Listen to the classic show
This week on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, it’s a broadcast from May 22, 2013, which was performed live from the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois. With special guests, soulful folk duo honeyhoney and sultry country chanteuse Lera Lynn. Plus, the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, and the latest News from Lake Wobegon.
Highlights include talk of Chicago, ending with Garrison and Pat Donohue singing “Great Home Chicago,” Lera Lynn singing “Good-Hearted Man” and “Angel Band,” honeyhoney kicking in “Old School Friends” and “Back to You,” plus Guy Noir, the Cowboys, Rhubarb, and P.O.E.M. Listen to the show.
More About our Featured Performers:
Folk, soul, pop, rock, country — you hear all those threads in honeyhoney’s take on roots music. Suzanne Santo (banjo, violin) and Ben Jaffe (guitar) joined forces about in 2006, after a mutual friend introduced them. At the time, Suzanne was taking acting roles on TV and in movies; Ben was writing songs for other artists and television shows. Together, they recorded three albums before disbanding in 2017.
When Lera Lynn was about six, it suddenly occurred to her how to sing harmony. From then on, she says, singing became a constant pursuit. She went on to make her mark as a singer-songwriter, including taking top honors in the country category of the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Competition and working with T. Bone Burnett on the music featured in True Detective. American Songwriter magazine wrote that that she can “write a damn good song ... she can also tell a damn good story.”
Chicago
The Windy City was always an important element in the history of A Prairie Home Companion, with WBEZ serving as a great station partner broadcasting both A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer’s Almanac and hosting live events, including solo performances and A Prairie Home Companion shows. Plus, the Chicago Tribune published Garrison’s weekly column. Ravinia, which is featured in tonight’s classic show, hosted many of the shows during the annual summer tours from May to July.
Throughout the many performances, the city and its fans always created special memories, so the full cast is returning to the Chicago area on July 21, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at the Chicago Theatre to celebrate the 50 anniversary of the old radio show. There’ll be new sketches, songs, stories, and tons of fun. We hope you can join us for one more memorable performance in the Windy City. Get Tickets.
Mr. Keillor’s Sunday Service
A coveted front-row ticket to an intimate evening with Garrison Keillor as he reads some of his best material from recent writings. Recorded live in black and white, Keillor is alternately inspiring and pensive. With musical accompaniment by Richard Dworsky on piano, it’s a rare close-up: the first video footage of Keillor since 1990. And you won’t find it anywhere else! About 60 minutes and recorded in Chicago. Get the DVD.
Anyone else notice there is only the monologue and nothing else in this recording for us?
Only the news from Lake Wobegon 🥲