Black Dirt Country Comes to the Opera House
The Joe Stamm Band brings a different flavor of music to the Pocahontas Opera House on Saturday, March 28th.
“We call ourselves black dirt country rock, which is really just a nod of the hat to the red dirt scene that we’re not a part of geographically, because we’re from Illinois and a nod to where we’re from,” said Joe Stamm, leader of the band.
For those not familiar, red dirt country is a subgenre of country, folk, and rock that originated in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and characterized by its independent, storytelling nature. It’s often labeled as a blend of Americana and honky-tonk. What he calls black dirt country rock is a mixture of rootsy rock and rugged country with a lot of storytelling.
He started the band in 2013, segueing to producing more original tunes during 2018 and 2019. The band has now released several albums with their most release being Little Crosses in July 2025. The band has traveled and played in this region of the country, but it will be their first time in Marlinton.
Pittsburgh has been a frequent stop for the band, and in fact, has been the location where a couple of their albums have been recorded. I told him Marlinton is considerably more rural.
“I like it! I’m from a little town called Metamora and I still reside in the area,” he said. “But I live 10 miles from the nearest town and about 30 miles away from the nearest city, so I dig it.”
I asked him how his band got together.
“The band was kind of a grass roots thing,” he said, “it’s not like there’s scores of musicians who are able to hit the road and also play well enough to do this professionally, so you kind of went from one guy to the next. Two of the guys, Dave [Glover] who plays guitar and Bruce [Moser] who plays bass have been with me now for 10 years, and Tim [Kramp] our drummer came on board with us five years ago.”
It takes a little time to find that group that’s going to gell together.
“That’s for sure, both musically and interpersonally because so much of this job is being confined to a van and hotel rooms with the same guys for days on end. You better get along at leaset to a certain degree.”
Music sample
On Saturday night, Stamm says you’ll hear a variety of songs from the four full length albums, plus several eps and singles that the band has produced over the last few years. Although the band has performed primarily in the mid-west, they’ve always open to exploring farther afield.
“We’ve got our spots that we visit twice a year; then it’s going out to some parts where we’re just trying to make friends,” said Stamm. “This weekend works out great, we’ve got a little jaunt across Columbus to Pittsburgh and then down to Marlinton, so it’s just a nice little circuit. And then we’ll come home for a few days and we’ll go a different direction.”
The Joe Stamm Band is performing Saturday, March 28th at the Pocahontas Opera House. Doors open at 6pm, the show is at 7. Tickets are a suggested $10.00 donation for anyone 18 and over. Those 17 and under are free. Advance tickets are available at pocahontasoperahouse.org or at the 4th Avenue Gallery in Marlinton. Tickets will also be available at the door on the evening of the concert.
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