John Prines inaugural All the Best Fest gets under way November 11th in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic with a lineup highlighting some of the most acclaimed songwriters working today. Among them: Tyler Childers, who says the first time he ever heard a Prine song Please Dont Bury Me was in the 8th grade. Since then, hes studied the Illinois natives craft intently, focusing on his more economical choices.
I admire John Prine and his way with words. It doesnt have to be big hundred-dollar words to put you right there, Childers says in a video interview filmed by Sixthman, the cruise/festival company that presents All the Best, Cayamo Cruise and the Outlaw Country Cruise, among others.
Childers, who released the album Purgatory in 2017, also performs the LP track Lady May, a song that calls to mind the inspired lyricism of Prine as Childers compares himself to a hickory tree. I came crashin through the forest as you cut my roots away/and I fell a good long ways for my lovely Lady May, he sings.
Along with Childers and Prine, All the Best Fest features performances by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Kacey Musgraves, Nathaniel Rateliff, Shovels & Rope, Lori McKenna and others. Running November 11th through 15th at the all-inclusive resorts Breathless and Now Onyx in Punta Cana, the event is sold out, but hopeful fans have the opportunity to join a wait list.