John Prine – Performance at the House of Strombo

A while back, I stumbled across this video on YouTube.

I’d never heard of ‘Strombo’ (aka George Stroumboulopoulos), but I was, and am, a fan of John Prine. I was introduced to Prine’s music over a half century ago. His musical simplicity combined with his humble yet insightful (and often scathing) lyrical wit captured me, then and now.

I admit I have not followed him closely through through the years, and much of his repertoire has passed me by. But just about every ‘new’ song I hear bears his magic. 

This set was performed in Strombo’s house in front of an intimate and appreciative audience. Among those in attendance was Gordon Lightfoot. It is clear that both artists respected each other, in a profound way.

I am not sure when this was recorded, but the year of posting on YT was four years ago, which would put it somewhere around 2019. John had just recently recorded his then-new (and I believe final) album, “The Tree of Forgiveness,” from which there are two songs in this set list (“Summer’s End” and “When I Get to Heaven”).

The original YT posting can be found here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Rkm_dqm7A

If you enjoy Prine’s music, I’d suggest to follow the above link and read some of the very heart-felt comments below the video.