W.Va. Native Kathy Mattea Joins Mountain Stage As Its New Host

Sep 09, 2021

W.Va. Native Kathy Mattea Joins Mountain Stage As Its New Host

West Virginia Public Broadcasting | By Caitlin Tan


West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage has announced its new host. After 38 years and more than 900 episodes co-founder Larry Groce is handing the mic over to Kathy Mattea -- a West Virginia native who has been making country music since the early 80s.

Mattea is a two-time Grammy Award winner with numerous top 10 hits on country radio. Fans might remember Mattea’s hit “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses.” She’s also gained significant critical acclaim, with The Washington Post calling her “one of Nashville's finest song interpreters.”

After guest-hosting Mountain Stage several times, Mattea was asked to take over full time. Inside Appalachia co-host Caitlin Tan spoke with Mattea hosting helm at Mountain Stage and why she decided to take it on.

Kathy Mattea and Larry Groce


**This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.**


Caitlin Tan: Was it a hard decision to accept the hosting position for Mountain Stage?


Kathy Mattea: You know, it's challenging. It doesn't look like I should do this on paper. But, I think Mountain Stage is important, I think live music is important, I think West Virginia culture is important, and I was just like, “Yeah, I think I’ve got to say yes.”


Tan: What was your reaction, kind of absorbing this new title and thinking about how this is going to look going forward?


Mattea: You know, I keep talking to my friends about it and saying, “There are so many amazing musicians out there making music that blows your mind.” And so I feel like that part is really good for me. Because as you get older, it's easy to just kind of be a stick in the mud and sort of not go out of your comfort zone. Part of the challenge for me is I may not instantly like everybody I hear. So I try to get to the essence of what is special about them, like, what is it about this person that connects with the people who love them? And then I get to sort of bring that to new people as I check this person out.


Tan: So you are originally from Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and I'm curious how it feels getting to host a show that was founded and housed out of the Mountain State?


Mattea: Well, you know, I've spent my whole life being sort of a West Virginia native daughter. I moved to Nashville when I was 19, and then I wound up getting to take this ride in the music business -- touring all over the country and much of the world.

So, I wound up talking about the place that I'm from, and the place that made me. You know, there's so much stereotypical stuff about hillbilly culture and it’s a chance to bring some of the soulfulness of that to people and break those stereotypes


Tan: As you take the reins, how will Mountain Stage look similar, and are you planning to add anything new?


Mattea: I kind of think of it as one of those Olympic relay races. Larry just handed me a baton, and my job is to keep the thing going without any major glitches -- keep the momentum and the center and the spirit of it. I’m thinking, “Don't mess this up, Kathy! Don't make it about you!” [laughter]


Tan: [laughter] No! Of course not. What will the Mountain Stage band look like going forward? Will “Simple Song” still be the theme song? And obviously, you are an incredibly accomplished singer yourself. So I'm really hoping we'll get to hear you singing?


Mattea: Well, as far as I know, the theme song is gonna stay the same. I don't see any reason to change it.

You know, I see myself as sort of stewarding something that is a container for other people's music. I don't see this as like, “Oh, I'm gonna get on that stage. I'm just gonna sing a whole bunch.” You know? That’s not how I feel about it. I feel like part of my job is to take my ego out of it.

Listen to "Turn Off The News (Build A Garden)" now by Kathy Mattea

04 Mar, 2022
Listen to "Turn Off The News (Build A Garden)"

Play It Forward Video

21 Jul, 2020
Many artists came together and created the song, Play It Forward, which is fundraising on behalf of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee to support their mission of feeding hungry people and working to solve hunger issues in our community. Second Harvest is distributing nearly 40% more pounds of food per week compared to this time last year. Simultaneously, grocery store food donations have declined more than 30%, and food drive donations are at a standstill. This means Second Harvest must purchase an additional 100,000 pounds of food each week to feed our Middle Tennessee neighbors. By supporting this fundraiser, your gift will provide hope to those in need. http://shfbmt.convio.net/goto/playitforward

Kathy hosts Ken Burns: The Making of Country Music

05 Dec, 2019
Hey there...tonight I'm hosting the PBS Pledge Drive special about Ken Burns' Country Music documentary. I'll be hosting the local showing here in Nashville, too! I'm very happy to be able to help out PBS, as well as NPT (Nashville Public Television), I love what they do! Very important work!

On her contributions to the Ken Burns Country Music documentary

05 Dec, 2019
by Roger Catlin Kathy Mattea utters the first words in Ken Burns' epic Country Music documentary, a chronicle of the genre's evolution throughout the 20th century as told by some of its biggest stars. And eventually, before the 16 1/2 hours are over, it also tells her story. She may not be a coal miner's daughter, but the West Virginia native is a coal miner's granddaughter. A two-time Grammy winner who first hit #1 with "Goin' Gone" in 1987, Mattea began her career steeped in traditional music history from being a tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame. "The day I learned about Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, I went home and I was like a changed person," says the singer, who also cites Brenda Lee and Loretta Lynn as major inspirations. As one of the consultants of Country Music, she attended a screening at sponsoring station WETA in Washington, D.C. We caught up with her backstage to talk about the project, her own path between traditional roots and Nashville commercialism and the song choices she's made over the years. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

Kathy Mattea’s new album Pretty Bird is available now!

05 Dec, 2019
Hailed by The Washington Post as “one of Nashville's finest song interpreters,” Kathy Mattea has enjoyed the kind of success many artists only dream of: two GRAMMY wins, four CMA Awards, four #1 country singles, and five gold albums (plus a platinum collection of her greatest hits). The dream almost ended, though, when Mattea entered her 50s and began to find her voice changing. What followed was a three year journey through life challenges and vocal glitches that she describes as her “dark night of the soul,” a trying time of personal anguish and professional uncertainty that threatened to silence her permanently. “The hardest thing was facing the question of whether I would still be able to sing well enough to enjoy it. That was the acid test for me, and I had to be willing to walk through a process that bumped me up against the very real possibility that, in the end, the answer might be “No.” Instead, Mattea dug in with a vocal coach, re-committed to her music, and emerged with the most poignant album of her career, “Pretty Bird.” Working with her old friend, music roots wizard Tim O’Brien, producing, “Pretty Bird” is a chronicle of her journey, song by song, back to singing for the sheer joy of it. It’s an emotional, moving collection, one that draws its strength not only from Mattea’s touching performances, but also from her uncanny ability to weave seemingly disparate material into a cohesive whole. From a playful take on Oliver Wood’s “Chocolate On My Tongue” to a tender rendition of Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now,” from a British traditional to a Bobbie Gentry classic, these are the songs that helped Mattea reclaim her voice, and she inhabits each as fully as if it were her own. Exquisitely arranged and delivered with the kind of subtlety and nuance that can only come from a lifetime of heartbreak and triumph, ‘Pretty Bird’ is a title Kathy Mattea inhabits quite literally, and it’s a welcome reintroduction to one of country and Americana music’s most enduring and beloved figures.
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