Friends and Family Say Farewell in Song to John Prine

John Prine's death in April from complications of COVID-19 left a wide swath of music communities reeling. The songwriter's songwriter, who was 73, was beloved by artists young and old for his preternatural ability to capture lived experience in song. For this, and for his well-documented kindness and wicked sense of humor, he counted such luminaries as Bonnie Raitt, Jason Isbell, Vince Gill and Margo Price and Price's husband Jeremy Ivey among his many fans, friends and collaborators.

On Thursday night, Picture Show: A Tribute Celebrating John Prine premiered as a stream on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch. The two-hour concert film included performances from the above-mentioned artists as well as Kacey Musgraves, Eric Church, Brandi Carlile, Jim James, Sturgill Simpson and many others, including Prine's sons Jack and Tommy Prine and his widow Fiona Whelan Prine. Each offered memories, and in the case of the players, heartfelt renditions of their favorite tunes from the remarkable catalog of songs Prine wrote over the past five decades.

Picking a highlight among the highlights is damned near impossible. Isbell and Amanda Shires performing the quiet anthem to empathy “Hello in There” from the stage of the empty Ryman was exceptionally poignant. So were the performances featuring Prine's band — guitarist Jason Wilber, multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin, bassist Dave Jacques and drummer Kenneth Blevins. So was the archival footage of Prine himself, performing “Grandpa Was a Carpenter” with his brothers Dave, Billy and Doug on the steps of the church where their grandparents brought them as children.

"It's hard to talk about John being gone because his music is so present," said host John Dickerson. "He takes up residence in your head. You feel like you know him. Or more to the point, he knows you. So tonight we are celebrating that part of what John Prine left all of us, which is still very much with all of us."

Donations made during the premiere are set to benefit three nonprofit organizations, which you can still support: Make the Road New York, Alive Hospice and National Alliance on Mental Illness. If you missed the stream, you can catch it here through June 14.

Following the stream, Prine's family released an official video for "I Remember Everything," the final song Prine recorded before his death. Prine wrote the tune with longtime collaborator Pat McLaughlin; producer Dave Cobb recorded it in Prine's living room. The bittersweet tune seems to take stock of Prine's remarkable life, as he sings: “I’ve been down this road before / Alone as I can be / Careful not to let my past / Go sneaking up on me / Got no future in my happiness / Though regrets are very few / Sometimes a little tenderness / Was the best that I could do.”

It's a fitting farewell from a man whose songs will always be there to help us understand something more about our own milestones. See the video below and stream or buy the single via this handy link.