Saratoga Book Festival and Caffè Lena present “John Prine: A Night of Song and Stories” with Tom Piazza, author of Living in the Present with John Prine.
In the spring of 2018, author, writer, and Yaddo alumni Tom Piazza climbed into a 1977 Coupe de Ville with the great singer-songwriter John Prine to write an article for the Oxford American. Their Florida road trip ignited a deep friendship, full of tall tales over epic meals, long nights playing guitar and trading songs, and visits back and forth between their homes in Nashville and New Orleans.
Along the way, John invited Tom to work with him to write a memoir, with John telling sprawling, often hilarious stories of his youth and family in Chicago and Kentucky, his breakthrough into the national spotlight, his riotous early years in the Nashville country scene, and much more. When John died suddenly of COVID in April 2020, that unfinished memoir evolved into Living in the Present with John Prine, an unforgettable portrait of the beloved musician in his late glory.
With a warm stage presence, Tom shares stories about John, their trip together, and how his book came to be. He'll even play a few of the songs from John's playbook. A book signing will follow the event. Copies of Living in the Present with John Prine will also be available for purchase.For more about Author Tom Piazza and Living in the Present with John Prine, please see https://saratogabookfestival.org/2025-festival-authors/.
Piazza is a four-time winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for Music Writing, and author of several books including the nonfiction bestseller Why New Orleans Matters and the novels The Auburn Conference and A Free State. A Yaddo artist, he lives in New Orleans.
Don't miss this joyful evening at Caffe Lena, a warm and intimate setting to celebrate the beloved icon.
