Mountain Stage getting new host

Mountain Stag Facebook photo.


CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia treasure is undergoing a transition. Mountain Stage, which has been produced in West Virginia for distribution to the world for the past 38 years, will soon have a new name as its host. Longtime host and creator Larry Groce will step aside and the new host will be a familiar figure, Kathy Mattea.

“She’s a world famous singer and we were surprised she was willing to do it. But just like it’s a time in my life to step aside, I think it might be a time in her life to try something new,” Groce told MetroNews.

Mattea is a native of Cross Lanes and is a successful Grammy winning performing artist. She’s been a performer on the show and has also hosted in recent years.

The program was first created in 1981 by Groce and two co-creators Andy Ridenour and Francis Fisher. The pilot was made in 1981 and the first regular show started in 1983. Groce has hosted almost every one of the shows which are recorded live at the state Culture Center in Charleston on Sunday nights and are distributed through National Public Radio a month later.

Mountain Stage is heard on nearly 300 public radio stations nationwide. Each two-hour episode of Mountain Stage is recorded in front of an audience and features a variety of musical styles, in genres ranging from traditional roots, folk, blues, and country, to indie rock, alternative, synth pop, world music ,and beyond. Some of their most iconic guests over the years have included John Prine, Odetta, Wilco, R.E.M., Angélique Kidjo, Phish, Mavis Staples, Allen Toussaint, Alison Krauss, Townes Van Zandt, Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg, Miriam Makeba, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Groce said the idea was loosely based on musical institutions like the Grand Ole Opry or the Wheeling Jamboree, but there were also differences.

“Our music pallet was much wider than that, but that was the idea to do music in front of a live audience with multiple performers on every show, but to also give everybody enough time to do more than one or two songs,” Groce said.

The show initially was just a West Virginia concern, but Groce dreamed big from the start.

“We started modestly in West Virginia, from the beginning I told the guys I’d like to try for a national show. They were satisfied with a statewide show, but I said let’s at least try. Plus nobody could predict it would still be going this many years later,” he said.

Groce will be stepping aside as the show’s host, but he’s not going away. He’ll remain on board as the Artistic Director and will remain involved behind the scenes. He added he may also still host occasionally, but said he planned to have a whole lot more free time going forward.