favorite at events like the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion and MerleFest.

As a child in Azerbaijan, Amina Figarova loved the piano at first sight. She would arrange all her dolls around her and play for them. "Nobody could stop me," she told an interviewer at All About Jazz. "I would sit and play and play." Figarova studied classical music and heard jazz at home, especially Herbie Hancock.