Genre | Music |
---|---|
Running time | Two hours |
Country | USA |
Home station | West Virginia Public Broadcasting |
Created by | Andy Ridenour, Francis Fisher, Larry Groce |
Executive producer(s) | Adam Harris |
Air dates | since 1983 |
Opening theme | "Simple Song", by Larry Groce |
Website | MountainStage.org |
Podcast | http://www.mountainstage.org/mtnstagepodcast.aspx |
Mountain Stage is a two-hour music radio show, first aired in 1983, produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and distributed worldwide by National Public Radio (NPR). Hosted by Larry Groce, the program showcases diverse music, from the traditional to modern. It is recorded before a live audience, usually at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia, but occasionally travels to other venues elsewhere in the United States. Major private funding is provided by the West Virginia-based law firm of Bailey & Glasser LLP, the Charleston WV Convention & Visitors Bureau and Wild, Wonderful West Virginia (West Virginia Division of Tourism).
Created by Andy Ridenour, Larry Groce and Francis Fisher, Mountain Stage originally aired in 1983. In December 2013, the show recorded its 750th episode. All three founders continued in their original roles until 2011, when Executive Producer Ridenour retired after 28 years. Mountain Stage is now produced by Adam Harris, who began working for the show in 2005 as an unpaid intern. Each year 26 two-hour episodes are produced. Most are recorded at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia; however, the show has traveled to New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ashland, Kentucky, Athens, Georgia, Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia, Winnipeg Folk Festival (Canada), Kerrville Folk Festival (Texas) and Fairbanks, Alaska.
In 2003 a coffee-table style book, "20 Years of Mountain Stage", was published in honor of the radio show's 20th Anniversary.