John Prine Returns To The Road

The everyman of contemporary folk music, John Prine, embarks on a lengthy tour this month. The road trip starts August 25 when Richard Thompson joins him at Chastain Park in Atlanta. The tour swings through the mid-South, East Coast and central states, making 13 stops, mostly in prestigious theatres. Prine’s Oh Boy! labelmate, singer/songwriter Todd Snider, joins him September 8-22. Fans welcomed Prine’s return to the stage last year; he had been on hiatus for a year and a half while battling cancer. He started touring again in March 1999 and immediately rekindled his career with a string of sold-out shows. Now 53, Prine has been cultivating his craft and his audience for decades. He was a popular figure on the Chicago folk music scene in the ‘60s when he caught the ear of Kris Kristofferson, who helped him get a record deal. Since then, a number of high-profile artists have recorded his songs including the Everly Brothers, Bette Midler, Joan Baez, 10,000 Maniacs, Nanci Griffith, Johnny Cash, and Bonnie Raitt. On his 1999 album, In Spite Of Ourselves, Prine recorded some classic country numbers as duets with female artists such as Patty Loveless, Lucinda Williams, Iris DeMent, and Trisha Yearwood.