Initially not much more than a good natured musical one-off between friends, the West Coast quartet In Spite of Ourselves has evolved into a highly entertaining act with a mission— to keep alive the deep and timeless catalogue of songwriter John Prine.

An unspoken understanding of this mission is the belief that there are only two kinds of people in the musical world: those whose lives have been profoundly changed by 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, Juno Award-winning Tom and Kalissa Landa from the Paperboys, and Nashville/Vancouver Island songwriter/artist Steve Mitchell. All lifelong Prine devotees, the members of In Spite of Ourselves take turns diving deep into the Prine songbook. With a twinkle in his eye, Doug Cox leads the band through a joyously loose reading of Prine’s “You Got Gold” featuring a drunken-sounding orchestra of fiddle, harmonica, and melodica. Tom Landa finds the tender and contemplative heart of “Long Monday,” and Steve Mitchell goes over to the other side of the tracks on the funky “Mexican Home.” And on “Picture Show,” Kalissa Landa follows up the song’s insanely hooky chorus with a fiddle solo that’s as combustible as an old film projector.

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.

In Spite of Ourselves takes you through that door and shows you the house that John Prine built.

You’re never going to want to leave.