‘Bigger than a night of songs’: The Burl’s John Prine tribute now annual Kentucky rite

The time was late 2021. Music venues were slowly — make that, very slowly — reawakening after an extended purgatory dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, Grayson Jenkins felt there was a need for honoring one of Kentucky’s favorite sons, John Prine — an artist who was among the first high profile COVID casualties.

While the loss was still fresh to many at the time, the profound songwriting legacy Prine fostered, along with the audience enthusiasm that devoutly championed it, held far greater sway. With that, Jenkins gathered some 20 local and regional artists at The Burl, told COVID to scram for the night and let loose with a parade of sterling Prine songs dubbed “An Old Rodeo: A Tribute to the Life and Songs of John Prine.”

Spirits were raised, as were a few dollars for three causes — Prine’s own Hello in There Foundation, the Whitesburg-based Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and Western Kentucky Tornado Relief. The latter was late to the party, as were the storms that ripped through Prine’s beloved Muhlenberg County only weeks earlier.

Great music for important causes. It made for a feeling so affirmative that Jenkins, himself an acclaimed songsmith from Muhlenberg County (specifically, Greenville), staged another Prine show at The Burl in 2023. That was a sell-out, so here we are with 2024 drawing to a close and a third tribute/benefit set for lift-off.

“It’s always been really important to me and the folks at The Burl to highlight Kentucky artists as well as their appreciation for John Prine,” Jenkins said. “I’m from Muhlenberg County and even though I wasn’t into his music as a kid, I found a deep appreciation for it as I got older. I keep thinking about his lyrics and his stories and how relevant all that has been to so many Kentuckians because they can relate it to something their grandfather said or something their dad or mom said or maybe even something their weird uncle said.

“Prine has all those little idioms and turns of phrase that I think are somewhat unique to Kentucky, or at least Appalachia, and the region at large. If you ask any Kentucky roots musician, songwriter or band, even some outside of roots music, they’re going to likely mention John Prine as an influence.”

The first Prine tribute was triggered by loss. The Grammy-winning songwriter died in April 2020, just as COVID was taking hold of the world. Staging any kind of immediate concert tribute, though, was impossible as lockdowns caused by the pandemic shuttered concert halls large and small around the country. Then as the initial Burl concert honoring him was about to unfold nearly two years later, another tragedy intervened that gave an additional purpose to the event.

“Like so many people, there was not a space in time at first to be able to honor John Prine like we felt we should,” Jenkins said. “There were a couple of attempted tributes at The Burl during COVID, but with the lockdowns coming and going, they just never happened. In 2021, I worked with The Burl to really bring this idea to life. That was in December of 2021. As a result, that wound up being right after the Western Kentucky tornado, so we were able to kind of pivot our fundraising efforts. We initially decided to contribute to the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, which we still do. But that year, we were able to split the proceeds with West Kentucky Tornado Relief. So that immediately gave the tribute a life of its own. It became our version of a Prine tribute. It made it bigger than just a night of songs.”

For the record, Prine wasn’t from Muhlenberg County, but his parents were. As a result, he spent many childhood summers there, developing deep ties to the area as a result. Prine chronicled both the beauty of the region, as well as its ecological decimation at the hands of strip miners in one of his most enduring songs, “Paradise.” The tune became part of Prine’s self-titled 1971 debut album, a record that immediately established him one of the preeminent songwriters of his generation.

The artists assembled for this year’s John Prine tribute will — as with the first two tributes — cover songs from throughout his half-century career.

“We typically have a good, healthy mix of solo and acoustic duo acts and then full bands. It’s really for a lot of people coming to the shows that don’t know John Prine that well or maybe just know ‘Angel from Montgomery’ (also from the debut album) or ‘Paradise.’ They get there and then somebody plays ‘Sweet Revenge’ (the 1973 title tune to Prine’s third album) or ‘Picture Show’ (from 1991’s Grammy-winning “The Missing Years”) and they’re like, ‘Man, this is a rock show.’ This year’s list goes across decades. It’s cool to see the folkier stuff and then the kind of Midwestern roots rock of the ’90s on up into his elder years with the last album (2018’s “The Tree of Forgiveness.”)

“When we ask for song submissions, I’m always intrigued about what songs move the artists that are going to be part of it. More often than not, we have more people vying for the deep cuts than for the popular songs. That’s the mark of just how deep some of these artists dig into his music.”

Jenkins shares more than just Muhlenberg County ties to Prine. In 2025, he plans to release a new album of his own that will include songs co-written by longtime Prine collaborator Pat McLaughlin (who penned the brilliant “Summer’s End” with Prine on “The Tree of Forgiveness”) and music by multi-instrumentalist (and longtime Prine band member) Fats Kaplan.

“The older I get, the more I appreciate these little threads of connection I’ve been lucky to have. They’re really special.”

For this weekend, though, Jenkins will ignite another evening of prime Prine songs alongside a hearty Kentucky roster that includes Abby Hamilton, Brother Smith, Buck the Taxidermist, Candi Jenkins, Charlie Overman & Ella Webster, Emily Jamerson, Jacob Young, The Jenkins Twins, Logan Carver, Magnolia Boulevard, The Marble Creek Rangers and Ryan Allen.

The Dec. 27 performance will be prefaced by a screening at the adjacent Burl Brew, 371 Thompson Rd, of “Daddy & Them.” The 2003 movie — written, directed and starring Billy Bob Thornton — features Prine as part of an all-star cast that includes Laura Dern, Ben Affleck, Jamie Lee Curtis and the late Lexington-born actor Jim Varney in one of his final film roles.

“Kentuckians loved John Prine,” Jenkins said. “And I think, with his roots in Muhlenberg County, John Prine had a special place for Kentucky.”

An Old Rodeo: A Tribute to the Life and Songs of John Prine

When: Dec. 27 at 8 p.m.

Where: The Burl, 375 Thompson Rd

Tickets: $20 through theburlky.com

Proceeds will benefit The Hello in There Foundation and The Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center