SLCene Suggests: John Prine at Red Butte Garden

JOHN PRINE, RED BUTTE GARDEN, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m., $50

I was way late to the game on John Prine, only discovering him during his post-throat cancer comeback when I was covering music for The Salt Lake Tribune. That was back around 1999, when Prine put out the excellent In Spite of Ourselves, a set of duets that led me to delve deeper into his vast catalog of excellent songs. It didn’t take long to figure out why Prine is considered a favorite among his fellow songwriters, or why the likes of Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Ben Harper and a who’s who of artists have tried their luck covering his songs through the years. Even so, nothing sounds quite so good as the real thing, and Prine is a fine live performer, whether strumming guitar and playing solo or backed by a spartan rootsy band. His most recent release, The Singing Mailman Delivers, is a two-disc oldies package, so I’m assuming we can expect a night full of old favorites like Angel From Montgomery and Souvenirs when Prine headlines Red Butte Garden Tuesday night.  Johnnyswim opens the show.