A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

Angela Brown

For Verdi soprano Angela Brown, a combination of tenacity and talent has led to the acclaim of critics and audiences worldwide. Growing up in Indianapolis, she sang in church and performed in school musicals and R&B bands. Then, while studying at the Indiana University School of Music, she kept returning to the regional Metropolitan Opera auditions before winning on her fourth try, in 1997. Her 2004 Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Verdi’s Aida led one reviewer to proclaim, "The future of opera has arrived." She has since returned to the Met and has sung with Deutsche Oper Berlin, National Opera of Paris, Florida Grand Opera, Cincinnati Opera and Atlanta Opera, among others. Her recordings include Mosaic (Albany Records), a CD of African-American spirituals.

Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson

"Smoke don’t rise, fuel don’t burn, sun don’t shine no more / Late one night, sorrow come round, scratching at my door." These are opening lines of "Rattlin’ Bones," the first song on Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson’s album of the same name — the lines that a growing number of fans worldwide can’t get out of their heads. Kasey started out singing with her family in the Dead Ringer Band, then set out on her own and emerged as one of Australia’s favorite artists. Shane Nicholson was front man for the rock group Pretty Violet Stain, before earning critical success as a solo act. Rattlin’ Bones (Sugar Hill), the husband-and-wife team’s first album together, has garnered rave reviews and has gone platinum in the Land Down Under.

Billy Collins

In one of his poems, Billy Collins muses, "The trouble with poetry is that it encourages the writing of more poetry," Not a problem, Mr. Collins. Keep ’em coming. The works in Questions About Angels; Picnic, Lightning; Sailing Alone Around the Room; Nine Horses; The Trouble with Poetry and his other best-selling books have sparked a firestorm of interest in the art. He was twice appointed United States poet laureate and served as New York State poet laureate 2004–06. In 2004, he was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Poetry Foundation’s Mark Twain Award for humor in poetry. His latest collection is titled Ballistics (Random House).

Howard Levy

Howard Levy is perhaps best known for developing a fully chromatic harmonica style on a standard 10-hole diatonic instrument. Anyone who has ever picked up a little Hohner Marine Band can appreciate the feat. His musical adventures include journeys into jazz, pop, rock, Latin, classical, folk, blues, country, and more. He was a founding member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, and he has performed with musicians from Dolly Parton to Styx, Bobby McFerrin to Paul Simon. Levy leads two Chicago bands: Chévere, a Latin Jazz-fusion ensemble, and a four-piece group called Howard Levy’s Acoustic Express. His newest album Alone and Together is on Balkan Samba Records.

The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band

Richard Dworsky, who week in and week out leads A Prairie Home Companion's Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, is a classically trained pianist and composer who rocks, swings, plays great blues and gospel, tears it up on Hammond B3 organ, and keeps up with world-class pickers playing his unique "bluegrass piano" style. He writes all APHC's script themes and underscores, and during his 16-year stint, he has accompanied guests from James Taylor to Renée Fleming. His latest CD is So Near and Dear to Me (Prairie Home Productions).

Chet Atkins called Pat Donohue (guitar) one of the greatest finger pickers in the world today. And he writes songs too — recorded by Suzy Bogguss, Kenny Rogers and others. Freewayman (Bluesky Records) is the most recent of Pat's nine albums.

Gary Raynor (bass) has performed with the Count Basie band, Sammy Davis Jr. — with whom he toured for several years — and the Minnesota Klezmer Band. He teaches jazz bass at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul.

J.T. Bates started playing drums when he was seven. By the time he was 15, he was sitting in with his dad’s big band. Since then, he has backed up countless musicians, as well as working with his own bands — Fat Kid Wednesdays and Poor Line Condition.

Andy Stein (violin, saxophone) definitely has far-flung musical leanings. He collaborated with Garrison Keillor to create the opera Mr. and Mrs. Olson, and he has performed with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Eric Clapton, Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan.

Riverbend Music Center

It has been just about twenty-five years since Riverbend Music Center’s grand opening — a Fourth of July concert by the Cincinnati Pops under the baton of Erich Kunzel. The orchestra played Copeland’s Lincoln Portrait, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, and "Riverbend Fanfare" — composed for the occasion by Frank Proto. Senator Neil Armstrong spoke, and jazz great Ella Fitzgerald sang. But that was only the beginning. Since then, this venue on the banks of the Ohio River has presented a who’s who of major musical acts, from the Allman Brothers Band to ZZ Top. Designed by noted architect — and University of Cincinnati grad — Michael Graves, Riverbend is the perfect summertime gathering place for music lovers of every taste.