Fiona Whelan Prine Appointed to U.S. Arts Council 

President Joe Biden’s latest round of nominations to various ambassadorships and other prominent positions included a familiar name to Cream readers: Fiona Whelan Prine, the president of Nashville’s Oh Boy Records and the widow of beloved songwriter and performer John Prine. Biden appointed Prine to a seat on the National Council on the Arts, which advises the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts on arts grants and other programs of the federal arts organization. 

John Prine died after a bout with COVID-19 in the early weeks of the pandemic. The couple met when Fiona Whelan Prine was working at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, and she eventually moved to Nashville. She is an active philanthropist, including on behalf of Thistle Farms and the Hello in There Foundation.

Other nominees to the National Council on the Arts include acclaimed ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro and director and producer Kamilah Forbes.