Meet Me in St. Louis Yes, it is the name of a Judy Garland movie, but it also is the location our only HOLIDAY-themed A Prairie Home Companion American Revival show. We’re not just talking St. Louis, we’re talking St. Louis’s Fabulous Fox Theatre (and fabulous it is). Tickets go on sale this week for the show on December 15, 2022. We sure hope that you will come sing-along as we carol our way through our holiday favorites. Joining Garrison Keillor will be our full Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Dean Magraw, Heather Masse, and more. All we need is you to come be part of a Lake Wobegon Community Chorus.
As a subscriber to our newsletter, you will be able to order tickets tomorrow beginning at 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (October 6, 2022). Use the ticket link below along with the promotion code APHC22. Tickets will go on sale to the public on October 7, 2022. Get pre-sale tickets October 6th>>>
Get General on-sale tickets beginning October 7th>>> We also have two other upcoming A Prairie Home Companion American Revival shows: at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., on October 21 and at The Town Hall in New York on November 26. Also, join us on the road for a variety of other shows: Garrison Keillor Tonight! Garrison Keillor and Company (with Prudence Johnson and Dan Chouinard), and Garrison Keillor with Robin and Linda Williams. Check our schedule for a show near you. View all upcoming shows >>> |
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A new day dawn and we rise cheerfully to meet it There is a magnificent Presbyterian church in New York being hassled by its neighbors who’re tired of the scaffolding that’s been standing for fifteen years. The scaffolding is there because the building is falling apart, and the little congregation is dwindling and can’t afford the repairs. They’d like to sell the property and let the buyers demolish the church and put up a 19-story condo tower. But the Landmark Commission doesn’t want this building, a landmarked 1890 Romanesque Revival masterpiece, to be replaced by a filing cabinet. Meanwhile attendance is fading because who wants to go to church and be struck by a fifty-pound chunk of sandstone?
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Classic A Prairie Home Companion This week on the classic A Prairie Home Companion program, we’re featuring “The most soulful voice in Bluegrass,” the legendary Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers; the always-wonderful Prudence Johnson; celebrity guest actor Lee Lynch; and The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band.
Highlights include Prudence and Garrison’s duet of “Everyday” and everyone’s favorite feel-good song, “Brown-Eyed Girl,” Pat Donohue’s take on the classic “Cow Cow Blues,” Larry Spark’s version of “Georgia Peaches,” and Richard Dworsky’s “Cornfield Boogie.” Plus The Lives of the Cowboys, Catchup, and the latest News from Lake Wobegon.
Every Saturday, a classic broadcast from the archives is featured on our Facebook fan page and on the website for your listening pleasure. The link to the show is posted at 5 p.m. CT but can be accessed anytime using the link below. Listen to this week’s show >>>
Follow our Facebook fan page >>>
Browse the PHC archive >>>
Featured on this A Prairie Home Companion Show:
Larry Sparks grew up the youngest of nine children in a family where everyone took an interest in music. He started playing guitar when he was only 5; at 16, he was hired to play with the Stanley Brothers. He formed Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers in 1969 and began a recording career that has established Sparks as one of the top names in bluegrass music. The group is: Larry Sparks (guitar and vocals), Scott Napier (mandolin), Josh McMurray (banjo), and Matthew Madden (bass).
Listen to “Tennessee 1949” >>> Prudence Johnson’s 40-year career in music has taken her from nightclubs and honky-tonks to Carnegie Hall, from the theater stage to the Silver Screen (Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It), from the Midwest to the Middle East. She is a 2001 recipient of the McKnight Artists Fellowship for Performing Musicians and enjoys a steady schedule of concert appearances across the country. Listen to “Rockin’ Chair”>>> The surgery script — where the following words appeared — almost seems to predict the future where a stint in cardiac rehab was required. Who knows, maybe we’ll be treated to an update at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., on October 21.
GK: Minnesota. We’re the Rehab Recovery State. Whatever it is you’re recovering from —surgery or your lifelong hobby of heavy drinking or just a bad attitude — we’re here to help.
SS: Up at the top in the middle — next to Canada — the K-shaped state with the bump on the top.
GK: Minnesota: we’re here to help.
Minnesota’s waiting for you
To do whatever you need us to do
To help with what you’re going through
Healing sutures on your skin
Help you get off gin
We’re the recovery state.
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The Lake Wobegon Virus You can return to the “little town that time forgot and decades could not improve” and still find that “all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are above average.” It’s a wonderful satire about a pandemic caused by bad cheese that prompts people to do and say whatever is at the top of their minds and hilarity ensues. A must-read comedic take on the pandemic we all just traveled through.
Some early responses from readers:
“It’s hilarious. You make me laugh so hard I have to get a tissue to wipe my eyes. Fun to see Mrs. Torgerson on page 3. It feels good to laugh these days. Thanks!” —Beth T.
“You made me laugh out loud. That rarely happens! Thank you. And I will always love spending time with the residents of Lake Wobegon.” —Gwendolyn M.
“Love it! Hilarious and laughing to tears — good therapy for these times …” —Nancy G. Get the book >>>
Get the CD, read by Garrison >>>
Write a review on Amazon >>> |
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Celebrating Peter Ostroushko Mandolinist/composer Peter Ostroushko grew up listening to tunes played at family get-togethers in the Ukrainian community of northeast Minneapolis. It’s the music that provides the basis for many of his compositions. His first recording session was an uncredited mandolin set on Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. Since then, his works have been performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra, among others, and his music has been featured on public television specials such as Ken Burns’s film The National Parks.
Check out Peter’s podcast, “My Life and Time as a Radio Musician,” where he talked about his journey playing on A Prairie Home Companion. Along the way, you’ll get to hear some wonderful recordings from the archives.
A celebration of Peter’s life and music was recently held at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis. Many of Peter’s friends took part in this celebration, and it is now available to watch on Facebook. See link below. Watch the Facebook tribute video >>>
Listen to the podcast >>>
Visit his website >>>
Read our guest interview >>> |
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| One might think not a lot happens during a course of a year in a small town, but one would be wrong! This collection gathers 12 “above-average” stories representing all the goings-on in Lake Wobegon during one calendar year. Family get-togethers, holiday celebrations, the predictable, the unexpected — it all happens in” the little town that time forgot and decades could not improve.” Each monologue is culled from episodes of A Prairie Home Companion that aired between 2014 and 2016.
As an added bonus, liner notes contain a poem for each month written by Garrison Keillor. Plus, between monologues you will hear music by Peter Ostroushko. Get the CD >>> |
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| This collection is a treat for longtime fans who love the show’s music. Some of the earliest live performances, all recorded from 1974 to 1976.
Contents: - Hello Love—Garrison Keillor and the Powdermilk Biscuit Band
- Keep It Clean—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson
- How Long Blues—Butch Thompson
- Hey, Mr. Bassman—Milton “Soupy” Schindler and Bill Hinkley
- It’s Too Short—Papa John Kolstad, Bill Hinkley, Judy Larson, Soupy Schindler, Butch Thompson
- Stop That Thing (One Time for Your Daddy Now)—Pop Wagner, guitar and vocal; Bob Douglas, spoons
- Miss the Mississippi and You—Sean Blackburn and Dakota Dave Hull
- Nine Years Waltz—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson
- Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Back Again—Bob Bovee and Stevie Beck
- Little Joe—Peter Ostroushko, vocal and mandolin, with Jim Tordoff, banjo, and Jeff Tordoff, guitar
- You Don’t Know My Mind—John Kolstad
- An Action Guide to the Yellow Pages, Part II—Vern Sutton, vocal, and Philip Brunelle, piano
- Salt Creek—Backporch Bluegrass Conspiracy
- Lord, Lord, Lord—Soupy Schindler
- Have a Little Talk with Jesus—Bob Douglas, with Eric Hendrickson and Tom Coursolle
- Waltz of the Tennis Players—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson
- Mississippi Blues—Bob Douglas
- D major polka from the village of Boda—The Johnson Fiddlers
- Keep Off the Grass—Butch Thompson
- Piggy Song—Judy Larson and audience
- Farewell Blues—Cal Hand and Peter Ostroushko
- Homestead on the Farm—Garrison Keillor, vocal and Autoharp
- Spanish Johnny—Judy Larson, vocals and guitar, with Bill Hinkley, mandolin
- Deep Creek Blues—Butch Thompson
- Lost John Dean—Jon and Marcia Pankake
- Candy Man—Soupy Schindler
- Ut på Landsväjen (Out on the Country Road)—LeRoy Larson, banjo; Bernie Sundermeyer, bass; Mel Brenden, accordion; Helge Lamo, accordion
- Powdermilk Biscuit Theme—Garrison Keillor, vocals and Autoharp, with Adam Granger, guitar; Bob Douglas, mandolin; Mary DuShane, fiddle
- Hey, Big Fat Mama—Peter Ostroushko and Dakota Dave Hull
- Beaumont Rag—Peter Ostroushko and Dakota Dave Hull
- Frankie Jean—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson
- Boys of Blue Hill/Harvest Home Medley—Rudy Darling, fiddle; Bill Hinkley, mandolin; Bob Douglas, guitar
- Hattie Hale—Middle Spunk Creek Boys
- Anoka Library Song—Garrison Keillor, vocals and Autoharp, with Jon Pankake, guitar
- Look for the Silver Lining—Vern Sutton, vocals; William Huckaby, piano
- Norwegian Wedding Tune—Vidar Lande
- When You Go—Peter Ostroushko and Sean Blackburn
- The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson
- Log Cabin Home in the Sky—Bob Bovee and Stevie Beck
- Nearer My God to Thee—Garrison Keillor, Autoharp and vocals
- Salty Dog—Rudy Darling, fiddle; Dakota Dave Hull, guitar; Bob Douglas, spoons; Sean Blackburn, guitar
Get the CD >>>
Listen to a sample >>>
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