A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION Heads to NYC's Town Hall This December

Chris Thile will be loading up the bus and heading east to the city that doesn't sleep, for back-to-back broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion live from The Town Hall in New York City on December 3 and 10.

Tickets are on sale now for the icon radio show which will feature incredible live performances from special musical guests-Marcus Mumford and Corinne Bailey Rae, on Saturday, December 3; and on December 10, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, will grace the famed Town Hall stage, just off of Times Square on West 43rd Street.

Also on hand for both broadcasts, The Royal Academy of Radio Actors-Tim Russell, (man of a thousand voices), Serena Brook and sound effects wizard FrEd Newman. Gaby Moreno (Dec 3) and Aoife O'Donovan (Dec 10) will join Thile for some duets and Chris, along with the hardest working band in public radio today, will perform a listener's choice song selected live on-air. Plus, as for every live show, Thile will also compose and perform a unique new song for each of the Town Hall live broadcasts.

Before heading in to Gotham this December, Thile will bring the famed radio show to The Academy of Music in Philadelphia, on November 12 with Angelique Kidjo, Jason Isbell, and poet Billy Collins, (Tickets are On-Sale Now); and The Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver on November 19 with special guests Trey Anastasio, The Staves, and comedian Tig Notaro, (this show is now Sold Out).

Chris Thile was hand selected by Garrison Keillor to take over as host of the famed and long-running live radio variety show in the fall of 2016. Chris-a multiple Grammy Award-winner and MacArthur Fellow and a member of Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek-is a mandolin virtuoso, composer and vocalist. With his broad outlook that encompasses classical, rock, jazz, and bluegrass, Thile transcends the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres, creating a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic for performers and audiences alike. As a soloist Thile has released five albums, including his most recent released in 2013, Bach: Partitas and Sonatas, Vol.1, which was produced by renowned bassist Edgar Meyer. In February 2013 Thile won a Grammy for his work on The Goat Rodeo Sessions, collaborating with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Stuart Duncan. Then, in September 2014, Thile and Meyer released their latest album collaboration, Bass + Mandolin, which won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Punch Brothers released their latest album, The Phosphorescent Blues, in 2015.

A Prairie Home Companion is produced by American Public Media. Our National Sponsor is Viking River Cruises. This show's exclusive media sponsor is WNYC.