Beloved Country DJ Jeff Hoag Is Officially Out at WSM
Beloved and long-time DJ Jeff Hoag is out at radio station WSM in Nashville. As the weeknight host of “WSM At Night” as well as the Opry warm up show, Jeff Hoag became a familiar and beloved voice to many country music fans from 7 to midnight, playing a major role at “The Legend” WSM. The radio station is arguably country music’s most important broadcaster as the long-time home of the Grand Ole Opry.
Jeff Hoag officially took the weeknight evening position over from the legendary Eddie Stubbs who retired after 25 years in 2020. Hoag had been performing fill-in duty for Stubbs for years previous after first joining the station in 2014. Fans had recently noticed Hoag’s absence in the evenings, but no official word from either Hoag or WSM has been made about his departure, or why.
However, in some recent responses to comments left on a WSM radio post on Facebook, Jeff Hoag’s exit from WSM was confirmed. Responding to comments on the June 10th post, WSM said,
“Jeff is no longer with the station. We are grateful for the years he shared with the WSM listeners and wish him well on his journey. We are committed to keeping classic country on the WSM airwaves at night and will announce our programming plan as it develops.”
Jeff Hoag started in the music business first as a musician, originally moving to Nashville in 2003. He then became a full-time touring performer playing lead guitar and mandolin, as well as writing songs. As an avid record collector and encyclopedia of country music knowledge, Jeff Hoag was one of the few people who could properly fill the shoes of Eddie Stubbs. Hoag also worked as an announcer for The Opry.
Hoag said when given the evening slot at WSM, “My dream in life was to work for WSM Radio and keep the tradition of classic country music alive. The fact that I get to live my dream and carry out this mission is gratifying beyond words. Thank you for the opportunity to do what I love and to spread the glorious gospel of country music across the world.”
No word on if, who, or when Hoag’s replacement might be named.
June 13, 2025 @ 11:24 am
That’s disappointing. I enjoyed listening to Jeff whenever I was driving around town at night. I learned a lot, too, from his knowledge and his music selections.
June 13, 2025 @ 4:20 pm
He was so knowledgeable and a joy to listen to. WSM made a terrible decision!!
June 13, 2025 @ 4:56 pm
I honestly liked Jeff when he took over more than Eddie Stubbs, which I thought would be an impossibility.
I wrote an email to WSM a while back expressing my concern that Jeff Hoag might be on the way out. I was told very nicely and politely that my suspicions were unfounded. I became even more concerned lately when Jeff wasn’t playing his kind of songs. I was unfortunately proven right.
I will follow Jeff wherever he goes on the radio, streaming, podcast, or whatever. I will NOT be going to bed with WSM featuring a canned playlist of multi-million selling songs, which will likely replace Jeff.
I knew WSM radio was starting to be in trouble when they got rid of their fabulous archives. Coffee, Country, and Cody are only on Circle television one hour now as that streaming adventure fades into oblivion. I worry greatly about the future of WSM radio as a country music venue.
June 17, 2025 @ 8:50 am
Nat, I am with you. I actually liked Jeff’s show better because he played a lot of stuff I had never head before, whereas Eddie had a tendency to stick to his handful of favorites.
I loved his all-request show and I don’t know if we the listeners ever found out why it was discontinued.
This is sad news. I am probably going to stick with listening to my own collection of music, or, to lull myself to sleep, the local classic rock station. 70s rock beats modern “country” a thousand times over.
June 13, 2025 @ 5:37 pm
I believe there’s more about Jeffs departure than what the wheels at WSM are not wanting the public to know.?
I’ve been listening to WSM Friday night Opry and the Grand Ole Opry for probably around 60 plus years.
And I’ve been listening to WSM weekly night programs for almost that long.
Growing up at home it was on the family radio every Saturday night .
You get know these individuals over the years and you pretty well know what makes them tick, even though you will never meet them in person or in general.
I loved Grant Turner , he had a unique sound and style to his announcing and emcee duties at the Grand Ole Opry.
Harold Hensley was another great announcer and emcee.
Ralph Emory was a great announcer and host of all his programs.
Then came Eddie Stubbs , in the mid nighties,
He was a walking encyclopedia of country music!! Far better than any one thats on country radio today!!!
He did a lot of interviews with the different acts of the day !!
Then something happened, and was a shock when Eddie announced his “retirement “ ! ?
It was a hushed affair and nothing has been said why he retired so quickly??
Jeff was a wonderful fill-in for Eddie when he was out for whatever reason.
And now all of a sudden, Jeff is gone???
Why?
You always knew when these guys were going to be off certain times, they would tell you.
But when Jeff went silent all of a sudden, kind a makes one wonder why??
Did he say or do something that the upity ups didn’t like? Or did he get frustrated and just told them to stick it???
I hope and pray that the powers that be , can find someone that has the drawing power and the love of the music that made WSM what it is today!
They sure won’t keep me or anybody else for that matter if they can’t!:(
If they cant , I personally will not be listening.
I like the old recorded Opry performances of the past, that they’ve been running, but they get old.:(
I hope the owners of WSM will be honest and tell people what happened or what’s going with the radio personalities and why they aren’t keeping them??
June 13, 2025 @ 7:12 pm
The unfortunate truth is that these days, companies often make you sign non-disclosure agreements as part of employment. That means you may never find out why someone leaves or is fired. Also, if Jeff Hoag wishes to continue to work in radio, if this ended poorly, he’s probably not in a position to say something publicly.
But I agree, there is very likely more to the story.
June 13, 2025 @ 5:39 pm
Wishing Jeff all the best in what his future holds. He will b missed at WSM.
June 13, 2025 @ 9:19 pm
I can’t believe Jeff is gone from WSM. I listened to him every night. I loved his laugh and all the old music he played. I loved his Sunday morning show. No more WSM for me.
June 14, 2025 @ 11:43 am
I liked to listen to him too.I hope all is well with him.
June 14, 2025 @ 4:42 pm
Trigger, dig into this as much as you can. Something’s strange goin on.
June 14, 2025 @ 8:24 pm
I already have feelers out. But nobody is talking. Yet.
June 15, 2025 @ 6:20 am
Roger that. Thanks
June 15, 2025 @ 6:44 pm
Kyle,
I understand not announcing the reason, although I’d love to know.
But not even formally letting listeners know over the air that he’s gone seems strange.
Is it normal in radio for DJs to just vanish off the air?
June 17, 2025 @ 9:09 am
Joe, where I live, there was a wonderful nonprofit community radio station that fired about 10 DJs in one day because they had the gall to question the executive director’s competence in a “no-confidence” letter.
Listeners pulled their financial support in protest. The station went bankrupt.
Maybe there is a lesson for WSM in this. You can tick off only so many customers (in the case of radio, listeners) before it comes back to bite you.
June 15, 2025 @ 9:01 am
This isn’t right. I liked Jeff, listen to him every night. If any one could replace Eddie Stubbs – he was close.
June 15, 2025 @ 11:05 am
Bobby Bones to the rescue? 🙁
June 16, 2025 @ 6:38 am
My vote is for Lester Roadhog Moran – although I know his Saturday nights are booked solid over in Rainbow Valley…
June 19, 2025 @ 11:17 am
He is still the WEAK voice of Rainbow Valley.
June 16, 2025 @ 4:03 pm
there is not much to say wsm radio can do anything they want with their employees my problem with 77 years in country music as a performer and tv network producer (still in syndication) starting with Connie B Gay in DC
(Jimmy, Patsy, Roy etc) thus I believe I know production and talent. I see serious problems ahead for the opry as it stands today. Insulting artists performances with vips on stage they are there because they paid a heafty sum for those on stage chairs, And talent a couple times drunk, some forgot the words and the mix of old and new country.
I would hate to pay money for a show with top country entertainers and wind up with Major Bowes amaturer hour.
of course i wish all talented artists a platform to perform and they can sing in the circle. Heres the secret The opry
producers can tag a performer as a artist direct from the opry of which the opry becomes a talent booking agent
across the world for events, fairs etc getting a percentage of the contracts. using the old Acuff-Rose playbook
how can you go wrong? you can ride tour busses no home life do location network tv shows , etc, and grow old.
but i’ll keep listening.
June 17, 2025 @ 9:04 am
I understand what a couple of the folks said about a possible NDA. And, the reality is that it may not be any of our, the listeners’, business.
But radio has an intimacy that most jobs don’t. We feel like we get to know the programmers, especially on Jeff’s show when he played requests on Friday night. I would listen for the names of regular listeners. And he almost ALWAYS played my request (I think I stumped him twice).
I agree that on the relative heels (5 years isn’t that long) of Eddie Stubbs leaving as abruptly as he did and vanishing off the face of the earth, this smells funny. If Jeff chose to leave, it is probably because the Powers That Be wanted him to stop playing obscure artists, to play something he did not want to play, or told him to stop talking, or to stop cracking jokes and laughing (which was a lot of his appeal).
Bottom line: this is the second time in five years a much-loved DJ has vanished into the wind. Dear WSM, when you play the same nonsense we can hear on local stations called “The Bull” or “The Truck” or “The Beer” or whatever these ridiculous stations tag themselves, we have no need to turn on your station. And when you treat your listeners like children and don’t tell them what is going on, they stop trusting you.
June 17, 2025 @ 10:11 am
I am so terribly disappointed to hear that Jeff is gone from WSM. He was the best DJ ever. It was so very nice to spend the last hour or so of my day as I lay down to sleep. I’m 81 years old and he played a lot of what I remembered. I’d love to know where he goes but WSM is totally mum on the issue. God Speed to you Jeff.
June 17, 2025 @ 10:23 am
Decades ago, WSM’s late-night signal reached South Florida quite clearly in the wintertime. I listened to Eddie’s show often. Nowadays, because of Spanish-Language interference, WSM can no longer be heard down here. By the way, I listen to the Opry live on Sirius/XM and it seems to have turned into “The Grand Ole Lecture!” Every single artist spends a awful lot of time gabbing into the mic. Just shut up and sing, will ya?
June 17, 2025 @ 3:04 pm
Or instead of letting them singing a third song, Mike Terry decides to interview them on stage, which is worse.
June 17, 2025 @ 12:50 pm
I’ll be listening to Dallas Wayne on Willies Road House. They play of alot of music that Jeff played.and its on 24/7 check it out, lots of channels with all kinds of music. We all know how Jeff loved Willie Nelson (don’t we)
June 17, 2025 @ 7:57 pm
Hi My name is Michelle my x boy friend use to listen Jeff hoag he ask see I can find out radio station he went to so get touch with him
June 18, 2025 @ 7:32 am
Awful news. Most awful. I enjoyed all programs Jeff prepared and did. This week in history, B-side, Sunday gospel, including all the info he prepared for others to broadcast and take the credit. WSM was tuned in every week night.
Of course there’s more that the station white shirts won’t say, otherwise we would have been given lots of notice and Jeff would have been thanked with a send off party.
We will find Jeff somewhere new and will enjoy again! There’s no need for me to listen to WSM anymore after all this time.
June 18, 2025 @ 10:57 pm
Pretty much the last thing I think Jeff said on air, after having played Loretta Lynn’s The Pill, was how interesting it is that that song was extremely controversial at the time but now, to us, it’s a great classic.
Then, when introducing the next song – Conway Twitty’s Never Been This Far Before – he siad that this song, too, was just as controversial at the time and that they hopefully were using “the pill”.
He was joking, of course, but I distinctly recall having had a deep inner sense that he just might’ve gone a bit too far for his bosses.
Not that any of my inner senses are worth anything, but I thought I’d mention it.
In his spirit, I’d like to invite all of you to listen to Carroll Baker’s version of that song as I think it’s way better than CT’s.
June 23, 2025 @ 7:48 am
I started out with an old RCA radio chassis and 200 feet of copper wire in upstate New York and I could pick up 650 am like it was a local station, of course it was one of the ‘Clear Channel Stations’ back then
I feel after 63 years of listening to WSM we are witnessing the final days of the station as we know it. It will not disappear, and will probably will be bigger than ever, but the Classic stuff that a lot of us older people like will probably be on a very limited basis. Maybe 1 am to 3 am.
Let’s look at the facts, the station reaches 38 states and 10’s of millions on the internet. The advertisers sell chicken, insurance, boots and law advice. 10 years ago the median age was maybe 45, now it’s probably 65 years old. There’s a new market out there just wanting to get in on this country music phenomena.
Get a few million listeners and Pepsi, Frito Lay, GMC will pay $$ on ads.
Google; ’the top 20 country performers and what they make.’ Even newcomer, #19, Luke Combs is worth $225 Million. That’s more than what probably all the old 40’s, 50’s and 60’s country performer were worth combined. (except Dolly)
I believe we are seeing this 100 years of the Opry year as the wrapping up of WSM as we knew it and now the new WSM. Right after the October 100th, I bet the format and programming will switch over to the ‘New Country’. There’s $$ Billions of dollars to be made out there. Rap and even Rock are dying, but Country, or the new country is bigger than ever, all the young kids and teenagers know the words to every country song, most concerts sell out and add extra shows, the music services are raking in billions,….Gaylord (OEG), NBCUniv, and Atairos, (owners) have to want to be part of that, the investors want part of it. There’s probably not a lot of Classic Country records being sold today.
Maybe Eddie saw it coming, Jeff may have known something also, now a days a 100 years of tradition means nothing. If you want to see the future, watch Coffee in the morning, it’s a good show, but mostly new country. Blake Shelton said a few years ago : Blake Shelton Calls Classic Country Fans “Old Farts” and “Jackasses”.
Every performer at the Opry gets $140/appearance (union scale) the Opry holds 4000 people.
A performer can fill a 100,000 seat stadium night after night, at $150 / person (cheap seats) or more.
Sorry if it offends anyone, but now a days the dollar makes the difference
July 16, 2025 @ 10:24 pm
Where in upstate? I’m in Cicero.
July 21, 2025 @ 6:14 pm
Pete,
I lived in Rochester, now I live in Churchville, N.Y., it’s 20 miles west of Rochester.
(for 48 years.) My wife went to Syrcuse Univ. , so we know Syracuse pretty well.
My house is 650 ft ground level so I could so, until recently I picked up all the great country channels and Country DJ’s. WSM, WRVA, WLW, WHAS, WWL, WWVA.
Does anyone know where Jeff is now? He seemed such a big part of WSM.
Ps. Did you know Bob Potter from Cicero, he was a Fire Truck Guy.
June 24, 2025 @ 8:29 pm
I am very disappointed in what has happened. My radio is on WSM 24/7. I hope they will continue to use good country music as has been done in the past. I especially liked that Jeff played the gospel songs at the end of every hour. That is always special. I sure hope WSM doesn’t go to pot.
June 26, 2025 @ 4:34 pm
In Jeff’s closing statement during his final broadcast on WSM, he mentioned looking forward to later shows in the week, leading me to believe that this wasn’t something that he was planning on.
What a loss for WSM, his faithful listeners, and country music as a whole. Jeff is the real deal, and I eagerly await his resurgence wherever and whenever that may be. I honestly feel as if I am mourning a lifelong friend with his absence on the airwaves.
I am usually not one to cast immediate blame on WSM/OEG/RHP for things like this, Jeff always spoke highly of station leadership, and they seemed to support him at least from what he conveyed. However, the manner in which he was abruptly no longer on air leads me to believe that maybe they weren’t so supportive after all.
I really wish we knew more details surrounding his departure, I know Jeff is a fairly private individual, but I am personally having a pretty tough time coming to terms with this without some sort of closure.
Thanks for giving me something to look forward to every weeknight Jeff, wishing you the best wherever you might be.
July 3, 2025 @ 11:31 am
It’s more than 2 in the past 5 years, You have the All Nighter w/Marcia Campbell, you have the Drive Home w/Devin O’Day.
Also does anyone else remember signing a petition back in 1993 or 1994 cause they wanted to turn WSM650 into a full time talk radio?
July 14, 2025 @ 6:51 pm
Who is this David Reed on air now in Jeff’s place? Did they hire him or did work for WSM already, Love to know.
July 17, 2025 @ 7:38 pm
I will not listen to wsm anymore
July 18, 2025 @ 7:09 am
So heart broken with no more Jeff Hoag to listen to at night!! Everything has already been said but we loved you Jeff! All the great traditional music you played, that laugh, the gospel songs at the end of the hour . So special! You’ll never know all the pleasure and time we enjoyed listening to you. We need you. You’d be great on Willie’s Roadhouse!!! Hope to find you again.. we’ll be looking💕
Been listening to WSM for many, many years but so disgusting any more. Only good thing is Rhonda Vincent and John Foster (American idol). Feel blessed that I got to experience all the previous great artists like George Jones, Merle Haggard, and so many more. Thank goodness we still have Alan Jackson, George Strait and Vince Gill. It’s not what it used to be and never will be any more. Willie’s Roadhouse is perfect for me now.. bye bye WSM!!!!
If anybody finds Jeff please keep us posted, thanks
July 23, 2025 @ 3:04 am
I have slowly been losing interest with WSM since the station let go Marcia Campbell with her All Nighter show which was great listening, now Jeff Hoag is gone. Now, late nights have canned radio leading up to an all night show which is basically canned radio too with Lexi coming up for air about every seventh or eighth song. The station seems to be headed in the wrong direction.