Kate MacKenzie Comes Out of Retirement to Join Hopeful Gospel Quartet Again!

The Hopeful Gospel Quartet which began one day in 1987 in a chance meeting between Garrison Keillor, Robin and Linda Williams and Kate MacKenzie has been a long time favorite with A Prairie Home Companion Radio Show Fans. 

Left to Right: Garrison Keillor, Linda
Williams, Kate MacKenzie, Robin Williams

After MacKenzie’s retirement in 1999, her position was filled first by Mollie O’Brien and then Carol Elizabeth Jones.

The A Prairie Home Companion Cruise is the catalyst for the reunion of the four original members of the group.  On July 9, the 2011 Prairie Home Cruise sets sail from Boston, heading up the coast to Maine and Nova Scotia, through the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and on to Montreal, Quebec.

According to Robin Williams, “It'll be a little more
special this year because Kate MacKenzie, our original partner in the Hopeful Gospel Quartet is coming out of retirement and we'll be singing with her for the the first time since 1999.”