• Jake Shimabukuro

    E Ka Lahui E

    This week: for the first of two winter rebroadcasts, we're dusting off our New Year's Eve extravaganza from December 2011, recorded at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center Concert Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jake Shimabukuro sings "Bring Your Adz," slack key guitar masters Jeff Peterson and Danny Carvalho play a couple traditional Hawaiian tunes, and our friend Ledward Kaapana leads everyone on "Hi'ilawe." Plus: Heather Masse asks "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"; Erica Rhodes joins our Royal Academy of Radio Actors; and in Lake Wobegon, the Tolleruds and the Hansens fight over a good deed after a freezer malfunction.

  • VocalEssence Ensemble Singers

    In the Bleak Midwinter

    This week: one final live broadcast for 2015, from the cozy confines of the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota. We'll have the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers on hand for majestic choral arrangements to ease you gently out of the holiday rush, singer Ellis with a few of her joyful and uplifting compositions, and sensational seasonal songs of foreign lands from Lynn Peterson. Plus: our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, and Fred Newman, will show off their drama and comedy chops in scripts sure to make it onto plenty of year-end "best of" lists; and pianist and music director Rich Dworsky and The December Boys (bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and Chris Siebold on guitar) resolve to have everyone at the Fitz boogieing right out of their seats. We'll also get an update on the latest News from Lake Wobegon, where it's finally cold enough to turn on the heat without shame. Join us over the airwaves or watch live (5pm Central Time) at prairiehome.org this Saturday!

  • Maria Jette

    Merry and Bright

    This week: we're back in St. Paul for a live broadcast from our home base, the Fitzgerald Theater, and we're hoping to see at least one hardy snowflake before the 25th rolls around. We'll have plenty of holiday festivities, including songs from our friends Maria Jette and Lynn Peterson, who might even join the host on a few carols, and our friend Adam Granger will stop in with his guitar and a song or two. We'll also showcase the sounds of the season with a selection of rare music boxes and pump organs; our Royal Academy of Radio Actors - Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman will be on-hand to spread good cheer; pianist and music director Rich Dworsky and the band (Bernie Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold) will provide a soundtrack for a winter's eve that's sure to be out of sight; and we'll get an update on the very latest News from Lake Wobegon, where everyone's in the holiday spirit despite weeks of unseasonably warm weather. It's all going down Saturday at 5pm Central Time - find us on your local public radio station or watch live at prairiehome.org!

  • Keb' Mo'

    One of Those Nights

    This week: we complete a trifecta of live broadcasts from The Town Hall in New York City, as our traveling staff thrills to the abundance of big-city holiday shops and vendors. It's a reunion of sorts, with Keb' Mo', The DiGiallonardo Sisters, and Heather Masse joining the host, as they did at Tanglewood a couple summers ago. It was quite the deal. Mr. Mo' ambles in from Nashville with homemade tunes and a soulful voice that convinces you everything he's saying is true. Heather puts the hammer down on the sedan from upstate to sing, act, and harmonize as an honorary DiGiallonardo sister. Hopping the D train from Brooklyn, The Sisters hold their sibling harmonies all the way to the theater, where they'll release them in all their glory. Plus: a throng of characters from our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman; pianist and music director Rich Dworsky leads The December Boys band (Bernie Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold); and the latest News from Lake Wobegon, where the Lutheran Church is adjusting to a new pastor - again. Tune in on your local public radio station or watch live (5pm to 7pm Central Time) at prairiehome.org, and we'll see you again this Saturday evening.

  • Rob Fisher

    West 43rd Stomp

    This week: we're sticking around in New York City for another live broadcast from The Town Hall. Our friend Rob Fisher is bringing the Coffee Club Orchestra for some hot jazz and wistful tunes from the middle of the 20th Century, and singer Heather Masse joins us from upstate for duets with the host and a few tunes with Rob and the orchestra. Plus: scripts and scenes from our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman; music from pianist and music director Rich Dworsky (with Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle and guitarist Chris Siebold); and an update on the latest News from Lake Wobegon. Tune in on your local public radio station on listen in on our website!

  • Jeremy Denk - Photo by Michael Wilson

    Canyons of Steel

    This week: it's back to The Town Hall in New York City for the first of three consecutive live broadcasts from West 43rd Street. Our post-Thanksgiving spread includes phenomenal pianist and classical music ambassador Jeremy Denk, whose ease and virtuosity makes you wish you'd have stuck with your own lessons a bit longer. And from Baltimore, the girls' quartet GQ joins us with their precise a capella harmonies that delight everyone within earshot and the microphones and speakers, too. Plus YouTube sensation Melanie Torres makes her radio debut with a menagerie of vocal animal sounds, some set to music. And there's the cornucopia of scripts (a word allowed only once a year) featuring our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman - and who knows, maybe a celebrity or two will drop by in the big city. Pianist and music director Rich Dworsky presents "Falling Together," an original composition, backed by The November Boys - the best band in radio - (drummer Bernie Dresel, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and Chris Siebold on guitar), and the host has all the latest News from Lake Wobegon, where the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. We'll see you on the radio Saturday evening.

  • Craver, Hicks, Watson, and Newberry

    Quid Aere Perennius

    This week: we're live from the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. Craver, Hicks, Watson, and Newberry, known in some circles as "The Firm," bring their expert bluegrass and old time music, and not legal advice as their name suggests. Heather Masse makes the short trip from upstate New York, singing to her windshield, no doubt, and will arrive ready to harmonize with the host and front the band with sweet songs of autumn. And poet Dick Allen, who completed his tenure as Connecticut's poet laureate in June of this year, will read eclectic works that range from formal to free verse. Plus: the Royal Academy of Radio Actors - Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman - present the Story of Bob; pianist and music director Rich Dworsky conducts The November Boys Orchestra (Jonathan Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold); and an update on all the latest news News from Lake Wobegon, where holiday decorating has begun and the local turkeys are visibly nervous. Tune in on your local public radio station or listen online this Saturday.

  • Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks

    Sixth City Serenade

    This week: we're motoring East around the Great Lakes to Cleveland, Ohio for a live broadcast from the State Theatre. Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks will be on hand with a few classics from America's jazz age to warm up your radio tubes as winter bears down, the East 4th Street Quartet (Aniela Eddy and Chiara Fasani Stauffer on violins, Eva Kennedy on viola, and cellist Paul Miahky) joins us, and singer Christine DiGiallonardo stops by for everything from heartrending duets with the host to sizzling jingles for our esteemed sponsors. Plus: the nation's finest collection of over-the-air players, our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman; pianist and music director Rich Dworsky and the band (bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold) with dispatches from the heart of rock'n'roll; and an update on the very latest News from Lake Wobegon, out there on the edge of the prairie. It's a two-hour Saturday evening wingding and it's all available right there on your local public radio station.

  • Elvin Bishop

    Crossing Waters

    This week: we're heading to Bemidji, Minnesota for a live broadcast from the Sanford Center, up near the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Elvin Bishop will be along with his Big Fun Trio (featuring Bob Welsh and Willy Jordan) to bring a little southern electric blues to the northwoods; our friend Dakota Dave Hull, originally from just down the road in Fargo, adds his masterful acoustic guitar playing; and dentist, pilot, flight instructor, writer, poet (and more) Marsh Muirhead joins us. Plus: scripts and Beltrami County scenes from our Royal Academy of Radio Actors - Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman - and radio-ready rock and roll from pianist and music director Rich Dworsky and The November Boys (Bernie Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold). All that and an update on all the latest News from Lake Wobegon - tune in this Saturday evening!

  • Nickel Creek

    When In Rome

    This week: a spooky, jam-packed rebroadcast from October 2005 at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nickel Creek play their hearts out on "Best of Luck," Prudence Johnson and Ruth MacKenzie sing "Wind and Rain," and the Midwinter Tuba Quintet stops by out of season to join GK for "Long Black Veil." Plus: Andy Stein plays "The Man Who Wasn't There," Tim Eriksen sings "O Death," and our friend Adam Granger turns in "I'm Hoping, Here's Hoping." In Lake Wobegon, the host recounts a few of the town's electrifying Halloween pranks.