5 Essential Facts About The 'A Prairie Home Companion' 50th Anniversary Tour And Legacy

Jan 10, 2026 • minute read

Contents

The iconic American radio variety show, A Prairie Home Companion (PHC), is currently celebrating its half-century milestone. The original broadcast first aired on July 6, 1974, meaning the official 50th anniversary is in July 2024. This landmark occasion is being marked by a celebratory tour, led by the show's creator and original host, Garrison Keillor, bringing the unique blend of music, comedy, and storytelling back to live audiences across the United States in 2024 and 2025.

This retrospective celebration, often billed as The Prairie Home Companion 50th Anniversary Show, is a deep dive into the show’s enduring legacy. It reminds fans of the gentle, nostalgic world of Lake Wobegon while also navigating the complex history of its controversial host. The tour features classic elements and key collaborators, ensuring the show's unique spirit lives on for a new generation.

Garrison Keillor: The Creator’s Profile and Current Status

The entire world of A Prairie Home Companion was built around the distinctive voice and storytelling of Garrison Keillor. His life and career are inextricably linked to the show's history, including its recent turbulence.

Full Name: Gary Edward Keillor
Born: August 7, 1942 (Currently 82 years old as of 2024)
Birthplace: Anoka, Minnesota, U.S.
Show Creation: Created A Prairie Home Companion (PHC) in 1974.
Original Run: Hosted PHC from 1974 to 1987, and again from 1993 until his retirement in 2016.
Signature Segment: "News from Lake Wobegon," a weekly monologue about the fictional Minnesota town "where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."
MPR Severance: Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) cut all business ties with Keillor in November 2017 following an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for the show.
Current Activity: Leading the A Prairie Home Companion 50th Anniversary Show tour across the US (2023-2025).

The 50th Anniversary Tour: What’s New and Who’s Performing

The current tour is a vibrant two-hour performance designed to celebrate the half-century milestone of what is often called "the last live radio variety show." It is a nostalgic recreation of the classic PHC format, featuring the musical and comedic elements fans remember.

The Return of The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band

No Prairie Home Companion show is complete without its musical heart, The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band. The band, led by the show’s long-time music director, Rich Dworsky, is a central feature of the anniversary tour.

Dworsky, a keyboard player, composer, and improviser, leads the ensemble through a variety of musical styles, including rags, stomps, and blues, which were staples of the original show. The band’s versatility was always key to PHC’s success, providing everything from background music to full-fledged musical numbers.

Featured Performers and Classic Segments

The anniversary show includes several familiar voices and new talent. Singer Heather Masse, known for her beautiful vocal performances on the original program, often joins Keillor for duets and solo numbers. The format faithfully includes:

Live Music: Performances by The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band.
Comedy Sketches: Classic radio-style skits.
The Monologue: Keillor’s trademark "News from Lake Wobegon," providing updates from the fictional, quiet town.
The Commercials: Jingle performances for the show's famous fictional sponsors, most notably the beloved Powdermilk Biscuits.

The tour has been traveling through various venues, with a significant show scheduled for September 7, 2025, at the Santa Fe Opera, marking a major highlight in the anniversary celebration.

The Enduring Legacy of Lake Wobegon and Powdermilk Biscuits

The brilliance of A Prairie Home Companion lies in the fully realized world it created, a world that continues to resonate with fans decades later. The show’s core entities are more than just segments; they are cultural touchstones.

News from Lake Wobegon

The weekly "News from Lake Wobegon" monologue was the show's best-known feature, a 20-minute, stream-of-consciousness narrative delivered by Keillor. It was a wry and gentle look at small-town life in the fictional Minnesota community, characterized by its Lutheran and Catholic population and its blend of stoicism and quiet eccentricity. The stories from Lake Wobegon formed the basis for several of Keillor’s best-selling novels and short story collections.

The segment offered a powerful form of escapism, transporting listeners to a place that felt both familiar and idealized, a nostalgic vision of midwestern Americana. The phrase "where all the children are above average" became a famous, ironic summary of the town's humble pride.

The Powdermilk Biscuits Phenomenon

The fictional sponsor, Powdermilk Biscuits, is perhaps the most memorable commercial gag in radio history. The jingle for the whole-wheat biscuits promised they "give shy persons the strength to get up and do what needs to be done."

The jingle is still a highlight of the 50th-anniversary performances, often performed by the cast and The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band. This element, along with other fictional sponsors like the "Fearmonger’s Shoppe," cemented PHC’s status as a modern-day take on classic radio variety shows.

The Controversial Turning Point and Post-Keillor Era

To discuss the 50th anniversary of A Prairie Home Companion without acknowledging its controversial turning point would be incomplete. The show’s history is now split into two distinct periods: the Keillor era and the post-Keillor attempts at continuation.

The 2017 Allegations and Severance

In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) abruptly severed all ties with Garrison Keillor, citing allegations of "inappropriate behavior" with a freelance writer who had worked on the show. Keillor defended himself, claiming the incident was a mutual, accidental touching, but the termination of his contract and the removal of his content from the MPR archives marked a dramatic and devastating end to his 43-year association with the network.

The firing, which occurred at the height of the #MeToo movement, tarnished the legacy of a figure who had been a beloved, gentle voice for decades, forcing a difficult public reckoning for the show and its fans.

The Successor Show: Live from Here

Prior to the controversy, Keillor had already retired in 2016, passing the hosting duties to Grammy-winning mandolinist Chris Thile. The show was rebranded as Live from Here with Chris Thile.

Thile’s version, which ran from 2016 to 2020, was a more contemporary, music-focused variety show, featuring artists from the worlds of bluegrass, jazz, and indie rock. However, American Public Media (APM) canceled the show in June 2020, citing financial difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This cancellation officially ended the continuous run of the radio variety show tradition that Keillor had started in 1974.

5 Key Takeaways on the PHC 50th Anniversary

The 50th anniversary celebration is a testament to the show's cultural impact, even as it operates outside the public radio system that once defined it. It is a complex legacy, full of humor, nostalgia, and controversy.

The Official Anniversary Date is July 6, 2024. The original broadcast launched 50 years ago from the Janet Wallace Auditorium at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Celebration is a Multi-Year Tour. Garrison Keillor is leading the anniversary show throughout 2024 and 2025, with a major event scheduled for Santa Fe in September 2025.
The Original Band is Back. Rich Dworsky and The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band are the core musical act, playing the familiar rags, blues, and jingles.
The Lake Wobegon Monologue Endures. Keillor's signature segment about the fictional town remains the emotional centerpiece of the retrospective performances.
The Show’s Legacy is Complicated. The celebration exists in the shadow of Keillor’s 2017 firing by MPR, forcing fans to reconcile the beloved art with the controversy surrounding its creator.

5 Essential Facts About the 'A Prairie Home Companion' 50th Anniversary Tour and Legacy

Details