John Prine mural adorns Old Town School of Folk Music

Chicago Sun Times / by Genevieve Bookwalter / July 24, 2026

For John Prine fans, the massive new mural painted on the Old Town School of Folk Music in Lincoln Square can prompt pedestrians to stop and blink back tears.

The Maywood native and folk music legend died in 2020 from COVID complications. This month, his friend and fellow musician Jon Langford, who designed the mural, teamed up with Chicago artist Darius Dennis, owner of Big Wall Sign & Mural, to paint a tribute to Prine on the school’s second story brick wall during its annual Square Roots Festival. Prine once took lessons there in the 1960s and remained a mainstay as his career took off. Read More Here.