Live from Here is the successor to A Prairie Home Companion. It began three months after Garrison Keillor's second retirement went into effect. He made the announcement on July 21, 2015 and chose Chris Thile as his successor.
The new program, titled A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile, held its first broadcast on October 15, 2016 from the Fitzgerald Theater. It retained some elements of the previous show such the acting and sound effects cast remaining with the show and sponsorships from fictitious companies, but without the notable segments such as "The Lives of the Cowboys", "Guy Noir, Private Eye" and "News from Lake Wobegon".
As a result of Minnesota Public Radio severing all ties with Keillor in November 2017 and the fact that the trademark for the show's name belonged to Keillor, the show continued with a working title of The Show with Chris Thile. A few weeks later, the new name of Live from Here was announced. For the 2019-2020 season, the show moved to the Town Hall in New York City.
In March 2020, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shutdown of live musical performances. The program began offering a mix of remotely produced broadcasts and reruns of 2019 episodes. However, financial difficulties at MPR and the uncertainty of if or when live performances could resume resulted in the sudden cancellation of Live from Here immediately after the June 13, 2020 broadcast without offering a chance for a series finale.
External links[]
- Official website, with archives of all shows available for listening online