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 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 ǃ