Down That Innocent Road

In the mood for a spin around the dance floor? The Caleb Klauder Country Band featuring Reeb Willms has the music for you - sounds that harken back to the old dance hall days when people of all walks of life came together to socialize and enjoy a live band. Tops on the Northwest music scene, the group performs Caleb's original songs alongside classics from George Jones, the Louvin Brothers, and more. Caleb Klauder (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Reeb Willms (vocals, guitar); Jesse Emerson (bass); Russ Blake (steel guitar, electric guitar): Ned Folkerth (drums); Sam Weiss (fiddle).

In Swedish, Skolkis means "playing hooky"- a good fit for fiddlers Emma Anderson, Martha Levenson, Vicki Watt Warshaw, and guitarist EJ Landsman, four extraordinary musicians who met in Seattle five years ago, found they shared a love of Nordic music, and have been playing hooky together ever since. A favorite Pacific Northwest dance band, the quartet features original compositions and traditional tunes, plus selections written by renowned Scandinavian artists. Their music creates energy that sends feet to the dance floor and joy that lingers long after.

Charlie Beck and Charmaine Slaven, a husband-and-wife duo performing as Squirrel Butter, share a deep love of traditional music - old-time, early bluegrass, blues, country, and Cajun. Charlie, an ace banjoist and fiddler, and Charmaine, a flatfoot-style clogger and rhythm guitarist (sometimes at the same time), have become anchors in the old-time music and square dance community in the Northwest and beyond. Their recordings include 2009's Renderings and 2011's Banjo Clog. A new CD is in the works.

Garrison Keillor was born in 1942 in Anoka, Minnesota. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1974, he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul. He is the host of The Writer's Almanac and the editor of the Good Poems series of anthologies from Viking.

Richard Dworsky Keyboardist, composer, and arranger Richard Dworsky is APHC's music director. He leads the band, composes themes, improvises script underscores, and collaborates with such diverse guests as Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor, Brad Paisley, Kristin Chenoweth, and Sheryl Crow. He has released many recordings of original material and has provided music for documentaries on HBO and PBS. Bernie Dresel Bernie Dresel has been in the percussion game since he got his first drum kit at the age of two. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music, he headed to Los Angeles. He's worked with countless artists, from Chaka Khan and Maynard Ferguson to David Byrne and Brian Wilson, and spent 15 years with the Brian Setzer Orchestra. He currently plays with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band and heads up his own 12-piece funk band, BERN. Richard Kriehn When Richard Kriehn turned 10, his mom bought him a mandolin; at 19, he'd won the Buck White International Mandolin Contest. He went on to play with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and bluegrass group 1946. On the classical side, he has performed with numerous orchestras and was principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. Chris Siebold Bluegrass to big band jazz, Chris Siebold knows his way around a guitar - or a bunch of other instruments, for that matter. Based in Chicago, he draws from a deep well of influences and styles, and has put his talents to work in ensembles such as Howard Levy's Acoustic Express and Kick the Cat. In 2010, he formed the band Psycles, whose album Live at Martyrs' was released the following year. Larry Steen In high school, Larry Steen took up the bass so he could be cool and play in a rock band. Turns out, his mastery of the instrument has led to performances with renowned artists like Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Mel Torme, and others. Currently, Larry co-leads Sip of Soul, a soul-R&B project with his wife, vocalist Nikki Steen.

One minute he's mild-mannered Tim Russell; the next he's George Bush or Julia Child or Barack Obama. We've yet to stump this man of many voices. Says fellow APHC actor Sue Scott, "He does a better Ira Glass than Ira Glass." A well-known Twin Cities radio personality and voice actor, Tim appeared in the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion and the Coen brothers' A Serious Man. Tim has also been reviewing films professionally for over 10 years.

On APHC, Sue Scott plays everything from ditzy teenagers to Guy Noir stunners to leathery crones who've smoked one pack of Camel straights too many. The Tucson, Arizona, native is well known for her extensive commercial and voice-over work on radio and television, as well as stage and movie roles, including the part of "Donna" in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion.

Sound effects man Fred Newman is an actor, writer, musician, and sound designer for film and TV. Turns out, no one is more surprised than Fred that he's made a career out of doing what he used to do behind the teacher's back -crossing his eyes, making sounds, and doing voices. He readily admits that, growing up, he was unceremoniously removed from several classrooms, "once by my bottom lip."