FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 17, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Tom Hutchison, 615-513-6278 or thutchis@mtsu.edu
Sibling Duo to Compete in Program’s ‘People In (their) Twenties Talent Show’
(MURFREESBORO)—Recent Middle Tennessee State University graduates Rich and Andy Karg have been selected from 500 entries to perform Saturday, April 21, on “A Prairie Home Companion” in the National Public Radio show’s “People In (their) Twenties Talent Show.”
The Nashville duo will compete against five finalists from around the country in a live broadcast heard locally on WPLN 90.3 FM from 5 to 7 p.m. The studio audience and listeners at home will vote during the show, with host Garrison Keillor announcing the winner at the end of the broadcast. At-home listeners can vote online at www.prairiehome.org.
MTSU Recording Industry Professor Tom Hutchison submitted The Karg Boys to the contest.
“They are among the most talented students I’ve ever had,” Hutchison said. “With a retro sound reminiscent of The Everly Brothers, the Kargs are the perfect musical act for ‘A Prairie Home Companion.’ The show’s producers agreed and said how impressed they were with the duo’s talent.”
“These are two boys that epitomize brother-based harmonies,” said music legend Phil Everly, who has collaborated on several of The Karg Boys’ songs. “I love ‘Prairie Home Companion’ and Garrison Keillor, and I told the boys how much they’ll enjoy being with him on the show.”
Currently in its 33rd season, “A Prairie Home Companion” has made the fictional small town of Lake Wobegon part of American popular culture. The show is heard on more than 500 public radio stations nationwide, with a weekly audience that tops 4.3 million listeners.
“I’ve listened to ‘A Prairie Home Companion’ since I was a kid,” said Andy Karg. “It was some of my earliest exposure to Americana music. My father and I saw the show live in Nashville in 2004, and it was so cool. I always thought Rich and I could do something like that.”
Rich Karg, 26, and Andy Karg, 23, have been writing, singing and performing together since 2002, when they were students in the recording industry program at MTSU. Their act has taken them to the 20th Annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas, and the Star of Texas State Fair and Rodeo. In 2004, the pair received first prize in the "Class Act" musical performance competition at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers Convention in San Diego, Calif., where they performed in front of several hundred record label and music industry executives.
In 2005, the Karg Boys signed an exclusive, worldwide publishing/artist development deal with Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville. Since signing with UMPG, Rich and Andy have collaborated with some of Nashville’s top songwriters and producers, including Rivers Rutherford ("Real Good Man"), Don Schlitz ("The Gambler"), Byron Hill ("Nothin’ On But the Radio"), Jess Leary ("Where the Green Grass Grows"), Kostas ("Ain't That Lonely Yet"), Phil Everly ("When Will I Be Loved?"), Big Al Anderson ("Unbelievable") and Paul Kennerly ("Young Love Strong Love").
The brothers’ unique musical style and harmony vocals have been influenced by the Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, Dwight Yoakam, the Mavericks, the Beatles and Coldplay. The brothers credit their father, Nashville songwriter Dick Karg, as influential on their songwriting.
“A Prairie Home Companion” can be heard locally on WPLN 90.3, WTML-FM 91.5 in Tullahoma, and WHRS-FM 91.7 in Cookeville. The live broadcast is also available on satellite radio on Sirius channel 134 and XM channel 133.
MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry in the College of Mass Communication is one of the largest and best equipped in the nation. The Rolling Stone College Guide has called it “one of the preeminent music business programs in the country.”
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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For more information, photos and sound clips, visit http://prairiehome.publicradio.org and www.kargboys.com/home.htm. Thanks!
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