Stage was celebrated in December 2018 with the Amy Ray Band, Crash Test Dummies, Anais Mitchell, Parker Millsap and William Matheny. Mountain Stage has welcomed six Guest Hosts since 2014, beginning with Grammy-winning musician Tim O'Brien, former Assistant Producer Joni Deutsch, who guest-hosted twice, WV Singer-Songwriter Todd Burge, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton, and Tony Award winner and WV native Michael Cerveris. Since March 2018, country music singer and West Virginia native Mattea has been a regular guest host. Mattea first appeared on Mountain Stage in November of 1985 and has appeared on the show more times than any other female artist, and she is second to Tim O'Brien for total number of appearances. On September 9, 2021, it was announced that Mattea will be the permanent host of Mountain Stage, succeeding Groce. Format The radio show begins with its theme, "Simple Song", written and performed by founding host Larry Groce. Under the influence of Groce's tenure as artistic director, the program showcases diverse music, from the traditional to the brand new, including roots music to indie rock and jazz. Usually, five musical guests will appear on any given show. Among the luminaries who appeared on Mountain Stage before they were famous or whose first national-exposure in the US on Mountain Stage are Sarah McLachlan, Norah Jones, Crash Test Dummies, Barenaked Ladies, Ben Harper, Paula Cole, Nickel Creek, Cassandra Wilson, Counting Crows, and Phish. In April 1991, R.E.M. appeared on the show, bringing national attention to the West Virginia-based program. Over the years, the show has featured such international luminaries as Tori Amos, Phish, Barenaked Ladies, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Cake, Galactic, Bruce Hornsby, the Derek Trucks Band, Chris Thile, Bell X-1, Judy Collins, They Might Be Giants, Norah Jones, Hubert Sumlin & Pinetop Perkins, Charles Brown, Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Amos Lee, Joan Baez, Patti Smith, Jakob Dylan and Regina Spektor, as well as Mattea, Tim O'Brien and over a hundred West Virginia artists. Distribution Mountain Stage is heard on over 270 NPR stations nationwide, as of February 2021. The full-length show is available on demand as a podcast. Select guest artist segments, including songs not heard on the radio, are posted at the NPR Music website. Video performances of select shows can be found on the West Virginia channel at LiveSessions.NPR.org. Twenty-seven albums compiling live performances from the Mountain Stage series have also been released on