Duncan Sheik On Mountain Stage

Duncan Sheik first visited Mountain Stage in 1996, just before his hit "Barely Breathing" reached the top of the pop charts and earned him a Grammy nomination. His artistic path has been expanding ever since, and Sheik has made a total of six stops at Mountain Stage, each time presenting thoughtprovoking pop songs with atypical accompaniment.

Much of his most recent work, such as the White Limousine EP, showcases his string-laden chamber-pop. Sheik also won a Tony Award and a Grammy Award for his original musical with playwright Steven Sater, Spring Awakening, which is now running in Europe.

Sheik's latest record, Whisper House, was originally conceived as a musical with his friend, 30 Rock actor Keith Powell. The album tells the story of an abandoned lighthouse and the ghosts who occupy it. Sheik jokes that the album's opening track, "It's Better to Be Dead," is the "husband's rejoinder" to "Killing Him," a song performed earlier in the evening by Amy LaVere (heard later this week on Mountain Stage).