There are not many performers working at 83 who can credibly claim they are in the happiest period of their careers. Garrison Keillor makes that claim, and based on what audiences have reported from recent performances — singalongs breaking out in concert halls, the particular warmth of a room full of people who grew up with A Prairie Home Companion on Saturday afternoons — it is not empty talk. This fall, Keillor brings his evening of storytelling, comedy, and communal singing to the Event Gallery at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY. The show, originally set for April, has been rescheduled to Thursday, September 17, 2026, with doors at 7:00 PM and curtain at 8:00 PM.
About Garrison Keillor
For forty years — 1974 to 2016 — Garrison Keillor presided over A Prairie Home Companion, the live variety radio program that made his voice one of the most recognized in American broadcasting. The fictional town of Lake Wobegon became shorthand for a particular strain of Midwestern humility and wry observation that was entirely his own. Now 83 and based in New York, Keillor has reinvented himself as a touring stand-up comedian — improbable or inevitable depending on how you think about it. The current show, “Garrison Keillor Tonight,” is built around what he calls “the beauty of growing old,” and features Lake Wobegon dispatches, original limericks, audience singalongs, and storytelling, with longtime musical director and pianist Richard Dworsky at the keys throughout. His most recent book, Brisk Verse, is his 31st; his memoir Cheerfulness covers the same terrain the live show explores — aging with grace, finding humor in the late innings. Reviewers have noted the shows carry something genuinely rare: “intimacy only radio can achieve.” That kind of warmth does not happen by accident at 83.
About the Venue
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts sits on the grounds of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, roughly 90 miles from New York City in the Hudson Valley. Operating as a nonprofit cultural institution since 2006 and celebrating its 20th year in 2026, Bethel Woods encompasses multiple performance spaces, a museum dedicated to the 1960s era, arts studios, and a seasonal campground. This particular evening takes place in the Event Gallery — the venue’s intimate indoor room, a notably different proposition from the 16,000-capacity Pavilion amphitheater that anchors the summer season. For a performer whose best work has always traded on proximity and shared experience, that distinction matters. A pre-show dinner is available in the Museum, prepared by Executive Chef Joel Trocino, for those inclined to make a full evening of it.
Tickets & Pricing
Tickets are priced from $59.00 to $99.00, inclusive of taxes and fees, and are on sale now. Purchase tickets for Garrison Keillor at Bethel Woods, September 17, 2026.