Now in its third year, You Got Gold, the weeklong celebration of the life and music of John Prine, has grown into a tradition that honors more than the recording career of the late singer-songwriter. Presented by the Prine family and the Hello in There Foundation established in his honor, the perfomances and other Prine-centric events raised around $300,000, earmarked this year for disaster relief to those in Florida and in the Appalachian region devastated by recent hurricanes.
In addition to three ticketed concerts on successive nights at Ryman Auditorium, Basement East, and CMA Theater, the week also included trolley tours to some of Prine favorite Nashville spots, White Castle Happy Hour, Hattie B’s Supper Club, and an opportunity to join the Prine family to serve the city’s hungry at Second Harvest Food Bank.
While the music, with few exceptions, was pure Prine at each concert, the flavor varied. Prine’s own musicians served as house band, led by Jason Wilber on lead guitar, Dave Jacques on bass, Kenneth Blevins on drums, Bryan Owens on percussion, Jen Gunderman on keyboards, and Fats Kaplin on a variety of instruments.
Fiona Whelan Prine opened the Ryman show with a moment of silence for residents of Florida as they prepared for Hurricane Milton, just days after the devastation of Hurricane Helene in the tri-state region of the Appalachians. She introduced Patty Griffin, who opened with “I Remember Everything,” with a simple accompaniment on guitar and arco bass.
Author Silas House, Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, read his poem “John Prine,” composed with a patchwork of Prine’s lyrics. Drew Nix of the Red Clay Strays was joined by his wife Laurie Anne for “I Have Met My Love Today.”
Leon Timbo introduced “Some Humans Ain’t Humans,” telling the audience, “You don’t want this song to be about you.” Throughout the night, the performers included a balance of your artists, many of whom Prine had championed, as well as veteran performers. Singing “I Just Want to Dance with You,” Fancy Hagood confessed, “My imposter syndrome is on fire.”
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, whom Wilber recalls meeting in Norway on tour with Bob Dylan, performed “Souvenirs.” Old Crow Medicine Show performed what they noted was one of Prine’s less familiar songs “Saddle in the Rain.
One treat came when Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, who hinted that she was sometimes called Abby, sang the classic “Dear Abby,” adding their own twist to the final verse, confessing to being caught in the back seat “playing ‘Dueling Banjos’ on guitars.”
During the evening, Celine Thackston, Executive Director of the Hello in There Foundation, shared information about the various projects supported by the foundation. Noting that they have been able to make grants and gifts of almost a million dollars. Fiona Price had earlier announced that an anonymous donor had pledged to match the first $60,000 raised this year for the hurricane relief efforts.
The variety of performers aligned with the big tent called Americana—extended to rock, folk, country, and bluegrass. Sarah Jarosz sang “Long Monday,” and Shawn Colvin introduced her selection “Unwed Fathers,” noting, “It’s hard not to cry when you sing it.”
Following the short intermission, the star power continued. Jody Whelan introduced Amos Lee , who sang “Only Love,” as Oh Boy Records’ biggest online purchaser. Another tender moment came when Rosanne Cash said, “I hope John and Kris [Kristofferson] are having a reunion right now. Before singing “Hello in There,” she pointed out that the song speaks for itself.
When Texan Todd Snider bounced on stage to sing “Onomatopoeia,” he evoked cheers from the crowd. Another delightful surprise of the night was the appearance of Jackson Browne. Noting that this heart was full and that the evening was a birthday present to himself, he recalled that he and Prine released their first albums around the same time. He led into “Summer’s End,” from Prine’s last album, echoing what others had implied throughout the evening: “John went on writing the best songs all the way to the end.”
The Thursday night show at Basement East, despite being almost exclusively a standing-room-only venue, drew the same wide range of concert goers as the other shows, many in town specifically for You Got Gold, many returning for their third year. The lineup featured many rising stars, some residents of East Nashville—Denitia, John R. Miller, Darrin Bradbury, and Kaitlin Butts.
The CMA Theater show on Friday featured Keith Sykes, Prine’s co-writer on the eponymous “You Got Gold,” with which he opened. He also joined Emily Scott Robinsons for a duet on “In Spite of Ourselves.” Veteran performers Maura O’Connell, Buddy Miller, and Bonnie Koluc, perfomed, joining one another on harmonies.
One expected performance came from Billy Ray Cyrus, accompanied on guitar by his son on “I Remember Everything,” one of Prine’s last songs. Steve Poltz added levity to the evening recalling his first introduction to Prine’s music, then meeting his hero when asked to give him a ride from his hotel to the Disney store to buy souvenirs. When Poltz performed “Illegal Smile” he drew laugns when he reproduced the skip on the scratched record he first heart—“Abby Hoffman, Abby Hoffman, Abby Hoffman—”
Miko Marks sang a lively rendition of the old-time standard “Nine-Pound Hammer,” and Amanda Shire, who enjoyed a close relationship with Prine and his family, sang “Clocks and Spoons.” The variety of performers at the Hall also included Elizabeth Cook (“Summer’s End”), the Kentucky Gentlemen (“People Putting People Down”), and Drew Holcomb (“Spanish Pipe Dream”). Country singer Ashley McBryde, appearing genuinely humbled to be included, sang “My Mexican Home.” Kathy Mattea, who has performed in previous You Got Gold concerts, chose “Dreaming My Dreams of You,” which she sang with Prine on his Duets album.
While the Prine family maintained a presence throughout the week, interacting with the fans who came for the music, their presence was particularly evident at the final show, as son Tommy Prine, a singer-songwriter himself, first performed “Please Don’t Bury Me,” one of his favorites, as well as “Ships in the Harbor,” his first single release with allusions to his father.
Each show ended, as did all the You Got Gold concerts in prior years, with the grand finale “Paradise,” with the audience singing along. Whether attending for the first time or coming back year after year for the tribute that still breaks hearts, John Prine fans could not help wishing the man himself could be there himself.