Find the entire Off The Road series at hawaiipublicradio.org/offtheroad.
Today HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence welcomes back 10,000 Maniacs, and their singer/violin/viola player Mary Ramsey.
10,000 Maniacs formed in New York State in 1981, originally fronted by vocalist Natalie Merchant, who left the group in 1993. While already singing back-up vocals for the band, Mary became lead vocalist late that year, and except for a few brief breaks, has continued in that role since.
Mary was a 2020 Off The Road guest, performing a memorable cover of the classic “Over the Rainbow”.
In today’s feature, hear how the group have returned to performing live as part of a 40th anniversary tour. She shares details about the first time back on stage in front of an audience, and also talks about the band’s new album they’ve begun working on. Mary generously performed live for us, too, tackling the Led Zeppelin epic “Stairway to Heaven”!
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See Mary perform “Stairway to Heaven” for HPR:
Off The Road started in April 2020 when the pandemic led to a halt in the touring entertainment industry. Connecting with artists around the world since, we’ve offered intimate conversations and many exclusive musical performances with some of the biggest names in music, spanning many genres, eras and styles. Some of the highlight artists we’ve welcomed so far include Carlos Santana, Linda Ronstadt, Al Di Meola, Alice Cooper, Soul Asylum, John McLaughlin, Deep Purple, Third World, George Benson, Heart, Joe Satriani, The Doors, Randy Brecker, Peter Frampton and System of a Down.
