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.

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), Lexington, Kentucky; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Kerrville Folk Festival (Texas); Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Fairbanks, Alaska.

The show recorded episode 900 in July 2017 with Steve Earle & The Dukes, The Mastersons, The Sherman Holmes Project, Steelism and West Virginia storyteller Bil Lepp.

The 35th Anniversary of Mountain Stage was celebrated in December 2018 with the Amy Ray Band, Crash Test Dummies, Anais Mitchell, Parker Millsap and William Matheny.

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.

Thirty albums compiling live performances from the Mountain Stage series have also been released on Blue Plate Music, a division of Oh Boy Records, and are still available through Amazon.com.

In 2024 the vinyl club, Heady Wax Fiends, pressed a limited release blue/green swirl colored vinyl of the compilation album: Live From Mountain Stage - Outliers & Outlaws featuring live performances from artists such as Wilco, Molly Tuttle, Tyler Childers, Margo Price, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, John Prine, Steve Earle, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washington, Sierra Ferrell, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.