Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a Minnesotan institution- A Prairie Home Companion (APHC). Now, this may be heresy, but I never really understood A Prairie Home Companion. At least, I never understood what made it so special. Why is it that APHC has such allure? What makes APHC equal parts folksy and sophisticated discourse? How did this saturday afternoon radio show turn into such a powerhouse of music and writing? How did it become as good as it is?

My wife, Ash, is into APHC. She loves it and grew up listening to it. She has wanted to go to a APHC recording for a long time. My interest in the show has only been cursory: I rarely listen to APHC and I have never sought out tickets to attend a live recording. Admittedly, though, I was hoping the opportunity to attend a show would arise. Let’s just say, if a call-in contest for APHC tickets came on the radio, I’d call at least a couple of times.

Then one day, the opportunity came along and I won a pair of tickets through my work!

The experience was pretty great. Ash and I happened to have a pretty late breakfast that day, which set us up to have a delicious, late lunch in St. Paul (EVEREST mmmm.), which is important  because you have to be at the Fitzgerald theater by 4:30PM

The tickets I won through my work turned out to be pretty incredible:

I was so excited to have box seats- it was completely unexpected! I knew this was going to be an amazing way to experience the show, especially since the house was packed. Also, it is my understanding that tickets are pretty hard to come by for APHC. This was also illustrated from my wife and I waiting in the Rush line for a few minutes until we realized the will call line was on the other side.

The curtains rose, and the music erupted. The house band for APHC is pretty dang tight. The monitor headphone wearing multi-instrumentalists are fantastic at reacting to Garrison Keillor’s whims. They started off a tune as Garrison Keillor walked out and did some crowd work and sang. This was so the crowd was warm and ready to cheer when the broadcast officially began.

The broadcast itself was exactly what I would expect from an episode of APHC. Garrison Keillor singing a duet with a beautiful female vocalist (Heather Masse: The Wailin Jennys), an episode of Guy Noir, a bluegrass band that is spot on (The Gibson Brothers) and of course the lyrical Lake Wobegon News.

I think it was important that I went into the experience totally open and ready to appreciate it for what it was. The crowd was surprisingly diverse, but definitely a bit older than other events I usually attend. I have never seen such a jovial group of elders- a lot of people looking to crack jokes, make new friends and connect over their mutual love of APHC. It added to the charm and it definitely fit the motif of APHC.

The experience has changed my view of APHC. I appreciate it more, but I still don’t understand the reverence. Has Garrison Kellior established some sort of prose that I am not picking up on being a casual listener? Or is it just folksy, charming and genuinely enjoyable? I don’t know, but at least now when I encounter people who aren’t from Minnesota/Wisconsin/North Dakota I can, at least, speak with some expertise on APHC having attended at least one show.