After 38 years and more than 900 episodes, the program’s host and co-founder Larry Groce will hand over full-time hosting responsibilities to Kathy Mattea. A Grammy and CMA Award winner, Mattea is a West Virginia native who has the most appearances by a female artist in Mountain Stage history. She has been serving as guest-host periodically since 2019.

Larry remains involved behind the scenes, and will still be heard hosting occasionally, as the staff continues to program a mixture of classic episodes and fresh shows that have been recorded in 2021. We want to extend our appreciation for the nearly four decades of dedication and passion Larry has brought to each episode, and we are pleased to continue to have his involvement in the show.