Spotlight on Country

North Carolina native Riley Baugus has contributed his banjo skills to the Oscar-winning movie Cold Mountain and last year's Grammy-winning album Raising Sand. In this edition of Mountain Stage, he performs a set of traditional Appalachian songs.

The Australians are living representatives of the far-reaching influence of American country music. Chambers and Nicholson recently made their first album as a duo, 2008's Rattlin' Bones; they play from it here, in a concert with Chambers' father.

As a country songwriter, Sharp has been tapped by Bonnie Raitt, The Dixie Chicks and Keb' Mo'. As a country singer-songwriter, she just released a new solo album called Echo. She brings her own act to this live performance.

The songs on Revolution come in an impressive variety of arrangements and voices, from quiet, acoustic confessions to rock 'n' roll hollering. They're all convincing, and they make up not just Lambert's best record, but also critic Will Hermes' standing pick for country record of the year.

He has been making music for 50 years now. He played with bluegrass great Ralph Stanley when he was still in his teens, went on to have a streak of country hits and then went back to bluegrass. Now he's returned to the songs he learned from his father when he was a young boy in eastern Kentucky.

One of the most distinctive voices in modern bluegrass, Dan Tyminski visits Mountain Stage for the first time with his own band to perform songs from his second solo release, Wheels. The set closes with "Man of Constant Sorrow," the bluegrass standard prominently featured in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Loveless has built a 20-year career by choosing great songs to complement her charming twang. On her fourth visit to Mountain Stage, she performs music from her latest release, for which she dipped into the classic country songbook and recorded some of the genre's most enduring and endearing songs.

The Dobro master has appeared on countless recordings and collaborated with the upper echelon of country and bluegrass musicians. But his taste and talent don't exist only in the realm of those genres, as Douglas has played and recorded with the likes of Ray Charles, Paul Simon and Elvis Costello and Eric Clapton.

Brooks and Dunn's popularity is credited with helping to keep country music afloat at a time when the rest of the music industry was tanking. But now guitarist Kix Brooks and singer Ronnie Dunn will end an almost 20-year-long partnership — after a farewell tour.

Country singer George Strait is surpassed only by Elvis Presley and The Beatles in the number of platinum-selling albums he's had. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews his new album, Twang.

Tanya Tucker recorded her first hit single when she was 13. Now, after nearly four decades in the music business, a Grammy nomination and a tumultuous past few years, the country singer has released a new album, called My Turn.

Five-time Grammy winner Mary Chapin Carpenter performs an acoustic set during her sixth appearance on Mountain Stage since 1987. The country singer plays songs from her ninth album, The Calling.

Though he remains best known for his acting career, Costner has been active on the country-music stage since the late '80s. He recently started a band with friend and guitarist John Coinman called Modern West.