Now in his second show as host of A Prairie Home Companion, Chris Thile continues to make the long-running and much-loved radio program very much his own. The October 22 edition of Prairie Home featured the outstanding house band, the First Call Radio Players, along with singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, Denver soulsters Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, and writer/comedian John Hodgman.

Sticking true to his promise of a new original song each week of the show, Thile rolled out a new tune, "Dates" — a song to celebrate the romantic side of autumn.

Sarah Jarosz, a member of the house band, performed a version of her original song, "Green Lights," from her most recent album Undercurrent.

And Thile rolled out the Punch Brothers' tune, "I Blew It Off," collaborating on the performance with the First Call Radio Players.

Rock the Garden alumni and headliners of The Current's upcoming holiday show at First Avenue, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, brought their signature style to Prairie Home with performances of "Wasting Time" (video below) and "I've Been Failing You" from their self-titled debut album, while later rolling out their new song, "Out on the Weekend." And when the show went off air, Rateliff and company regaled the all-standing Fitzgerald Theater audience with a cover of The Band's "Ophelia."

New England singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell performed "Now You Know," from her 2014 album, Xoa, "Clyde Waters" from her 2013 release Child Ballads, and she brought some world music to the stage and the airwaves with an Arabic lullaby, "El Helwa Di." Thile joined Mitchell for a performance of Mitchell's song, "Why We Build the Wall," from her 2010 concept album Hadestown.

Not to be outdone, John Hodgman wrapped up a lively comedic story with an earnest solo ukulele cover of The Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner," encouraging a sing-along with an enthusiastically obliging Fitzgerald audience and eliciting a lot of love from listeners tuning in in Massachusetts (the music portion begins at 6:27 in the video).

Musical surprises from the evening included Chris Thile's mandolin versions of the John Williams' cantina music from Star Wars and Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back. And a new segment of the show, tentatively titled "Stump the Band," resulted in Thile and the First Call Radio Players performing a requested cover of Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters," the theme song from the film of the same name.

Tune in or stream The Current on Sunday at 10 p.m. Central to hear the encore presentation of A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile. The show will also air on Radio Heartland on Wednesday, Oct. 26, a 7 p.m. CDT.

Resource

A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile - official site