This week on A Prairie Home Companion This week on A Prairie Home Companion
This week, we travel back to 2005, which saw us headed to Wisconsin for a show at our neighboring state’s capital city. Joining us in Madison, from Canada, singers/songwriters The Wailin’ Jennys; and from the Shetland Islands, Ale Möller and Aly Bain. Plus, from right here at home: the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band and our Royal Academy of Radio Acting.
Highlights include an out-of-this-world experience as Garrison talks to astronaut John Phillips in the space station, The Wailin’ Jennys enchant the audience with “Arlington” and “One Voice,” Aly Bain and Ale Möller pick “The Crying Waltz,” there’s a grad script, in addition to Catchup, Guy Noir, and the News from Lake Wobegon. The link is posted on Saturdays at 5 p.m. CT each week on our Facebook page. Listen to the Show >>>
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Bios & Videos for this week’s featured guest performers:
They were three solo acts brought together for a show on a cold Winnipeg night in January of 2002. The collaboration was a great success and they quickly scheduled another performance. Soon they were on tour, calling themselves The Wailin’ Jennys, and within a month people were calling them “a bona fide Canadian sensation.” Their first full-length album, 40 Days, won the 2005 Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year — and their recording Bright Morning Stars did the same in 2012.
“Birdsong” >>>
View available music >>> Aly Bain, MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), holds four doctorates in Britain and is an Honorary Citizen of quite a few U.S. cities, none of which has detracted from his being regarded as Scotland’s supreme traditional fiddler. He was a founding member of the Boys of the Lough, has toured the world many times over, and played on dozens of albums. He is also in demand as a producer and a collaborator. “Bonaparte’s Retreat” >>> Ale Möller is another of the leading figures in Swedish traditional music. He was a founding member of the influential and groundbreaking band Filarfolket in the 1980s, and his energy and multi-instrument virtuosity continue to mark bands and recordings in the “new Nordic folk” genre today. Some twenty-five years ago, he told an interviewer: “I am always looking for a sound where one note tells a story. One must find the right note, and play it.” Count on Ale Möller to find the right notes. “Willow Flute” >>>
A Prairie Home Companion welcomed over 10,000 musical guests to its stage over the four-plus decades the show was on the air. Through that time, there were more than a few performers and songs that continued to resonate with listeners. Stations around the country would report the impact or the number of calls that had come in, and it was instantly apparent when a song “popped.” For the 40th Anniversary Festival, the Friday show was intended to mark the musical effect that the radio show had by welcoming back many of the guests that had graced the PHC stage and have them again perform songs that resonated the most with listeners. One of these songs was featured on last week’s show: “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show. Another song that created an immediate impression with fans is from this week’s classic show. That’s “One Voice,” featuring the crisp harmonies of The Wailin’ Jennys — with one voice being added with each verse until the full trio shines. It’s a song that made the group a fan favorite for over a decade of performances. Listen to “One Voice” >>> | 