Guest Information

Sam Bush

Sam Bush was just 11 when he got his first mandolin. By the time he was 17, he had won the title of National Junior Fiddle Champion for three years running. And he had made his recording debut, Poor Richard's Almanac. Founder of groundbreaking bands like New Grass Revival and Strength in Numbers, he has also been the go-to sideman for Lyle Lovett, the Flecktones and dozens of others. For five years, he led Emmylou Harris' Grammy-winning Nash Ramblers. He has recorded a number of solo albums. The most recent is Laps In Seven (Sugar Hill Records). The band: Stephen Mougin (guitar), Scott Vestal (banjo), Byron House (bass) and Chris Brown (drums).

Brad Paisley

When Brad Paisley was about eight, his grandfather gave him a guitar and a piece of advice: "Anything that's going wrong in your life, you can pick this guitar up and it'll go away. Seems grandpa was right. At 12, Paisley wrote his first song. He was invited to perform it at a Rotary Club meeting, and that's when a radio program director asked Brad to appear on WWVA's Jamboree USA. Brad was a hit, and he hasn't stopped wowing music moguls and fans alike. In 2001, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He has been honored with numerous awards, including a Grammy for his 2007 CD, 5th Gear. On his latest recording, Play (Arista), Brad showcases his top-flight guitar work.

Martin Sheen

Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Martin Sheen (born Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez) always wanted to be an actor. His father thought otherwise, but undeterred, Sheen finally borrowed a few bucks from a local priest and headed for New York. That was in 1959. Over the years, he has piled up Emmys, Golden Globes and other accolades for his performances in movies such as Badlands, The Subject Was Roses, Apocalypse Now, The Departed and Bobby, and on television for "Kennedy," "Blind Ambition" and his seven seasons in the role of President Josiah Bartlet on NBC's "The West Wing." For his work as a tireless activist for social and environmental causes, he has received numerous honors, including the César E. Chávez Spirit Award.

Heather Masse

Heather Masse grew up in rural Maine and currently makes her home in New York. She has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion a number of times, often with her band the Wailin' Jennys. Now, while the Jennys take a break from touring, Heather is keeping busy with other projects. She performs regularly with her Brooklyn-based outfit, Heather and the Barbarians — a group that first formed when the members were students at the New England Conservatory of Music. Their album Tell Me Tonight was released in 2007. Heather's solo EP is titled Many Moons (Heather Masse Music). Look for a full-length album from her later this year.

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).

Neko Case

On her way to becoming a singer-songwriter, Neko Case worked in a supermarket meat department, unloaded trucks for UPS, and cooked in restaurants. Lucky for her myriad fans, this former art student settled on a life in music. Many know Case from her work with Canadian indie rock band The New Pornographers, whose members make a guest appearance on her latest album, Middle Cyclone (ANTI- Records). Case now calls rural Vermont home. Parts of Middle Cyclone were recorded in the 18th-century barn that sits on her property.

VocalEssence Ensemble Singers with Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director

Most kids badger their parents for the latest games and toys. Not Philip Brunelle. When he was six, he wanted the vocal score to Handel's "Messiah." Now an internationally renowned conductor, choral scholar and performer, he is the founder and artistic director of the acclaimed VocalEssence Ensemble Singers — core of the full VocalEssence Chorus, 130 voices in all. The Minneapolis-based group has received the ASCAP/ Chorus America Award for adventurous programming of contemporary music an unprecedented five times, and was awarded the Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence. They just returned from a tour of England, part of the celebration of their 40th season. The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass (Clarion) is among their recent recordings.

Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group

“Individually their voices can melt cheese, and in duet they can do all-purpose welding,” Garrison Keillor has said of Robin and Linda Williams. And while their fans might not put it quite that way, they'd certainly agree. Singing the music they love, be it bluegrass, folk, old-time, or acoustic country, these two have carved out a three-decade career that has taken them from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl. Buena Vista (Red House) is Robin and Linda's latest recording. Their Fine Group: Jim Watson (bass, mandolin) and Chris Brashear (fiddle).

Will Farley

Last month, Will Farley took top honors at the 2009 Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest, an arts education program and competition sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. He advanced from a competitive field of some 300,000 students who participated across the country. A senior — and class president — at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia, Will plans to enter Bucknell University in the fall. He credits Poetry Out Loud with making public speaking a lot easier. And, he adds, "It's shown me that there are poems out there for everyone."

Nellie McKay

She started out wanting to be a jazz musician. Now when singer, songwriter, actor, stand-up comedian, and activist Nellie McKay sits down at the piano or picks up the ukulele, you’re likely hear some blend of jazz, pop, hip-hop, cabaret or vaudeville. The London-born, New York-based performer has found quite a following with her quirky musical approach. She’s nothing if not outspoken, and the causes she holds dear — animal rights, for instance — are apt to turn up in her unpredictable song lyrics. Her fourth album, Normal As Blueberry Pie, a tribute to Doris Day, was released last month on the Verve label.

Elvis Costello

In 1977, a young London pub-rocker named Declan McManus signed with Stiff Records, changed his name to Elvis Costello, and recorded his first album, the Nick Lowe-produced My Aim Is True. It won the Rolling Stone Critics Poll for best album. Rock critic Greil Marcus wrote that Costello “emerged ... as one of the unquestioned originals of modern pop music.” Three decades later, Costello still is. As a solo artist and with his band, the Attractions, he has turned out a string of groundbreaking recordings. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Elvis Costello’s latest CD, Secret, Profane and Sugarcane (Hear Music), is scheduled for release in June.

Old Crow Medicine Show

With a little luck and a whole lot of talent, Old Crow Medicine Show went from playing their slash-and-burn brand of old-time music on the streets of Boone, North Carolina, to bringing down the house at the Grand Ole Opry. Willie Watson (guitar), Ketch Secor (fiddle), Gill Landry (banjo, guitar), Kevin Hayes (guitjo) and Morgan Jahnig (bass) have wowed audiences coast to coast with their distinctive take on pre-World War II blues, rags, hollers, fiddle tunes and jug band numbers. They have been included in several documentaries, including PBS's American Roots Music series and In the Valley Where Time Stands Still, a film about the history of the Renfro Valley Barn Dance. Their new CD, Tennessee Pusher, was released last month on the Nettwerk Records label.

Sarah Jarosz

Sarah Jarosz's debut album, Song Up In Her Head (Sugar Hill), came out last spring — at just about the same time the 18-year-old graduated from high school. She went from cap and gown to a round of summer music festivals, and now she has pulled up stakes in Wimberley, Texas, and enrolled in Boston's famed New England Conservatory of Music. The kid who started playing mandolin at 10, and branched out to clawhammer banjo and guitar, and got hooked on bluegrass and singing her own songs is now reaping rave reviews and drawing comparisons to Alison Krauss and Lucinda Williams.

Wilco

From the time he was a kid in Belleville, Illinois, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy was consumed with music. In the late 1980s, he and his pal Jay Farrar started the seminal alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. After that group split up, Jeff and Uncle Tupelo bassist John Stirratt formed Wilco. Since then, this Chicago-based rock band has amassed a huge following and turned out a stack of innovative albums, including two-time Grammy-winning A Ghost is Born. Their latest CD, Wilco (the Album), came out this past summer on the Nonesuch label. Wilco is: Jeff Tweedy (guitar, vocals), Nels Cline (guitar), Pat Sansone (keyboards, guitar), Mike Jorgensen (keyboards), John Stirratt (bass), and Glenn Kotche (percussion).

Patty Loveless

As a youngster in Kentucky, Patty Loveless listened to the Grand Ole Opry, and she wrote songs and sang with various ones of her six siblings. After high school, she headed for Nashville and became a member of the Wilburn Brothers band. She released her first solo recording in 1987 and now has dozens of albums to her credit. These days, Patty and her husband, producer Emery Gordy Jr., make their home in Georgia — in a small town northwest of Atlanta. Her 2008 CD Sleepless Nights: The Traditional Country Soul of Patty Loveless received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. Her latest recording, Mountain Soul II, was released last week on Saguaro Road Records.

The 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 masterful keyboard player, composer, and improviser in any style, he writes all the script themes and underscores, and he has accompanied guests from James Taylor to Renée Fleming. His latest CD is So Near and Dear to Me.

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.

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.