John Prine walked on stage in front of a sold-out Tennessee Theatre crowd Wednesday night and strummed the first notes of "Picture Show," but hardly any pictures were taken.

People often reach for their phones when a star hits the stage just to show they were there. But nearly everyone chose to live in the moment for those first few chords. That's because Prine is more than just a star — he's a musical icon worth viewing through your own two eyes.

Prine has been on tour since April in support of his newest album, "The Tree of Forgiveness."

"You think we would have got here sooner," Prine said to the Knoxville crowd.

But he arrived just in time for the 90th birthday celebration of the Tennessee Theatre, which has hosted its fair share of icons in the past. That includes multiple performances by Prine, himself — most recently in 2016.

Between the man and the venue, people saw a little slice of history Wednesday night. Prine reached back in his catalog to play fan favorites like "Angel from Montgomery," "Six O'Clock News" and "In Spite of Ourselves," which he performed alongside opening act Kelsey Waldon.

Waldon put on a powerful performance of her own with the classic country recipe of bourbon, heartbreak and Jesus, despite not having a full band. The lack of instrumentation was made up for by an emotionally-packed rendition of her song "The Heartbreak" — the obvious highlight of her set.

"I just wanted to thank you for the heartbreak because it brought me to where I am," she sang as an attentive crowd sat in near-silence until a lyric that touched them became worthy of a shout.

There were quite a few of those.

Prine sang about heartbreak, too, with a poignant, quivering voice caused by 71 years of unique life experiences. Those experiences include military service during the Vietnam war, paper routes and open-mic nights as a young songwriter and the literal cause of his now-signature gravelly tone — a diagnosis of neck cancer, which he beat.

But it wasn't all tears and chills Wednesday night, as the audience got a double dose of entertainment in the form of both music and comedy.

Prine is just as hilarious as some of his lyrics suggest. He joked about forgetting his fishing pole on fishing trips, songwriters not writing songs for their wives and about writing "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" because of the "jerk in the White House" at the time. He then called that "a coincidence."

Prine even joked about Pluto losing its status as a planet before becoming known as a dwarf planet.

"Talk about kicking a guy when he's down," he said.

Prine has been kicked around, himself, over the years but has come out on top with his new album, which has received positive reviews and was partially displayed Wednesday in the form of songs like "Summer's End."

Prine even jumped out of his catalog when he sent the band to the side of the stage for a solo cover of Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons."

The concert sent people walking away with a smile, but not an illegal one. Fans paid to feel decades worth of emotions and a performance only Prine could provide.

They got just what they paid for.

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Photos:Alison Krauss at the Tennessee Theatre for the 90 year gala