Buckeye Bliss from 2008

featuring The Hopeful Gospel Quartet and Sam Bush

As we approach the one-year anniversary of our 50th Anniversary Show from The Fitzgerald Theater, we hope to share a few special memories of the evening. A magical night on July 13th, captured and preserved on the 2-CD set and digital release featuring everything listeners loved about the old show — from the diverse music, humorous sketches and songs, to stories and chatter, the sing-alongs, and so much more. Here is “Feels Like Home” by Christine DiGiallonardo. Get the 50th Anniversary Show on CD or download via our store and relive all the memories in this 3-plus-hour opus. The next full A Prairie Home Companion show is in early September at the Santa Fe Opera House and we hope you can join us!

Listen to the classic show

This is a summertime mix of three shows from Ohio. Sam Bush and Buddy Emmons sit in with Rich Dworsky and The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, tenor Mark Thomsen sings “La donna e mobile,” and Dusty and Lefty get stuck roping shopping carts at a strip mall opening. Plus, “the drifter” is back in Lake Wobegon. Join The Royal Academy of Radio Actors — Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Tom Keith and Fred Newman — for a whirlwind review of performances from the Buckeye State. Listen to the show.

More about our guest performers:

The Hopeful Gospel Quartet was formed when four friends discovered their shared interest in gospel music. They were standing around backstage before a performance of A Prairie Home Companion, and one of them began to sing. The others joined in. Original members were Garrison Keillor, Kate MacKenzie, and Robin & Linda Williams. They performed concerts across the country, recorded two albums, and appeared at Austin City Limits. This episode features Mollie O’Brien taking over as the fourth voice after Kate MacKenzie retired. Read more about the history of the group and watch some music here.

Sam Bush was just 11 when he got his first mandolin. By the time he was 17, he had won the title of National Junior Fiddle Champion for three years running. And he had made his recording debut, Poor Richard's Almanac. Often called the King of Newgrass, the Grammy Award winner was founder of cutting-edge bands like New Grass Revival and Strength in Numbers. He has also been the go-to sideman for Lyle Lovett, the Flecktones, and dozens of others.

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