Music lovers are invited to celebrate the songs of John Prine with a very special LiveStream Tribute concert produced by The State Theatre of Ithaca and DSP Shows. The free, online event will feature performances by a dozen different artists and will stream at 7:00 PM on Tuesday May 5th simultaneously on The State Theatre of Ithaca’s Facebook page as well as their YouTube channel. The show coincides with “GivingTuesdayNow”, an International Day of Global Action for giving and unity in response to COVID-19.
A beloved singer-songwriter in the country folk and American roots genres, John Prine was one of music’s most treasured storytellers for over five decades. From his roots as a mailman in Maywood, Illinois, to becoming an eleven-time nominated and two-time Grammy award winner, he never lost touch with the common man. John Prine lost his life to complications from COVID-19 on April 7.
Tuesday’s concert will feature cover performances from some of John Prine's many admirers.
Ithaca –based musicians scheduled to play include Johnny Dowd, Maddy Walsh & Mike Suave, Sim Redmond, Joe Crookston, Ted Walsh and Francesco Raponi. As a venue that hosts over 85 performances a year, The State Theatre, with assistance from DSP Shows, has also lined up nationally-known artists such as Rhett Miller (Old 97s), Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show), Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Erin Rae, and Hiss Golden Messenger.
Dan Smalls, President and founder of DSP Shows, states “Promoters like DSP Shows and venues like The State Theatre of Ithaca were the first to close and will be the last to re-open. As we wait this out, it has been hard to just be rescheduling shows we are not sure will even happen on the rescheduled dates because no one really knows how this all ends. So having this project to work on has been a welcome chance to feel some level of accomplishment during this rough patch. We will survive this and come out stronger on the other side. After all, life is about coming together and what better way than through live entertainment.”
State Theatre of Ithaca Inc. is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that, in addition to ticket sales, also relies on annual contributions from the community to continue operations. Executive Director Doug Levine explains, “With shows canceled from mid-March through the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, The State Theatre has also lost all additional revenue generated from concessions/bar sales, ticket sales, and sponsorships. Our 10th Annual “Benefit My State” fundraising concert was originally slated to take place at the end of this week. Like so many businesses throughout the country and the world, we have had to furlough employees, cut costs, and find new ways to stay afloat during this difficult and unprecedented time.”
Levine continues, “We were thrilled to host John Prine at The State Theatre two times over the past decade. All of us were deeply saddened when we learned of his passing. We’d love to do something to celebrate his life and music at The Theatre, but can’t right now for obvious reasons. We decided to use our resources and assemble an online Tribute Concert for Mr. Prine and his music. We hope people get some joy out of it during this difficult time. “GivingTuesdayNow” is a day that encourages the world to all come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give back. Hopefully, some folks will decide to give a little back to the theatre as well.”
The John Prine Tribute show will be streaming live for FREE on the State Theatre of Ithaca’s Facebook page as well as their YouTube channel starting at 7:00 PM EST and running until approximately 8:30 PM EST.
