Ever met anybody who describes themselves as “kind of a John Prine fan?”

Me, neither.

In fact, we like to think that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those whose lives have been profoundly changed by John Prine, and those who haven’t heard him yet.

In Spite of Ourselves: A Celebration of the Music of John Prine brings together the interpretive talents of multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Cox, the Juno Award-winning Tom and Kalissa Landa from the Paperboys, much sought-after fiddler and former Prine tourmate Kendel Carson, and Nashville/Vancouver Island songwriter/artist Steve Mitchell.

All lifelong Prine devotees, the members of In Spite of Ourselves aren’t messing around on these performances: Check out Doug Cox’s reading of “Some Humans Ain’t Human,” and the way it carries all the authority of an Old Testament prophecy. There’s Steve Mitchell’s hauntingly heartbroken take on “The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.” Consider Tom and Kalissa Landa’s bawdy and joyous duet, “In Spite of Ourselves.” And there’s the way time seems to stop when Kendel Carson sings Prine’s late-career masterpiece, “Summer’s End.”

Tragically for all of us, John Prine left this world at the beginning of the pandemic. But thanks to his songs, music fans everywhere have a permanent portal into the little universe of his singular mind.

We’d like to take you through that door and show you the house that John Prine built.

You’re never going to want to leave.