GARRISON KEILLOR'S A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION "SUMMER LOVE" TOUR HITS THE ROAD AUGUST 12th

Contact:
Kate Gustafson
Prairie Home Productions
Phone: 651.999.1092
E-mail: gustafsonk@prairiehome.us

GARRISON KEILLOR'S A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION "SUMMER LOVE" TOUR HITS THE ROAD AUGUST 12th
Keillor and company to do concerts in 20 cities coast to coast.

(SAINT PAUL, Minn.) — On Friday, August 12, Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion "Summer Love" Tour kicks off a 20-city run that will take the popular radio host and his pals from East Coast to West Coast, Michigan to Memphis.

This concert tour on the everlasting theme of romantic love will be jam-packed with tender duets and ballads, poetry, and stories. Perfect for a late-summer date night!While these are not APHC broadcast shows, they will include many favorite Prairie Home Companion elements — Guy Noir, Dusty and Lefty, and the News from Lake Wobegon. The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band and sound-effects man Fred Newman will be on hand. And depending on the particular date, you'll find either Andra Suchy, Heather Masse, or Sara Watkins on vocal duty — each a top-flight artist.

Garrison Keillor is the author of numerous books, including Life Among the Lutherans (Augsburg Books) and Pilgrims: A Wobegon Romance (Viking), and the editor of several anthologies of poetry, most recently Good Poems: American Places (Viking). He is the founder and host of the acclaimed public radio programs A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac.

North Dakota native Andra Suchy is the daughter of two talented singers. By the time she was in grade school, she was traveling around, doing concerts and festivals with her family. These days, she sings with several groups in the Twin Cities area and has a solo recording called Patchwork Story.

Growing up in rural Maine, Heather Masse sang hymns and folk songs around home with her family. Now based in New York, this New England Conservatory of Music alum is a one-third of the Juno Award-winning Canadian trio The Wailin' Jennys. Her solo album is titled Song Bird.

Singer, songwriter, fiddle player Sara Watkins was only eight when she became one-third of the Grammy Award-winning acoustic trio Nickel Creek. Two decades later, she struck out on her own. A solo album, Sara Watkins (Nonesuch), was released in 2009.

Sound-effects man Fred Newman is an actor, writer, musician, and sound designer for film and TV. He is author of the book (and CD/CD-ROM) MouthSounds. Fred admits that, growing up, he was unceremoniously removed from several classrooms, "once by my bottom lip."

The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band is Richard Dworsky (leader, keyboards), Pat Donohue (guitar), Gary Raynor (bass), Peter Johnson (percussion), and Richard Kriehn (fiddle).

A Prairie Home Companion has been a public radio mainstay since 1974. It is heard by more than 4 million listeners on some 600 public radio stations nationwide, as well as on XM Radio, the Armed Forces Network Europe, the Far East Network, and in dozens of European cities via the Astra satellite network. More information can be found online at www.prairiehome.org.

WHAT: Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion "Summer Love" Tour

WHO: Garrison Keillor, the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, sound-effects wizard Fred Newman, singers Andra Suchy, Heather Masse, or Sara Watkins (see list)

WHEN/WHERE:

• Aug. 12 Grand Rapids, MI — Meijer Gardens (with Andra Suchy)
• Aug. 13 East Lansing, MI — Wharton Center for Performing Arts (with Andra Suchy)
• Aug. 14 Louisville, KY — Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts (with Andra Suchy)
• Aug. 16 Greensboro, NC — White Oak Amphitheatre (with Heather Masse)
• Aug. 17 Portsmouth, VA — nTelos Wireless Pavilion (with Heather Masse)
• Aug. 19 Portland, ME — State Theatre (vocals: Heather Masse)
• Aug. 20 Hyannis, MA — Cape Cod Melody Tent (with Heather Masse)
• Aug. 21 Lewiston, NY — Artpark (with Heather Masse)
• Aug. 23 Saratoga, CA — Mountain Winery (with Heather Masse)
• Aug. 24 Chico, CA — Laxson Auditorium (with Heather Masse)
• Aug. 25 Bend, OR — Les Schwab Amphitheater (with Heather Masse)
• Aug. 26 Boise, ID — Eagle River Pavilion (with Heather Masse)
• Aug. 28 Palmer, AK — Alaska State Fair (with Heather Masse and Sara Watkins)
• Aug. 31 Kansas City, MO — Kansas City Starlight Theatre (with Sara Watkins)
• Sept. 6 Fort Worth, TX — Bass Hall (with Sara Watkins)
• Sept. 7 Austin, TX — Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater (with Sara Watkins)
• Sept. 8 College Station, TX — Rudder Auditorium (with Sara Watkins)
• Sept. 9 Tuscaloosa, AL — Tuscaloosa Amphitheater (with Sara Watkins)
• Sept. 10 Chattanooga, TN — Chattanooga Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium (with Sara Watkins)
• Sept. 11 Memphis, TN — Mud Island Amphitheater (with Sara Watkins)

TICKET INFO: See links at www.prairiehome.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION: go to www.prairiehome.org, or contact Kate Gustafson at gustafsonk@prairiehome.us