West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage with Larry Groce returns to the Creative Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 4. Scheduled to appear are Regina Spektor, Sonny Landreth, Yo La Tengo, Will Hoge and the Great Lake Swimmers. Tickets are on sale now at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, online at ticketmaster.com or by phone at 304-293-SHOW. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the show.

Regina Spektor
With a powerhouse voice, Regina Spektor creates quirky, artfully orchestrated music with hip-hop rhythms and inspired pop melodies, infused with the passion of punk rock. Best known for her ability to paint stories with her songwriting, the Moscow-born New York City-based piano whiz rose to critical acclaim with the albums “Soviet Kitsch” and “Begin to Hope.” While the latter gave birth to her most popular singles, including “Samson,” “Fidelity” and “Better,” it is her inherent aptitude of creating complex and haunting melodies that gives Spektor a true staying power. Her new record, “far,” has already spawned the singles “Laughing With” and “Eet” and proves that Spektor is in it for the long haul.

Sonny Landreth
While Entertainment Weekly has called Sonny Landreth a “bona fide guitar hero,” the Louisiana-based slide-guitar wizard has unduly flown under the radar over the years compared to some of his peers. However, on his latest record “From the Reach,” Landreth collaborates with some of those peers, including Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Vince Gill and Jimmy Buffett, for some jaw-dropping performances. Clapton calls Landreth “one of the most underestimated musicians on the planet, and also probably one of the most advanced.” Landreth’s slide playing is accented by his unique right-hand technique, which involves picking strings and tapping, and his proficiency to fret notes and play chords behind the slide during performance.

Yo La Tengo
True veterans of the music industry, Yo La Tengo’s new record, “Popular Songs,” showcases a band continuing to challenge itself, branching into new territory to master a broad range of styles, even while integrating it all into a signature sound that is still distinctly theirs. Led by married couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, the band marches on past its quarter-of-a-century mark, deftly able to craft music that ranges from up-tempo, string-laden tracks to soulful indie rock to everything in between.

Will Hoge
After a traffic accident nearly cost Will Hoge his life only just over a year ago, he is back with a new outlook, an invigorated spirit and a renewed sense of his musical journey. Now, with his brand new album aptly titled, “The Wreckage,” Hoge emerges with his best work to date, a harrowing and deep insight inside someone who has been to the edge and back.

Great Lake Swimmers
Canadian quintet Great Lake Swimmers are fast becoming a bold new presence in the folk-rock scene, thanks in part to lead vocalist Tony Dekker’s captivating and ethereal voice. The band was recently chosen for the Short List of the esteemed 2009 Polaris Music Prize, joining past honorees Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene and Feist. The nomination is the latest acknowledgement in the ever-growing acclaim for the band’s new record, “Lost Channels,” which debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart in the first week. Critics have raved about the band, calling them “starkly evocative and melodically melancholy” with a “remarkably haunting, heartfelt folk-pop sound.”

Tickets are on sale now at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, online at ticketmaster.com or by phone at 304-293-SHOW and 800-745-3000. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the show. The Mountainlair Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the CAC Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets including Giant Eagle on Greenbag Road.

This event is produced by WVU Arts & Entertainment. For more event information, call 304-293-SHOW, or visit http://events.wvu.edu.

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CONTACT: Ali Daly, WVU Arts & Entertainment
304-293-8222, Alison.Daly@mail.wvu.edu