This week: we're heading up the Mississippi River to its junction with the Rum River for a live broadcast from Anoka High School in our host's hometown of Anoka, Minnesota, the Halloween Capital of the World. We'll have a few other Anoka alums along to show off what they learned on the AHS stage, including globetrotting soprano Ellie Dehn and Broadway belter Kate Beahen. Plus: the Anoka High School Pep Band and the Seventh Avenue Singers will join us to represent the next generation of Anoka arts; our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman, will channel all the drama and comedy of their high school years; and pianist and music director Rich Dworsky and the band (drummer Bernie Dresel, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold) with a rock'n'roll tornado that's sure to have everyone dancing on the lockers in the Main Commons. Sharpen your pencils, power up those graphing calculators, be in your seat before the bell, and we'll see you at 5pm Central for a public radio pep rally!

This week: our host is back at the helm for a live broadcast from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with the prodigious talents of mandolinist Chris Thile; the amazing fiddle and cello duo of Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas; and torrid ballads from singer Hilary Thavis. Plus: fresh drama and stalwart sponsors from the Royal Academy of Radio Actors - Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman; pianist and music director Rich Dworsky covers everything from boogie to Bach with The Exchange Street Band (Bernie Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold); and two weeks of News from Lake Wobegon, the tiny town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve. Join us on the radio Saturday evening, or watch our livestream (5pm to 7pm Central Time) at prairiehome.org!

This week: after 41 years on the air, our host accidentally let his radio license lapse. So while he's off filling out forms and taking all the required exams, he's handing the mic over to our friends Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan for a live broadcast from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In addition to their own prodigious musical talents, they've invited singer and songwriter Tom Brosseau to share his powerful yet humble North-Dakota-infused narratives, and violinist and fiddler Jeremy Kittel and his trio for a selection of masterful bluegrass, classical, and jazz numbers. Plus: holding down the fort as usual, the Royal Academy of Radio Actors - Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman - will bring their full range of comedy and gravitas; and pianist and music director Rich Dworsky leads The Exchange Street Band (Bernie Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold) on whatever our hosts decide to throw at them. We'll catch you on the radio Saturday evening or, if you want to see it all in full color, watch live (5pm to 7pm Central Time) at prairiehome.org!

This week: it's a live broadcast from our base camp at the Fitzgerald Theater on Exchange Street in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The California Honeydrops ward off the autumn chill with smokin' Bay Area R&B, and The Cactus Blossoms sing their sweet songs in sibling harmony. Christine DiGiallonardo adds a touch of Brooklyn to scripts and duets with the host; and Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman, our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, render historic events like never before. Pianist and music director Rich Dworsky has The Exchange Street Band (Bernie Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold) firing on all cylinders, and our fearless leader is quietly gathering the latest News from Lake Wobegon. Point your receiver down to the public radio end of the dial or watch the show live (Saturday, 5pm to 7pm CT) at prairiehome.org!

This week: we're live from the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota as the leaves begin to adorn the horizon with majesty. Mandolinist, singer, and songwriter Sierra Hull is up from Nashville for a fresh take on bluegrass; singer Heather Masse joins us from New York with September songs and duets with the host; the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman, will thrill your mind's eye; and pianist and music director Rich Dworsky and The Exchange Street Band (Jonathan Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Chris Siebold guitar) will knock the rust off your hull. Plus: farmers Justin and Janeen Wolfsteller will drop by to talk about the harvest on his acreage just north of the Twin Cities, and the host will report all the latest happenings in nearby Lake Wobegon. We'll see you on your local public radio station or, if you want to see if we look the way we sound, watch the show live (Saturday, 5pm to 7pm CT) at prairiehome.org!

This week: We kick off our season in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, at the Fitzgerald Theater with a live broadcast and street dance. JD McPherson is doing double duty on the airwaves with rock'n'roll from Northeast Oklahoma, and outside after the broadcast at the street dance and meatloaf supper. Our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and sound effects man Fred Newman are fired up and ready to go, and music director Rich Dworsky has The Exchange Street Band in fine fettle (Bernie Dresel on drums, bassist Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn on mandolin and fiddle, and guitarist Dean Magraw). Minnesota's 2015 Teacher of the Year, Amy Hewlett-Olatunde, will tell about teaching immigrants and refugees, and the host will catch us up on all the latest News from Lake Wobegon. If you're in the Twin Cities, join us on Exchange Street at 5 p.m. to listen to the broadcast - the meatloaf supper will be served at 6 p.m. and music, dancing, and contests begin at 7 p.m. If you're elsewhere, join us on your local public radio station or watch a live stream of the show (5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time) at prairiehome.org!

This week: our final rebroadcast of the summer - next week we return to live broadcasts full-time with our annual Street Dance and Meatloaf Supper - originally from May 2014 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Brad Paisley sings an ode to the substrata and tectonic plates of the Cumberland Plateau (and his tune "Southern Comfort Zone"), Sturgill Simpson and his band perform "Turtles All the Way Down," and Sam Bush and Stuart Duncan team up on "My Little Girl in Tennessee." Plus, our friend Brian Dan Christensen joins us for a few Elvis tunes; Guy Noir checks out up-and-coming country singers at the Bluebird Cafe; and in Lake Wobegon, fishermen return to their pursuit of the famous walleye Old Pete.

This week: we're rolling right off our recent America The Beautiful Tour and rolling right up to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand for a Friday night show recorded for broadcast the next evening. We'll have bluegrass on a stick from the Steep Canyon Rangers, Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele with soul and gospel even more powerful than anything you could find on Machinery Hill, and Christine DiGiallonardo and the host will sing a few duets for a late-summer night. Plus, our Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman take a break from admiring the seed art exhibits to deliver a little radio drama; pianist and music director Rich Dworsky and His Horticulture Orchestra (Jonathan Dresel, Larry Kohut, Richard Kriehn, and Chris Siebold, and our blue-ribbon brass section, Kenni Holmen, Michael B. Nelson, and Steve Strand); and an update on all the summer News from Lake Wobegon. Get in the spirit with a bucket of fresh french fries or freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and we'll see you at the Fair Friday night, and on the radio on Saturday!

This week: we're looking all the way back to June of 1994 and a rebroadcast from the grand re-opening of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The Everly Brothers sing "Blues Stay Away from Me" and Chet Atkins plays "Mystery Train," plus, music from Vince Gill, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Mark O'Connor, and an appearance by the Hopeful Gospel Quartet. In Lake Wobegon, the Whippets open their season and the host shares a few memories of the Grand Ole Opry's last night at the Ryman.

This week: another November 2010 rebroadcast, this time from the Brown Theater at the Wortham Theater Center in Houston, Texas. The Quebe Sisters and their band showcase some true Texas swing on Bob Wills' "Yearning," and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham sings "Ombra mai fu" from Handel's Serse. Plus, Dusty and Lefty take an exam to renew their cowboy licenses, a visit to the Cafe Boeuf Houston, and in Lake Wobegon, Myrtle Anderson tries to return to town 33 years after an embezzlement scandal.