If you feel you haven’t heard much from Chuck Prophet since Wake the Dead, his 2024 collaboration with Qiensave, or 2005: Live at the Rialto — take note he is alive and well and actively touring the U.S. and Europe this summer. Prophet is a craftsman who writes with the kind of wry, world-weary wit that makes you feel like you’re in on a joke the rest of the world hasn’t heard yet. And I really enjoyed that Southwest Airlines video from a few years back, touring us through his San Fransisco — I still make the Vietnamese Iced Coffee.
It is worth your effort to go back and spend some time with Chuck’s last release. The title track of Wake the Dead draws you into Qiensave’s Latin influences with a rhythm that proliferates through the remaining tracks — and the album closes with a reminder of Prophet’s pop sound and dry wit: “It’s a Good Day” lands its punchline with the kind of deadpan only he can pull off, declaring it a fine afternoon to watch a movie about a killer with a sensitive side. And if “Summertime Thing”, his most recognizable tune isn’t already stuck in your head, it will be.
If you need proof, catch him at FloydFest in Floyd, VA on July 22 — a festival setting that should suit his loose, road-tested energy just fine. Live, Prophet has a way of making his songs feel like they were written that afternoon about something that happened to you specifically, which is no small trick for a guy who’s been doing this for thirty-plus years.
After FloydFest, Prophet heads to Europe, so catch him while you can. Find everything Chuck Profit at chuckprophet.com.