John Prine Announces First Album of New Songs in 13 Years, Shares “Summer’s End”

Legendary country singer-songwriter John Prine announced today that he will be releasing his first album of new material in 13 years, Tree of Forgiveness, via his own record company Oh Boy Records on April 13. Recorded at Nashville, Tenn.’s historic RCA Studio A, the 10-track album features new songs written by Prine along with his team of co-writers, Pat McLaughlin, Roger Cook, Dan Auerbach, Keith Sykes and Phil Spector.

Fans can except from the new album an arrangement of different instruments, with Prine’s soft-spoken vocals resonating over his acoustic guitar. Grammy Award-winning producer for the album Dave Cobb is said to have supported the album musically as well, playing not only the acoustic guitar but also the mellotron, claps and kazoo. Along with Prine’s longtime band, the new album also features special guests Brandi Carlile doing the harmony vocals for select tracks, Jason Isbell on electric and slide guitar, and Amanda Shires accompanying with fiddle and background vocals.

“Summer’s End” is the first single off the album. The lyric video released today, directed and edited by Joshua Britt and Nielson Hubbard, showcases the album’s beautifully simplistic writing that reads like poetry, relying mostly on end rhyme to tie in the artist’s message of longing to return to a place where he can feel at home. 50 years into his long-standing career, two-time Grammy winner Prine is still coming out with remarkably heartfelt music.

In celebration of his forthcoming album, Prine will be embarking on an extensive world tour, starting April 11 in Woodstock, N.Y. Each concert ticket buyer will also receive a copy of the album upon its release. Apart from his forthcoming album, the musician is also celebrating winning both an “Artist of the Year” award at the Americana Music Honors & Awards and a Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy for his “Chicago Voices” performance with Renee Fleming in 2017.

While The Tree of Forgiveness won’t come out until April 13, preorders for the album are available here. Watch the lyric video for “Summer’s End” below, then listen to Prine play “Souveniers” in 1973 from the Paste Cloud. You can find the artist’s tour dates beneath The Tree of Forgiveness album cover and tracklist below. You can also watch Prine perform alongside Roger Waters, Justin Vernon, Jim James and Margo Price at the 2017 Newport Folk Festival right here.

The Tree of Forgiveness Album Art:

The Tree of Forgiveness Tracklist:
01. “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door” (by John Prine and Pat McLaughlin)
02. “I Have Met My Love Today” ft. Brandi Carlile (by John Prine and Roger Cook)
03. “Egg & Daughter Nite, Lincoln Nebraska, 1967 (Crazy Bone)” (by John Prine and Pat McLaughlin)
04. “Summer’s End” (written by John Prine and Pat McLaughlin)
05. “Caravan of Fools” (by John Prine, Dan Auerbach, and Pat McLaughlin)
06. “The Lonesome Friends of Science” (by John Prine)
07. “No Ordinary Blue” (by John Prine and Keith Sykes)
08. “Boundless Love” (by John Prine, Dan Auerbach, and Pat McLaughlin)
09. “God Only Knows” (by John Prine and Phil Spector)
10. “When I Get to Heaven” (by John Prine)