Garrison Keillor coming to CDA
In this Friday, Feb. 23, 2018 photo, Garrison Keillor poses for a photo in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen)
In this Feb. 19, 2016 photo, Garrison Keillor uses his phone at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul to time a promo for an upcoming show. Keillor said Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, he has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior. (Euan Kerr/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Bestselling author and popular radio personality Garrison Keillor will be performing in Coeur d’Alene Sept. 14 to benefit the Coeur d’Alene Symphony.
Keillor will be touring the United States this fall, stopping in major cities like Seattle and Los Angeles. He’s wrapping up his nationwide tour in Coeur d’Alene at Schuler Performing Arts Center in Boswell Hall on the North Idaho College Campus.
Ticket pricing has not been announced.
Keillor, 76, whose most recent work is an audio collection of Guy Noir favorites, has been involved in radio since he was a freshman at the University of Minnesota. He began working at Minnesota Public Radio three years after graduating, in 1969. On July 6, 1974, he began his weekly radio variety show, “A Prairie Home Companion,” which he produced and hosted for more than four decades, ending on July 1, 2016. The show had 3.5 million listeners and was broadcast on 700 public radio stations.
Keillor has been honored for his work as an author, a musician and a story-teller. He has won a National Humanities Medal and the George Foster Peabody award. Keillor won a Grammy in 1988 for Best Spoken Word Album, Lake Wobegone Days.
Keillor recently posted a status update to his Facebook page stating he wanted to do one last tour.
Local resident and arts supporter Marlo Faulkner saw the post and wrote a letter to Keillor that eventually led him to agree to perform in Coeur d’Alene. She told him about the city’s symphony. Keillor agreed to visit and perform at a benefit show.
His appearance is remarkable not for what he’s including but for what he’s leaving out — the bill. He’s not charging for his appearance so every dollar raised can go straight to the symphony.
“He is going to do what he does best, which is rambling,” Faulkner said. “He does essays, he tells silly jokes, he does characters, he talks to the audience, he reads poetry. He does just about everything.”
Tickets will be available through TicketWest on July 1.