A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

Pert' Near Sandstone

Pert' Near Sandstone has all the grit of an old-timey string band, with the high-octane approach you'd expect from bluegrassers. Since this self-proclaimed "new-timey" band formed in 2003 — taking their name from their proximity to the sandstone bluffs of the Mississippi River — the group has become a force on the Minnesota roots music scene and beyond. Pert' Near Sandstone is Nate Sipe, mandolin and fiddle; J. Lenz, guitar; Kevin Kniebel, banjo; Jeff Swanner, bass; Jed Germond, fiddle; and Andy Lambert, clogs and washboard. Their latest recording, Needle & Thread (Pert' Near Music), was released last week.

The Loaner String Quartet

Katja Linfield, Cello; Jonathan Magness, violin; Michael Sutton, violin; and Matthew Young, Viola.

Guy's All-Star Shoe Band

The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band is led by A Prairie Home Companion music director Richard Dworsky. A keyboard master with an arsenal of ideas, he has worked with artists from Al Jarreau to Kristin Chenoweth to the Hopeful Gospel Quartet. 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.

Peter Johnson (percussion) has played klezmer music with Doc Severinsen and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He was a drummer for The Manhattan Transfer and for Gene Pitney. He has toured the world, but he always comes back to home base: Saint Paul.

Originally from Cloquet, Minnesota, pedal steel player Joe Savage made his way to Minneapolis in the 1980s. These days, he is a fixture on the Twin Cities music scene, performing with a number of artists in addition to keeping up his work as a studio musician.