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"A Prairie Home Companion has become a neighborhood of the air, an answer to an American desire to fence off a small portion of the cultural landscape as a refuge from the coarseness, cynicism and irony that are postmodern life." — The Washington Post A Prairie Home Companion is a two-hour weekly variety show broadcast live from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota and other locations in the U.S. and around the world. The show offers a quirky blend of comedy sketches, topical subjects and music. Musical guests range from legends like Emmylou Harris and Taj Mahal to church choirs, rockabilly bands, and accordionists. Special theme shows include the popular "Joke Show" and the "Talent from Towns Under 2,000" show. The show has also welcomed artists including Poet Laureate Billy Collins and humorists Ray Blount, Jr. and Al Franken, as well as legendary raconteur Studs Terkel.
A consummate storyteller, Garrison Keillor is the internationally known author of 15 books and a regular contributor to Time magazine, the Atlantic Monthly and many other publications. Keillor has won numerous awards, including a Grammy, two ACE Awards and a Peabody. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1994, and has been revered as "a modern day Mark Twain" by CNN and Time.
Over the years, A Prairie Home Companion has won the hearts of the public radio audience. At live broadcasts, the crowd is filled with gen x'ers along with their parents and grandparents. Garrison Keillor, who frequently signs autographs for hours after shows, has a large and loyal following across the country. Airs: Live 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday on KSTX and KTXI and replayed 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday on KSTX  |
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One of the most popular public radio programs in the world
At the heart of the show is host Garrison Keillor's humor-writing talent and unrivaled ear for great radio. He's the creator of hilarious skits like the weekly adventures of "Guy Noir, Radio Private Eye" and "The Catchup Advisory Board," and of course the stories from "the town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve" in Keillor's signature monologue, "The News from Lake Wobegon." Regular performers include the radio acting company of Tim Russell, and Sue Scott, with Tom Keith, and Fred Newman on Sound Effects. The Guys' All Star Shoe Band is A Prairie Home Companion's house band, and is led by pianist Rich Dworsky.
A Prairie Home Companion, which was first broadcast in Minnesota on July 6, 1974. It was not an auspicious beginning: it attracted an audience of 12 in a hall that seated 400, and more than half of the crowd had left by intermission. On February 17, 1979, A Prairie Home Companion aired its first national live broadcast, as part of National Public Radio's "Folk Festival USA" series. The broadcast, live from Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota, featured a cast of more than a hundred and a standing-room-only audience of almost 5,000. On May 3, 1980, A Prairie Home Companion began national weekly broadcasts.