Based in Durham, N.C., Hiss Golden Messenger is the band from singer-songwriter and guitarist M.C. Taylor. Host Larry Groce describes the band as a perfect artist for the program since its sound incorporates various styles of music, all of which you'll hear in the band's second appearance on Mountain Stage.
Taylor is accompanied by Phil Cook on guitar, harmonica and piano, Michael Libramento on bass, J.T. Bates on drums and Josh Kaufman on guitar. The band runs through a set of songs from throughout its prolific career, beginning with "Red Rose Nantahala" from its 2013 album Haw, and three songs from the band's 2017 Merge Records release Hallelujah Anyhow. The band close with a new song, "Happy Birthday," dedicated to Taylor's youngest child.
"I told my daughter I would write a song for her birthday," he says, "And because she's five and she likes solid shapes, her song is called 'Happy Birthday.'" Listen to hear how she liked it.
Hiss Golden Messenger has tour dates planned through the end of this year, including a date in Nashville opening for John Prine. On Nov. 2, Merge Records will release Devotion: Songs About Rivers and Spirits and Children, a limited-edition deluxe box set which includes remastered reissues of the early albums Bad Debt, Poor Moon, and Haw as well as Virgo Fool, a rarities compilation released exclusively through this collection.
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