John Prine, the song soothsayer of “Sam Stone,” “Angel From Montgomery,” “Killing the Blues” and countless others, visits Houston Friday for the first time since his silver hair was closer to salt-and-pepper. (We don’t even know when that was.) To say a generation or two of literate but unkempt troubadors like Texan Hayes Carll worships Prine is no exaggeration. Austin perennial Alejandro Escovedo is a little fonder of electricity, but should have no trouble reducing the roar of new album Big Station to a slow simmer.

Chris Gray is the former Music Editor for the Houston Press.