John Prine set for NZ & Australia tour

October 10, 2018 Guest User

One of the USA’s most remarkable songwriters: two time Grammy winner and master storyteller John Prine, is set to tour New Zealand and Australia in 2019. Prine was recently named Artist of the Year at the 17th annual Americana Honors & Awards, held at Nashville’s famous Ryman Auditorium

The legendary Prine – long considered a “songwriter’s songwriter” – will perform six intimate theatre dates with his full band in Australia and New Zealand in February/March 2018, his first shows in both countries since 1993!

For this special tour, Frontier Touring has teamed up for the very first time with Americana lovers Love Police, responsible for bringing some of the biggest names of the genre down under for two decades now.

The list of performers who’ve recorded from Prine’s extensive catalogue, or appeared alongside him on his many albums, reads like a who’s who of the greats: Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Iris Dement, Dan Auerbach, Tom Petty, the Everly Brothers, John Denver, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Carly Simon, Ben Harper, Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones, Bette Midler, and more.

From the release of his eponymous, ground-breaking debut in 1971, for over 40 years now Prine has forged a path through the American musical landscape, with his heartfelt narratives and expressive voice. In April 2018 the 71-year-old icon released his first new original songs in 13 years: the critically acclaimed The Tree Of Forgiveness (Oh Boy Records/Cooking Vinyl). The album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Folk Albums chart, #2 on Top Country, and #5 on the overall Billboard 200 – the highest chart positions of Prine’s career.

Born in 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, Prine was raised in the Midwest. His songs are filled with the tales of blue collar suburbs, where country music, the Grand ‘Ol Opry, good Southern cooking, and annual visits ‘home’ to Kentucky were as naturally part of his family’s lives as Chicago hot dogs and baseball. Long before the awards and accolades, the concerts and many albums, Prine trudged through snow in the cold Chicago winters, delivering mail across his childhood suburb. “I always likened the mail route to a library with no books,” he recalls. “I passed the time each day making up these little ditties.”

Those “ditties” led to countless awards and accolades. Just a few Prine has received in recent times include his 2003 induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting, and being honoured at the Library of Congress by US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser. For many, Prine has become not just a well-loved and appreciated songwriter, but a bonafide American treasure.

Having fought cancer battles twice (he underwent surgeries in 1996 and 2013), John Prine currently lives in Nashville, TN with his wife, Fiona, and enjoys spending time with their three sons, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren.

Joining John as special guest at all shows is Kentucky singer/songwriter Tyler Childers, who released his breakout debut Purgatory in 2017 and recently played Chicago’s Lollapalooza festival and supported Jack White in Minneapolis. Steeped in the sounds of the Appalachian South, Childers’ debut is bluegrass-infused, semi-autobiographical tracks co-produced by Grammy winners Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson.

JOHN PRINE AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND TOUR FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

Wednesday 27 February: Bruce Mason Centre | Auckland, NZ

Ticketmaster.co.nz| 0800 111 999

Thursday 28 February: Isaac Theatre Royal | Christchurch, NZ

Ticketek.co.nz| 0800 842 534

Saturday 2 March: TSB Arena | Wellington, NZ

Ticketmaster.co.nz| 0800 111 999

Tuesday 5 March: The Tivoli | Brisbane, QLD

Ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100

Thursday 7 March: Palais Theatre | Melbourne, VIC

Ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100

Saturday 9 March: State Theatre | Sydney, NSW