KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – In Charleston, if you turn your radio dial to 88.5, you’ll hear live country music from The Mountain Stage. Wednesday they celebrated 40 years of bringing live entertainment to radios across the U.S.

The West Virginia-based production celebrated this milestone with good food, a great community atmosphere, and, of course, more live music.

Wednesday night, a sold-out crowd was treated to a celebration of this major milestone at J.Q. Dickenson Salt-Works in Kanawha County.

Among the crowd was the new host of the Mountain Stage, country music star and West Virginia native Kathy Mattea.

Mattea says she started her career in Nashville when the Mountain Stage was founded.

“In 1983, I signed a record deal, and they started this radio show, so I would come back and play on the radio show from the time I started,” Mattea says detailing her history with the production.

The event was more than just a celebration. All the proceeds including donations will go toward purchasing new production equipment to offer a better listening experience for all those who tune in.

“Our current setup is state-of-the-art technology for 2009. We’re looking to get that set in the future so that we can continually the best broadcast and live experiences for our audiences on the radio,” Mountain Stage’s Executive Producer Adam Harris says.

It was a celebration of producing live shows on the radio for four decades, reaching people all over the nation through West Virginia Public Broadcasting and NPR. To this day, it still offers more opportunities for new artists.