Here's the deal, WOG emailed me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I wanted to meet him and his wife at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Keith Sykes and Roger Cook were scheduled to be there. WOG thought John Prine might show up because:
  1. He has a new album out to promote
  2. Both songwriters had contributed to said album
  3. He lives five miles from the Bluebird
  4. He was supposedly in town


Okay, reason enough. WOG made reservations, and my wife and I met him at the Bluebird just before 9pm. The atmosphere was great as usual, and the songwriters sounded great. I was a little disappointed that Prine wasn't there, ( I guess I'd built up some great expectations) but I digress. After about an hour of playing in the round I saw Keith Sykes look up and nod and smile. The front entrance was to my back. WOG tapped me on the shoulder, and when I turned around, there stood John and Fiona Prine. They walked over to a corner table and sat down. John pulled a bottle of water out of his pocket and ordered a red label Budweiser. Keith Sykes had sang "You Got Gold" just before John arrived. Then Roger Cook sang "Unlonely".

The songs went around and around and around, and Roger Cook sang "I Want to Dance With You". I saw John get up for his table and head for the bathroom, and just then Keith Sykes says that there are some special musical guests present and would John like to come up and do a song. He looks around and everyone laughed and said that John had gone to the bathroom. So there's a lady there that got up and sang "Rock Me" which was recorded by Leann Rimes. I don't remember the songwriter's name, so if anyone knows who she was, please Email me. After she sang, John came up and sat down. Keith asked John if he wanted to play the guitar and John smiled and said "Yeah." Keith asked John if he needed a thumb pick and John said no that he'd brought one. John fished the pick out of his pocket and they sang "Long Monday" off the new "Fair and Square" album which Keith had co-written with John. John's playing and singing were fantastic. He and Keith switched back and forth on the lyrics. I assume each sang the lines that they had written. John smiled a lot and stomped his foot to the music. My wife commented later on how short John's legs were. After they sang, John went back to his table and Keith said that they had yet another guest in the house, Todd Snider.

I was floored. I only have one Todd Snider cd, but I've almost worn it out. Todd played a killer tune and then Roger, Keith, and Teenie did one more round to cap off the night. We migrated out to the parking lot and there was an old vintage Oldsmobile convertible parked close to us. It was a sweet car. White with maroon interior, and we think it belongs to either John Prine or Todd Snider. It's one of the only cars in the lot that wasn't there when we went in, so I snapped some photos for a gossip topic of could be's and might have been's.

Anyway, that's my Bluebird experience with Roger Cook, Todd Snider, Keith Sykes, Teenie Hodges, and the great John Prine. Hope you enjoyed your stay and come back and see me again sometime.

Click the Pics For a Larger View

Keith Sykes
Teenie Hodges
Todd Snider
John's Car?

John's Car?
Todd Snider
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