Mountain Music Project

The Mountain Music Project: A Musical Odyssey from Appalachia to Himalaya follows the journey of two traditional musicians from the hills of Virginia to the mountains of rural Nepal, where they explore the extraordinary connections between Appalachian and Himalayan folk music and culture, particularly with the traditional musicians of the Gandharba caste.

The Gandharbas were once the wandering minstrels of the southern Himalayas, bringing news, storytelling, and traditional singing to the villages of rural Nepal. Although in Hindu mythology, Gandharbas were thought to be divine angel musicians, today their rich musical traditions are at risk of extinction as radio, television, and recorded music encroach upon rural Nepali life.

Musicians/Hosts Tara Linhardt and Danny Knicely join Nepali musician Buddhiman Gandharba on a musical tour through rural Nepal, where they discover surprising similarities between these seemingly distant cultures. In the melodies of the traditional Nepali Sarangi (fiddle) or the taste of homemade Raksi (moonshine), there's a thread that hearkens back to Old-Time Appalachian culture and to rural communities around the world, where people are poor but proud, where lyrics tell of lost loves, murders, wayfaring travelers, and even farm animals, in a place where music is still meant for the porch rather than the stage. Along their journey, we hear the words, wisdom, and anecdotes of musicians and folklorists from both Virginia and Nepal, who guide us through this uplifting celebration of rural culture.

No Good Reason

Musicians and singers from around the country, people who have never met and who are currently or recently homeless, gather in Boston to record a song written by a 15-year girl who was homeless when she wrote it. Natalie Merchant (formerly of 10,000 Maniacs) has less than three days to arrange and record the song - in a process that normally takes weeks or months. Working with several artists who have never set foot in a recording studio, Ms. Merchant completes the track, which winds up on a new CD featuring artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Jewel, Bonnie Raitt and many others partnering with unknown artists who are currently or recently homeless. The goal: to increase awareness of homelessness in America.