Sara Watkins is no stranger to the beloved Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. She has appeared as a guest performer on the show several times and joined Keillor and cast on the 25-city Summer Love tour of the United States last year. But this weekend, Watkins takes this to a new level when she embarks on a historic first for both her and the show: she will be the first-ever guest host of A Prairie Home Companion. Keillor will be a guest on the show, which will feature the usual cast of characters, along with special guest musicians Abigail Washburn and Tom Brosseau.

"I've never gotten to see the show myself; I've always been standing in the wings and thinking about what I'm supposed to do next," Keillor writes on the show's site, prairiehome.org. "For once in my life, I want to stand in the back of the hall and watch for a few minutes. And Sara is a smart and funny and hugely gifted young woman. And the Shoe Band and the Royal Academy of Radio Acting will be there, so she'll have all the support she needs. It'll be fun. And at long last, one person in the world will understand WHAT I GO THROUGH WEEK AFTER WEEK. (Just kidding.)"

Sara Watkins spoke with NPR's All Things Considered host Tom Crann last weekend about the Summer Love tour and about this weekend's hosting gig, which she describes as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

A Prairie Home Companion will be broadcast live from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on NPR stations across the US Saturday at 5 PM CST and will be webcast live at prairiehome.org.

Watkins will join The Decemberists for an extensive tour of the US and UK starting with three shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York later this month. For details, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.