Ole Miss Welcomes Garrison Keillor February 15th | Events

Minnesota's favorite son will thaw out in the Magnolia State for a couple days in mid-February. Garrison Keillor, host of Minnesota Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion, will escape the Gopher State's usual February arctic air masses and roll South to give a lecture at Ole Miss. Keillor will serve as Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College spring convocation speaker at the University of Mississippi. At some point in his address, Keillor apparently will break into song as he's bringing along his favorite piano player, Richard Dworsky and singer Heather Masse. The world's most famous English major will speak and presumably sing at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30pm on February 15th. The lecture is free and open to the public but you must have a ticket for admission. You can obtain a ticket at the UM Box Office in the Student Union which is open 10am to 4pm. The next night, February 16th,  the author, humorist and radio raconteur will travel deeper into Mississippi to appear in concert at the MSU Riley Center in Meridian. Appearing with Keillor will be Dworsky, leader of The Guys All Star Shoe Band, and music director-pianist for A Prairie Home Companion for the last 17 years.  Keillor's vocals will be accompanied by Heather Masse, a New York singer-songwriter, who performs solo and as a member of the folk supergroup, The Walin' Jennys. You can get your hands on tickets (you have to pay for this one! $64 or $58) at www.msurileycenter.com, by calling (601) 696-2200 or by visiting the box office between 9am and 5pm at 2200 Fifth Street in Meridian. Keillor may be the greatest genius working in American broadcasting today. His original radio program, A Prairie Home Companion, airs on 600 public radio stations. It appears each Saturday from 5pm to 7pm on WKNO/ Memphis 91.1 FM (Rebroadcast Sundays, 12pm to 2pm). The show features an incredible mix of talented musicians, actors and special guests who create the most original program in American broadcasting each week.