John Prine New Zealand Tour Announced

Legendary US songwriter John Prine is heading our way this summer for a special three date tour of Aotearoa in February and March. Celebrated as a trailblazing icon of Americana, Prine's bottomless back catalogue stretches all the way back to 1971 and features works made in collaboration with such significant figures as Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Dan Auerbach, Tom Petty, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Carly Simon, Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones and countless more. The multiple Grammy-winning, critically lauded artist is touring in celebration of his first album in thirteen years The Tree Of Forgiveness, and will be joined for each date by rising Kentucky singer / songwriter Tyler Childers, who unveiled his breakthrough debut album Purgatory last year. Here are the details...

John Prine - The Tree Of Forgiveness Tour w/ Tyler Childers

Wednesday 27th February - Auckland, Bruce Mason Centre
Thursday 28th February - Christchurch, Isaac Theatre Royal
Saturday 2nd March - Wellington, TSB Arena

Presales available from 2.00pm, Tuesday 16th October

Check out footage of John Prine playing a recent NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert...

Watch superb live footage of Tyler Childers playing his song 'Nose On The Grindstone' for an OurVinyl Session...

Press release:

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.

TYLER CHILDERS

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. Says Rolling Stone of tracks such as ‘Whitehouse Road’, Childers’ music sounds like, “A raw look at the darker regions of modern-day Appalachia, where bluegrass is in the soul, but cocaine is in the blood.” 

Touring for the first time in 25 years, these NZ shows from one of America’s greatest talents will be truly unforgettable. Don’t miss John Prine, live in concert this summer!