Never So Far

Greg Brown was raised in southeastern Iowa, with a banjo-playing grandfather, a poet grandmother, an English teacher mother who played guitar, and a Pentecostal preacher father. The environment, combined with abundant talent, produced one of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of the past three decades. Said a Boston Globe music critic, "Brown is to this country what Richard Thompson is to Britain: its most essential modern troubadour." Greg's 30-plus recordings may just prove the point. The most recent is 2012's Hymns to What Is Left (Sawdust Records).

2000: Since making their debut in 1985, The Nashville Bluegrass Band has become one of the most popular and widely respected bluegrass bands working today. They have appeared in a variety of U.S. venues, including a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall and a series of performances from Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. The group was the first of its genre to play in mainland China, and they continue to appear before international audiences in Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia. They have performed with Lyle Lovett and Mary Chapin Carpenter, recently recorded with both Bernadette Peters and Clint Black, provided the entertainment at Wynonna's wedding reception, and sang back-up for Johnny Cash on the Dead Man Walking soundtrack. The group was also involved in the making of the Coen brothers' new movie, Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? They have appeared on NBC's The Today Show and TNN's Music City Tonight. Their latest CD, American Beauty (Sugar Hill), is the long-awaited follow-up to their 1995 Grammy Award-winning recording, Unleashed (Sugar Hill) and features Bob Dylan's "Livin' the Blues" and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings' "Red Clay Halo." The band's other albums include Waitin' for the Hard Times To Go, The Boys Are Back In Town, and Home Of The Blues (all on Sugar Hill). Members of the band are: Alan O'Bryant (banjo), Pat Enright (guitar), Roland White (mandolin), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Gene Libbea (acoustic bass). 2010: Since 1984, the Nashville Bluegrass Band has garnered fans worldwide - from China to Carnegie Hall, Bangladesh to the White House. And disguised as the Soggy Bottom Boys, they appeared on the soundtrack of the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Their recordings include NBB: The Best of the Sugar Hill Years (Sugar Hill). The band: Mike Compton, mandolin; Stuart Duncan, fiddle; Pat Enright, guitar; Alan O'Bryant, banjo; Andy Todd, bass.

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 APHC's music director. He leads the band, composes themes, improvises script underscores, and collaborates with such diverse guests as Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor, Brad Paisley, Kristin Chenoweth, and Sheryl Crow. He has provided music for documentaries on HBO and PBS, and has released many recordings of original material, including his latest, All In Due Time. Pat Donohue Chet Atkins called Pat Donohue (guitar) one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world today. And he writes songs too - recorded by Suzy Bogguss, Kenny Rogers, and others. Blue Yonder (Bluesky Records) is the most recent of Pat's 11 albums. Gordy Knudtson, percussion Gary Raynor A Minnesota resident since 1977, bassist Gary Raynor has performed with the Count Basie band and Sammy Davis Jr., with whom he toured for several years. He has been first call for dozens of touring Broadway shows, including the first presentation of The Lion King. Gary teaches at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. 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 has performed with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Eric Clapton, Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, and Bob Dylan.

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.

Is that water dripping? Footsteps coming this way? Car tires spinning on an icy driveway? Nope - it's sound effects wizard Tom Keith. With vocal gymnastics and a variety of props, Tom worked his magic on A Prairie Home Companion from the mid-1970s until his passing in 2011.