The Wailin' Jennys on PBS

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Award-winning folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys will make its American television debut this weekend performing in a special Independence Day edition of Garrison Keillor’s famed A Prairie Home Companion along with the regular cast and guest star, Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep. The show, which has been broadcast on National Public Radio since 1974, will be telecast across the U.S. and Canada on PBS’s popular Great Performances on July 2 and again on July 9, and to NPR’s radio audiences on July 1.

The Wailin’ Jennys, who took home the 2005 JUNO Award for Roots/Traditional Album of the Year for its full-length debut 40 Days, is in the midst of a five-month North American tour that will also have the band return to the U.K. for the third time. The trio has spent the latter part of June as part of the A Prairie Home Companion tour with dates in the American northeast, having recently returned from a successful tour of Australia. Over the past year, The Wailin’ Jennys have made several appearances on A Prairie Home Companion, winning over legions of new fans south of the border.

”It's a very exciting opportunity and because we've had some experience already with Garrison and the cast and crew, we know we're in good hands so that takes away a little part of the nervousness,” says band member Nicky Mehta of the telecast. “It's always an honour to appear on the show and the idea of being on Great Performances is particularly humbling.”

"A televised event like this has the potential to bring the Jennys' music to a much broader audience, and this is not only great for the band, but also great for everyone who will discover this exceptionally talented trio," says Sam Baardman, Executive Director of the Manitoba Audio Recording Industry Assocation (MARIA). "Manitobans should be extremely proud that the Jennys have established such a strong and successful reputation in international markets."

Featuring three established singer/songwriters – Winnipeg’s Mehta and Ruth Moody and new addition Annabelle Chvostek of Montreal – The Wailin’ Jennys released its sophomore effort, Firecracker, on Jericho Beach Music in early June to rave reviews. Recent tours to Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. have solidified the trio as one of the most exciting roots bands on the scene today. Hometown audiences will have a rare chance to catch The Wailin’ Jennys in coming months. The trio will open the Winnipeg Folk Festival, performing on Mainstage on July 6. The Wailin’ Jennys will also perform at the Pantages Playhouse in Winnipeg on September 22.
A Prairie Home Companion, which is heard by more than four million listeners each week on over 580 public radio stations, is the setting for the recently-released Robert Altman film by the same name featuring an all-star cast including Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsey Lohan, and Kevin Kline.

Check local listings for Great Performances on PBS and visit prairiehome.publicradio.org for radio times.

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