A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

Listen to dobro and steel guitar ace Cindy Cashdollar sitting in with the likes of Asleep at the Wheel, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Leon Redbone and Dolly Parton, and on her own CD, Slide Show (Silver Shot Records), and it's not surprising that she's raking in Grammy Awards — five, at last count. Cashdollar (yes, that's her real name) was honored as Instrumentalist of the Year in 2003 by the Academy of Western Artists Awards, the same year she was inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame. Born and raised in Woodstock, New York, she now makes her home in Austin, Texas.

Inga Swearingen

Inga Swearingen always loved singing, whether it was with her elementary school choir in San Luis Obispo, California, or performing her own songs in high school, or during her years of voice lessons. But it may have been joining a jazz choir while pursuing her education at Cuesta College that sealed her decision to be a jazz singer. In 2003, after studying with Swiss artist Susanne Abbuehl, she won the Shure Jazz Voice competition at the world-renowned Montreux Jazz Festival. She earned a master's degree in choral conducting from Florida State University, then returned to California, where she now performs, works on recording projects, and teaches at Cuesta College — her old alma mater. Reverie, her latest CD, is on the Rhythome label.

Jearlyn Steele

Jearlyn Steele first sang with her siblings (as The Steele Children) in churches, concert halls and on radio and TV. After she left Indiana and moved to Minnesota, one by one the rest of the Steele kids followed. They started singing together again as The Steeles. Now music is the family business. Jearlyn is the entertainment reporter for Twin Cities Public Television's public-affairs program, Almanac, and she hosts Steele Talkin', a Sunday-night radio show that originates on WCCO in Minneapolis and is heard in some 30 states nationwide. Steele Praising Hymn is her most recent CD.

J.T. Bates

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

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's performed with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Eric Clapton, Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan.