Chris Thile steps into those legendary red sneakers to host A Prairie Home Companion, launching its new fall season on October 15th. Expect all the homegrown goodness that you love from Prairie Home, with an incredible slate of musical guests. Check out the show on KUER 90.1 in its new time slot Saturdays from 6-8 p.m. and Sundays from 2-4 p.m.
Garrison Keillor announced his retirement from A Prairie Home Companion in July 2015 a year after celebrating his 40th anniversary of the show. When announcing his retirement to the Associated Press, “Keillor said he tapped musician Chris Thile of the bands Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek to succeed him full time as host in September 2016, following guest-hosting spots. He said Thile — a mandolin whiz — will help return Prairie Home to its roots as a music show,” as reported by MPR News.
MPR News interviewed Thile this past April to discuss how the show may change from Keillor’s hosting for over 40 years. Thile explained, “we’ll all keep using the template he created to tell each other stories and to escape from our daily cares, but also to celebrate the daily cares. That’s the real magic trick that Garrison performs week in and week out, to both relieve you from those cares but then also to celebrate them. That’s truly special. I want to make sure that we have that place every week, to keep doing that. Of course the show will change to reflect the fact that its new host is not a writer but a musician.”
Thile recently announced that his first guests for the new season’s premier of A Prairie Home Companion will be Jack White and Lake Street Dive. Of the premiere episode, Thile told Prairie Home Productions, "Jack White is an inspiration--he plays, sings, and writes with every fiber of his formidable being. And my God, Lake Street Dive! I've never witnessed a group of musicians create and perform with a more united sense of purpose."
A Prairie Home Companion is heard by 3.5 million listeners each week on nearly 700 public radio stations, online, and on the American Forces Networks, SiriusXM Radio, Radio New Zealand, and KPRG in Guam. Listen to it locally on KUER 90.1 on Saturdays from 6-8 p.m. and for the repeat broadcast on Sundays from 2-4 p.m. Stay tuned for Live Wire! after Prairie Home on Saturdays and The Moth on Sundays. Check KUER’s Program Schedule for details.