Like Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt and countless other singer-songwriters, New Orleans’ Paul Sanchez loved John Prine’s songs from the moment he first heard them.

“I was a kid,” Sanchez recalled of his transformative first exposure to Prine. “It was mind-blowing. He spoke in plain language. Earthy, real. He had an amazing way with words. And the simplicity of his melodies and his playing was something that a guy just starting out could latch on to. So, I’ve loved