John Prine Celebration Show with Illegal Smile (Ireland)

Saturday 15 April, 8pm

Tickets £15 full, £13.50 concession

When John Prine passed as a result of Covid in April 2020 the world was bereft at the loss of a multi-Grammy-award-winner, revered by many as one of the foremost American Country/Folk singer songwriters of our time. The grief felt by fans across the world after John passed was testament to the deep connection he forged with his audience. He was a poet without pretension and spoke for and to ordinary people through songs which deal with the human condition from the cradle to the grave.

Born in 1946 at Maywood, Illinois he started writing songs in the early 1970s. He served in the US Army and was a Mailman for a short time before being offered a job as a singer/songwriter. For five decades John Prine wrote rich, plain-spoken songs that touched millions of people globally. His songs have been covered by luminaries such as Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Griffiths, Johnny Cash and Miranda Lambert. Kris Kristofferson commented of the young Prine “This guy is so good we will probably have to break his thumbs.”

Illegal Smile Ireland are regarded as the foremost aficionados of John’s work in the UK and Europe.

Noted for the absence of mimicry and crass impersonation Illegal Smile reproduce John’s songs with the utmost attention to detail, integrity and sincerity in a way that those who understand the true quality of his work will understand including the classics ‘Sam Stone,’ ‘Hello in There,’ ‘Angel from Montgomery’ and ‘Lake Marie.’

Their debut in Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart comes on the back of incredible shows in Whelan’s and The Grand Social, Dublin, The Guinness Blues Café, Black Box and The Empire Music Hall, Belfast and Kelly’s Complex Portrush.

Find out more on Illegal Smile Ireland: www.illegalsmile.co.uk