This week on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, the first of our winter rebroadcasts, originally from May 2013 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The Time Jumpers play "Six Pack to Go," Suzy Bogguss sings "I Always Get Lucky with You," and Stuart Duncan joins The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for a medley of fiddle tunes. In Lake Wobegon, it's time for the fishing opener and the annual Willis Bunsen Grocery Run footrace.
  • The Time Jumpers

    What happens when a bunch of stellar studio musicians decide to spend some spare time together drinking beer and jamming? The Time Jumpers, that's what. Since the Nashville-based group's informal beginnings in 1998, they have released two recordings: 2007's Jumpin' Time and 2012's The Time Jumpers (Rounder). This Western swing ensemble has also amassed Grammy nominations, awards from the Association of Western Artists and the Western Music Association, and a big following. The Time Jumpers' current lineup is: Brad Albin (bass), Larry Franklin (fiddle), Paul Franklin (steel guitar), Vince Gill (vocals, guitar), Andy Reiss(guitar), Dawn Sears (vocals), Kenny Sears (vocals, fiddle), Joe Spivey (fiddle), Jeff Taylor (accordion), and Billy Thomas(drums).
  • Suzy Bogguss

    During her childhood in Aledo, Illinois, Suzy Bogguss loved music. She joined the church choir, played the piano and drums, and bought her first 12-string with the money she earned from babysitting. Since moving to Nashville in the mid-1980s, she has won acclaim in both country and contemporary music circles. Her latest CD, Lucky, is a collection of songs written by the great Merle Haggard. It was released earlier this year on the Loyal Dutchess label.
  • Stuart Duncan

    Multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan took up fiddle at age seven. Since then, he has chalked up a career that includes two Grammys, a slew of Academy of Country Music Awards, and being named the International Bluegrass Music Association's Fiddle Player of the Year nine times. He was a founding member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band and is perennially one of Nashville's most sought-after session musicians, performing on thousands of recordings.
  • The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band May 11, 2013

    The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band is led by A Prairie Home Companionmusic director Richard Dworsky. Keyboard player, composer and improviser in any style, he also writes all the script themes and underscores. His latest CD is So Near and Dear to Me. Chet Atkins called Pat Donohue (guitar) one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world today. And he writes songs too - recorded by Suzy Bogguss, Kenny Rogers, and others. Nobody's Fault and Vicksburg Blues (a collaboration with Butch Thompson) are the most recent of Pat's albums. Gary Raynor (bass) has performed with the Count Basie band and Sammy Davis Jr., with whom he toured for several years. He was first call for dozens of touring Broadway shows, including the first presentation of The Lion King. Gary teaches at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. Peter Johnson (percussion) has played klezmer music with Doc Severinsen and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He was a drummer for The Manhattan Transfer and for Gene Pitney. He has toured the world, but he always comes back to home base: Saint Paul. Richard Kriehn is principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. But it's not all classical all the time; he is equally at home playing bluegrass fiddle and mandolin. He was a member of the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and the bluegrass group 1946.