80 Years of John Prine Celebrated in Chicago

Editor’s Note: This story and photos are a contribution by Pariss Brown of Double S Photography. You can follow Double S Photography on Instagram and TikTok.

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Growing up in Alabama, John Prine was akin to banana pudding. You could bet on it being at family gatherings. It was by no means everyone’s favorite, but it has some die hard fans and if you didn’t know what banana pudding was, it would likely strike someone as odd. Sometimes the only people in the room that like it are old. It has a sort of casual reverence to it. It’s seen funerals and wakes, schools and hospital cafeterias alike. The recipe was was first published in Illinois before making its way down and becoming a particularly southern essential. Its influence transcends genres and party lines, race and age. It’s both simple and comprehensive. For a lot of people, it feels like home.

John Prine was born October 10, 1946. This year he would have turned 80 years old, and the Prine Family and Hello in There Foundation decided to do something special: bring the celebration back to John’s original home in Chicago. Hosted at the beautiful Chicago Theatre, the event felt both grand and comforting as friends and fans poured in for the sold out show to celebrate the life and legacy of beloved John Prine.

The night included an incredible lineup of old friends and artists from Prine’s record label Oh Boy Records. John C. Reilly, who presented Prine with the Album of The Year at the Americana Honors in 2019, returned to host the show. He was funny and sincere, with the kind of jokes that came out of the side of his mouth that would have made John smile. Behind him sat John’s original band: Jason Wilber, Dave Jacques, Kenneth Blevins, Fats Kaplin, and Arlen Roth.

The first musician on the bill was Alynda Segarra, lead singer and founder of Hooray for the Riff Raff. “I Remember Everything.” It won the 2021 Americana Music Association Song of the Year and a Grammy for Best American Roots Song. Segarra was a wonderful choice to deliver this simple tune that was the last song John recorded before his death in 2020.

Next on stage was Jon Langford with “How Lucky Can One Man Get?” Jon is a musician and visual artist who designed the mural of John Prine on the side of the Old Town School of Folk Music that includes lyrics from the song he performed. John Prine brought out the best of the talent in everyone—not just musicians. Langford was followed by Andrew Sa—an Old Town School of Folk Music alum and talented independent country crooner. He performed “Bad Boy,” which is a lonesome tune from Prine’s German Afternoons album.

Sa’s stage presence was captivating, and he seemed genuinely at ease in Prine’s shadow. The next song brought the silliness back into the lineup, with Noeline Hofmann performing “That’s The Way the World Goes Round.” Her voice has a sing-songy twangy tone that comes from her upbringing in rural Alberta. You may recognize her from her song “Purple Gas” that Zach Bryan recorded on his The Great American Bar Scene album. She did not perform the Happy Enchilada version (iykyk), but it was great nonetheless.

Mr. Reilly then introduced Jordan Davis to the stage. Davis has seen some success in the country music scene and gives all the credit to the influence of John Prine. Davis’s 2021 EP Buy Dirt has an opening track called “Blow Up Your TV,” a line from “Spanish Pipedream.” His pride at being on stage was palpable, and I’m sure John was tickled pink with his cover of “Clay Pigeons.”

The next three figures lined up side by side on stage: Soraya Sullivan on guitar, Luciya Sullivan on banjo, and Jonas Friddle joining them on banjo. Three of Chicago’s gems in the independent music scene, they embodied the Americana spirit that John brought into his music. They performed the namesake of the show: “Souvenirs.” One of the coolest parts of the night and what made it so genuine was the excitement and pride all the musicians seemed to share.

The three were in perfect harmony and delivered a wonderful retelling of one of John’s oldest songs. Next Briscoe performed “Storm Windows.” So many artist that cited Prine as the reason they pursued music. A shining performance of the night was Kathleen Edward’s “When I Get To Heaven.” She opened for John on tour in 2005 and 2006 and his spirit shines brightly through her. It felt like he was somewhere just out of sight while she sang.

Prine wrote “Hello in There” as a mail carrier in Chicago about shut-ins he saw on his mail route. It’s cited as an early example of how Prine saw everyone, and didn’t just see them but valued them and wanted others to as well. The Cactus Blossoms, a smooth-toned duo from Minnesota, harmonized to deliver the famous “hello in thereeeeeeee, hello” signature chorus line.

The night went on with artists John toured with, artists he inspired, and people that loved him singing the songs he spent his life writing. Arlo McKinley performed “The Late John Garfield Blues,” Ratboys performed “Quiet Man,” Hayes Carll played “Speed of the Sound of Lonliness.” Artist after artist told how Mr. Prine had led them, influenced them, and created a home for them in music.

Emily Scott Robinson brought a staggeringly poignant cover of “Unwed Fathers” to the stage and it was one of the favored performances of the night. John spent so much of his songwriting just looking for people to see. Josh Ritter shared the stage with John Prine and made it on his 2010 live album In Person & On Stage. He returned to the stage at Chicago Theatre to cover the same song: “Mexican Home.” He sang it just like John did. It was fantastic.

There was a break in the music lineup to introduce Mayor Brandon Johnson, the mayor of Chicago. He was joined on stage by John’s wife Fiona and the Executive Director of The Hello in There Foundation, Celine Thackston. He spoke about John’s lasting imprint on the city and shared that because of it, October 10 would from now on be John Prine Day for Chicagoans. It was a touching dedication from the city who helped build the musician we all came to love. John loved Chicago and Chicago made sure to show they love John back.

Shemekia Copeland got us back into the last leg of the show with “Great Rain,” a song she recorded in 2018 backed by John Prine for her album America’s Child. Amos Lee, a longtime friend and collaborator with Prine as well as a household name in his own right, sang his well-loved cover of “Christmas in Prison.” Valerie June, who radiated joy and magic so palpable I knew exactly why she had been one of Prine’s tour openers, performed “Angel From Montgomery.” She interacted so flawlessly with the band, you could tell they had remained friends throughout the years.

John C. Reilly took a break from being the night’s host to perform a song. Best known for being an actor, Reilly released his first album What’s Not To Love? in 2025 in his 60’s. I think he embodies such a certain spirit of John’s—one that says it’s never too late to try something new. He performed “Jesus The Missing Years,” which is probably one of Prine’s lesser-known ballads about Jesus finding himself. A fitting tune for Mr. Reilly.

The artist lineup stacked up very quickly after this performance, which was wild considering the lineup stack we had already witnessed. The audience erupted when Steve Earle stepped onstage wearing his “Grand Ole Opry” guitar strap to perform “Sam Stone.” Earle and Prine shared a deep mutual respect for each other’s music that eventually developed into a life-long friendship.

“Sam Stone” is a heartbreaking song about addiction—another group of people Prine refused to look away from and now supports through the Hello in There Foundation. Next, Margo Price walked out with Nathaniel Rateliff. These two both have their own incredible stage presence but them together singing “In Spite of Ourselves” was dazzling. The original is a duet performed by Prine and Iris Dement and is one of Prine’s most beloved songs. Price exited once the song finished so Rateliff could deliver a funky performance of “Pretty Good” that had the crowd grooving.

That should have been the end of the artist covers, but John C. Reilly announced there had been a last-minute addition to the lineup and introduced none-other than Jeff Tweedy. Considered by many as the founder of the alternative country genre, the crowd couldn’t contain their excitement as they stood to applaud. He started the song by saying “Because my dad always told me to come on home” which was also the exact moment someone started cutting onions at stage left. It was a touching tribute to John and you can read Jeff’s Substack about the show and listen to the performance here.

I was overcome with emotion as every artist who had performed that night, backed by John’s band and joined by his entire family, sang “Paradise.”  It was miraculous, it was comforting, it was heaven, it was home, it was both something I would never see again and something I had witnessed my whole life-people brought together by the magic that is John Prine.

Happy 80^th Birthday Mr. Prine, we miss you.

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