John Prine’s music is coming home this week as Chicago and Maywood celebrate what would have been his 80th birthday with concerts, film screenings, conversations and community gatherings through October 11.
The Prine family and the Hello In There Foundation are bringing the celebration to places connected to the songwriter’s beginnings, including the Old Town School of Folk Music and his hometown of Maywood. Fiona Prine, the foundation’s founder and president, is playing a central role in organizing the week and continuing her husband’s legacy through charitable giving.
For Chicago’s film community, the celebration also offers a chance to see How Lucky Can One Man Get?, produced and edited by award winning documentarian John Anderson and directed by Jim Shea. The film combines performances from Prine’s 2010 benefit concerts at Proviso East High School with stories about the family, friendships and community that shaped his early life.
Anderson’s connection to Prine began with another Chicago songwriter, Steve Goodman.
As a college freshman in April 1973, Anderson recorded Goodman performing at The Earl of Old Town. Their shared hope of getting that recording released became a lasting bond. Goodman introduced him to Prine and manager Al Bunetta in the late 1970s.
“In lieu of having to remember my name, Steve called me Headphones,” Anderson told Reel Chicago.
The recording eventually reached listeners in 2013 through Goodman’s Red Pajamas label. In the meantime, Anderson filmed the Old Town School’s 40th anniversary concert at Medinah Temple in 1997. The Goodman tribute featured Prine, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Arlo Guthrie, Todd Snider and Iris DeMent. It was released on DVD in 2007 as Larger Than Life.
The idea for a Prine film resurfaced during an encounter with Bunetta on a Los Angeles rental car shuttle during the 2006 Grammy Awards. Anderson was nominated for Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE. Prine was nominated for Fair & Square, which won.
When Bunetta asked when they would make a John Prine film, Anderson’s answer was simple: “How about tomorrow?”
Four more years passed before Prine’s benefit concerts at his high school alma mater provided the starting point.
“We shot around Chicago, mostly near John’s home of Maywood, and used all Chicago crews, other than some studio footage shot in Nashville,” Anderson said. “The film is about John’s life up until the release of his first album, focusing on the love and the music of his family and friends.”
The sold out concerts benefited the Maywood Fine Arts Association. Anderson stresses that Prine participated in the project himself.
“The important thing for people to know is that John collaborated on this film ten years before he died, it was not made posthumously,” Anderson said.
Anderson’s music filmmaking credits include Horn From the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story, which won an editing award at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival, and Born in Chicago, which he co-directed with Bob Sarles. He received a 2026 Keeping the Blues Alive Award from The Blues Foundation for his Chicago blues documentaries. According to Anderson, the Prine film is being previewed ahead of an anticipated 2027 release.
Music, memories and giving back
Fiona Prine and the Hello In There Foundation are connecting the celebration to the community support that was part of Prine’s life.
Proceeds from Souvenirs: 80 Years of John Prine, the October 8 tribute concert at the Chicago Theatre, benefit the foundation’s ongoing grantmaking. Hosted by John C. Reilly, the sold out concert brings together artists performing Prine’s songs, backed by his longtime live band.
The foundation’s work supports organizations addressing food insecurity, housing, health, addiction recovery and other community needs. Its 2024 grants included support for MusiCares, music education and Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in Western North Carolina.
Where to join the celebration
Thursday, October 8: An Oh Boy Records pop up shop runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Avenue. Anderson and Fiona Prine follow with The Making of “How Lucky Can One Man Get?”from 1 to 2:30 p.m., featuring performance and interview outtakes and a discussion of Prine’s connections to the school and Chicago’s folk community. Tickets and information. The Chicago Theatre tribute begins at 7:30 p.m. and is sold out.
Friday, October 9: John Prine’s Chicago takes place at the Chicago History Museum from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and is sold out. The Gene Siskel Film Center presents How Lucky Can One Man Get? at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Anderson and Fiona Prine will participate in a Q&A following the sold out 6 p.m. screening. The Film Center will open a waitlist 30 minutes before that event. Screening tickets and information.
Saturday, October 10: John Prine’s birthday celebration at the Old Town School includes a songwriting program beginning at 10:30 a.m., a noon dedication of Jon Langford’s Prine mural and an afternoon singalong. The ticketed daytime celebration and the 6 p.m. musical tribute at Martyrs’ are sold out. The school offers an email notification list for tickets that become available. Details.
Sunday, October 11: Maywood hosts a celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The trolley tours are sold out, but organizers say the gathering otherwise remains free and open to the public, with self-guided walking tours and a supply drive supporting Housing Forward. Warm coats, boots and winter accessories are welcome. The weekend closes with a gathering at Hattie B’s in Wrigleyville, 3649 N. Clark Street, from 3 to 7 p.m.
The week opened October 7 with a Gman Tavern kickoff, The Literary Heart of John Prine at Metro and a Siskel screening. Remaining event information is available on John Prine’s official calendar.
From a Chicago crew’s film to a Maywood neighborhood gathering, the celebration returns to the people and places that helped give Prine’s songs their voice.
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