Legends coming to Donegal, Part I

The term legend is painfully overused in music today, so much so that the term has become somewhat devalued with every two bit auto-tuned karaoke wannabe overhyped to a ridiculous degree.

Glad I got that off my chest. Lately I’m finding Grumpy old Man syndrome starting to take more and more of a hold on me. Excuse me while I just go out to yell at some kids to get off my lawn.

Now that I’ve got that out of my system there’s two bona fide music legends – by anyone’s definition - booked for Donegal gigs in the not too distant future.

The first is country/folk icon John Prine who plays Letterkenny's An Grianán Theatre on Wednesday, August 16th. Prine, one of the pioneering singer-songwriters of his generation, burst onto the scene way back in 1971 with his first incredible empathetic collection of song-stories about marginalized Americans. The now 70-year-old has consistently delivered ever since, creating a large, brilliant and massively influential body of work.

Joining Prine on the bill at An Grianán is Sturgill Simpson – an established country/roots star in his own right (although we won’t label him a legend just yet). Simpson has released three albums to date, the second of which, ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music’, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album and listed at 18th on Rolling Stones magazines Best Albums of 2014.

Jason Wilber, John Prine's guitarist for more than 20 years, plays a solo gig at The Balor in Ballybofey on Wednesday, August 23rd (see more, below). Above, Jason Wilber and John Prine in action.

Tickets for this An Grianán gig are a pricey (but worth it) €55, but that hasn’t stopped them selling out in jig time. It’s still worth your while ringing An Grianán on 074 9120777 and putting your name down on a waiting list. There’s nearly always some returns and cancellations as real life gets in the way of people's plans.

Also worth noting if you’re a John Prine fan – his guitarist of over 20 years, Jason Wilber, plays a solo gig at The Balor in Ballybofey on Wednesday, August 23rd, marking the release of his eighth solo album, Reaction Time (due out on August 11th). Tickets for Jason are €15, available from The Balor on 074 9131840 or online at www.balorartscentre.com