This isn’t your grandparents’ A Prairie Home Companion.
At 2:45 p.m. Jan. 7, the Paramount Theatre will welcome the rebooted version of the famed public radio program. The show, once hosted by the novelistic Garrison Keillor, is now being led by Chris Thile, the hip mandolin player who led Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers.
Gone are stories from Lake Woebegone. Instead, the new program will focus more on music. And, with that in mind, Thile will be joined by some big names during his Seattle stop — acts more in line with an indie rock bar than a folk opry.
Leading the list is The Shins, the popular rock act that started its career with buzz-making albums released by Sub Pop Records. Also on the list: Regina Spektor, the piano-loving songwriter who gained fame in the early 2000s alongside other New York acts like the Strokes.
Thile isn’t scrapping Keillor’s playbook entirely. Instead, he comes with the retired host’s full endorsement, and with good reason. Thile first appeared on “A Prairie Home Companion” decades ago, as a 15-year-old phenom in 1996.
Now, he’s carrying the ball forward for Keillor, one of his idols. The Seattle show will serve as a live broadcast of the popular program.
Tickets are $31 to $61 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
Star Anna, meanwhile, will pay tribute to David Bowie with a performance of Ziggy Stardust hits at the Neptune Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8.
The day would have marked the late singer’s 70th birthday.
Star Anna, an Ellensburg native, already has won praise for her take on alt-country, but, like many musicians, felt a kinship with Bowie, rock’s great theatrical loner.
The idea for a concert focused on Bowie’s work came to her last year, while driving over Snoqualmie Pass, when she learned of the rock star’s death.
She’ll be joined by the Synergia Northwest Orchestra to stage the production.
Tickets are $18.50 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
The Fruit Bats also are heading to Seattle, playing the Tractor Tavern at 8 p.m. Jan. 12.
The act may be best known for its decade-long run of albums on Sub Pop Records, although it broke away from that label for its most recent record, 2016’s “Absolute Loser.”
The group, led by Eric D. Johnson, got its start in Chicago at the turn of the century. Since then, it has won a loyal following for its take on folk-pop thanks to tracks including “When U Love Somebody” and “Humbug Mountain Song,” the latter of which is featured on the group’s latest disc.
Tickets are $15 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
