Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit held four socially-distant shows outside The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee at the tail end of last week, which began on October 8. The performer hosted a special cover on Saturday, October 10, where he was joined by his wife Amanda Shires for a performance of John Prine’s “Storm Windows.”

This performance took place during an encore, and was played in celebration of what would’ve been John Prine’s 74th birthday this year. Prine passed away back in April of this year, following complications caused by COVID-19. “Storm Windows” was the title-track for Prine’s seventh studio album, which came out in 1980.

 

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At yesterday’s afternoon show, on John Prine’s birthday, the buzz was would Jason Isbell cover Prine—of course he would, but what song? During the encore, on a rainy afternoon, Isbell pulled out the Prine classic “Storm Windows.” Music is magic. Who knows how many more times we’ll have like these to experience it live in 2020? Get yourself to The Caverns this evening for Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. Tap the bio link for pods. John, happy belated birthday! Love, The Caverns Captured by @blondeambitiontour #stormwindows #encore #werenotcryingyourecrying

A post shared by The Caverns (@thecavernstn) on Oct 11, 2020 at 8:29am PDT

The duet was performed to a crowd in the middle of the rain, which gave a sense of idleness as it was greeted with a socially-distant crowd.  Isbell and Shires’ emotional performance of this classic captured Prine’s spirit perfectly, across a stripped down instrumental, consisting solely of Isbell’s solemn guitar chords.

This isn’t the first time the duo have collaborated on Prine covers, they previously took on  “Angel from Montgomery,” “Illegal Smile” and “Clocks and Spoons” for Shires’ live stream series “I So Lounging.” Isbell was a close friend of Prine’s and penned a piece for the New York Times regarding the late performer.

Jason Isbell and The 400 unit are still busy with live performances, and will be making a stop at a drive-in concert in Georgia later this week. The live streaming platform Topeka has partnered with Isbell to try to bring face-to-face experiences for live stream performances.

Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz