June 27, 2022—Across the next few months, Oh Boy Records will add to their renowned legacy with “The Summer of Oh Boy Records”—a series of limited-edition vinyl releases, special events across the country, a new fellowship in partnership with Newport Folk Festival and more.
Recently named
Label of the Year (Small) at the 2022
A2IM Librea Awards, Oh Boy will release new pressings of two of John Prine’s beloved albums:
Aimless Love (1984)—Prine’s first full-length album via Oh Boy, which was completely fan-funded and launched the label—will be released
August 26, while the GRAMMY-nominated,
German Afternoons(1986), will be available
September 16. In celebration of the
German Afternoons release, Oh Boy will host an event at Nashville’s The Vinyl Lab on September 16, including food, drinks, entertainment and a live pressing of
German Afternoons while the party takes place.
Additionally, Oh Boy Records has teamed up with Vinyl Brew for a series of special events across the country this summer, including celebrations in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Lexington and more. At each event, a limited amount of vinyl pressings will be available including
German Afternoons on pink swirl vinyl,
Aimless Love on yellow swirl and
Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows Vol. 2: Songs of John Prine on blue and black swirl. Full details for the
Oh Boy Roadshow can be found
HERE.
Moreover, the label’s new documentary, Big Old Goofy World: The Story of Oh Boy Records, has garered widespread attention this year, receiving accolades from numerous festivals across the country such as Kansas Film Festival (Best Documentary 2022), Cinema On The Bayou (Feature Length Documentary Special Jury Award + Inspiration Award 2022) and Upike Film Festival (Best Documentary 2022) as well as being made an Official Selection at the Brooklyn Film Festival and the upcoming Albuquerque Film and Music Experience.
Known for celebrating and supporting songwriters, Oh Boy has also partnered with
Newport Folk Festival in creating the new
John Prine Songwriter Fellowship with this year’s inaugural recipient,
Leith Ross. Of the partnership, the Newport Folk Festival team shares, “We created this fellowship in partnership with John’s family to celebrate John’s life and the impact he had on our festival community. Each year, we choose one young songwriter that we feel embodies John’s spirit and provide them with their first slot at the festival. Leith’s intimate, yet relatable songwriting style and clever lyrics remind us of John all while being completely unique. We have also partnered with Almanack Arts to provide Leith with a week-long songwriting retreat on Nantucket this summer. There, Leith will be given the time, resources, and space to hone their craft.”
The year-long celebration will culminate with “
You Got Gold: Celebrating the Life & Songs of John Prine”—a full week of concerts and events held at various venues in Nashville, October 7-12. Full details for the event, which will benefit the newly created 501c3,
The Hello In There Foundation, can be found via
YouGotGold.JohnPrine.com.
Founded in 1981 by John Prine and his longtime manager Al Bunetta, Oh Boy Records continues to be a vital part of Nashville’s independent music community with a roster that includes Tré Burt, Kelsey Waldon, Dan Reeder, Arlo McKinley and Emily Scott Robinson.
Regarded as one of the English language’s premier phrase-turners, Prine is a four-time Grammy-winner, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, a seven-time Americana Music Award-winner, a PEN New England Lyrics Award recipient and member of both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Since his debut in 1971, Prine released over eighteen albums and has had his songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown Band and many others, while drawing effusive praise from Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Roger Waters, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and more, who knew him as a smiling, shuffling force for good.
