The full episode of Austin City Limits featuring John Prine from 2018 is available to watch for free on the PBS website. The video’s arrival comes as tributes continue to pour in for the late Americana singer-songwriter who died last week of COVID-19 at age 73.
The episode originally aired on October 13th, 2018, and comes from when Prine was promoting his new record, Tree of Forgiveness. Last month, PBS shared a collection of recent Austin City Limits episodes to help viewers through quarantine, among them Willie Nelson, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Gary Clark Jr., and many more, including Prine.
Related: Jason Isbell Pens Touching Remembrance Of John Prine For ‘The New York Times’
The episode begins with a walk through the lead track from Tree of Forgiveness, “Knockin’ on Your Screen Door”. Prine’s set focuses heavily on the then-new album, but also features fan-favorites like “Illegal Smile” and “Please Don’t Bury Me”. The cuts from Tree of Forgiveness showed that Prine (who turned 72 just three days before this episode aired) had no intention of slowing down and phoning it in. With songs like “Summer’s End”, which Prine wrote in response to the opioid epidemic that continues to ravage this country, he showed that his songwriting prowess stretches beyond his unmatched humor and that he can continue to connect on an emotional level after all these years.
Watch the entire 2018 performance below.
Austin City Limits – John Prine
Head over to PBS to check out the entire collection of Austin City Limits episodes available for free.