Mingle, Merge, Mill, Jostle Gently, and Flock Together

Growing up in a musical family, Aoife O'Donovan took an interest in the American folk tradition. And after graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music, she formed the progressive bluegrass band Crooked Still and the trio Sometymes Why. She recently collaborated with Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz to create the "I'm With Her" tour, which took the trio to the U.K., Europe, and across the U.S. Aoife's latest recording, In the Magic Hour, was released earlier this year on Yep Roc Records.

Growing up in Indiana, Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele sang with their siblings as The Steele Children. One by one, they moved to Minnesota and started singing together again. Now music is the family business. Jearlyn also hosts Steele Talkin', a Sunday-night radio show on WCCO, Minneapolis. Her most recent solo CD is Jearlyn Steele Sings Songs from A Prairie Home Companion. Jevetta's performance of "Calling You," from the film Baghdad Cafe, was nominated for an Academy Award. Her solo albums include 2006's My Heart.

Garrison Keillor was born in 1942 in Anoka, Minnesota. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1974, he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul. He is the host of The Writer's Almanac and the editor of the Good Poems series of anthologies from Viking.

Richard Dworsky Keyboardist, composer, and arranger Richard Dworsky is music director for A Prairie Home Companion, where he is often called upon to improvise on the spot - in styles ranging from classical to bluegrass and everything in between. He has accompanied Garrison Keillor on U.S. and European concert tours and has collaborated with numerous other performers. JT Bates JT 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 a number of Twin Cities-based bands, including Fat Kid Wednesdays and Poor Line Condition. Jeff Carney Bassist Jeff Carneyis always in demand - in Broadway orchestras, on jingles and film soundtracks, and as accompanist for jazz giants and popular music stars. A professor of bass and at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, he is principal bassist with the New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Armand Hirsch Twentysomething guitarist Armand Hirsch has been a touring musician since he was just 14, working with Bobby McFerrin, Hank Jones, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, and others. While his primary focus is jazz, his Armand Hirsch Trio has branched out into electronica, modern gospel, acoustic pop, and more. Kenni Holmen Saxophonist Kenni Holmen is a member of the Hornheads, a Twin Cities horn ensemble, and he's one of the area's most active recording and touring musicians. He has performed or recorded with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Glen Miller Orchestra, Gladys Knight, and the Reverend Billy Graham, to name a few. Richard Kriehn When Richard Kriehn turned 10, his mom bought him a mandolin; at 19, he'd won the Buck White International Mandolin Contest. He went on to play with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and bluegrass group 1946. On the classical side, he has performed with numerous orchestras and was principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. Michael B. Nelson Michael B. Nelson is the leader, arranger, and trombonist for the Hornheads. In addition to appearing on more than a hundred CDs, he has performed with the likes of Doc Severinsen, Chaka Khan, and Lenny Kravitz, and has composed and arranged for Prince and other artists. Steve Strand Trumpeter Steve Strand has done commercial jingles for the Minnesota Twins, Macy's, ESPN, and the Minnesota Wild. More visibly, he does trumpet and flugelhorn duty with the Hornheads horn ensemble. He has toured and/or recorded with Prince, Chaka Kahn, The Steeles, and many others.

One minute he's mild-mannered Tim Russell; the next he's George Bush or Julia Child or Barack Obama. We've yet to stump this man of many voices. Says fellow APHC actor Sue Scott, "He does a better Ira Glass than Ira Glass." A well-known Twin Cities radio personality and voice actor, Tim appeared in the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion and the Coen brothers' A Serious Man. Tim has also been reviewing films professionally for over 10 years.

On APHC, Sue Scott plays everything from ditzy teenagers to Guy Noir stunners to leathery crones who've smoked one pack of Camel straights too many. The Tucson, Arizona, native is well known for her extensive commercial and voice-over work on radio and television, as well as stage and movie roles, including the part of "Donna" in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion.

Sound effects man Fred Newman is an actor, writer, musician, and sound designer for film and TV. Turns out, no one is more surprised than Fred that he's made a career out of doing what he used to do behind the teacher's back -crossing his eyes, making sounds, and doing voices. He readily admits that, growing up, he was unceremoniously removed from several classrooms, "once by my bottom lip."