at the Grand Ole Opry.

That his artistic journey# would bring him there was by no means assured.

Special correspondent Tom Casciato has that# story for our arts and culture series, Canvas.

TOM CASCIATO: Listening on this# night at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles,## you might think Tommy Prine was born to the stage.

Did you always know that this was something# you wanted to do, to be a TO MMY PRINE, Musician: Well, when I was little,# I thought that's just what the world was.

All my parents' friends were, like, musicians# and songwr oh, OK, cool.

Like, Earth sounds# rad.

Like, everyone plays music.

TOM CASCIATO: His debut album called# "This Far South" has a song called## "Boyhood" that makes his boyhood sound idyllic.

TOMMY PRINE: On the album art cover is me# looking up at some trees.

For the first,## I mean, 10, 12 years of my life, me and my brother# and my parents would go to Ireland in the summers.

And those trees that I'm looking at# are the trees that me and my brother,## Jack, used to climb when we were kids.

TOM CASCIATO: But then came adolescence# and, with it, punishing self-d TOMMY PRINE: Just the whole idea of# becoming an artist and being able to,## like, sing and play and write songs just# sounded like an insurmountable feat.

And I think a lot of it is because# my dad was always so honest about## his journey and how he's like, what# happened to me was like stardust and## a fragment of more stardust.

Like, it# was just all luck, basically, you know?

And I think I let that... TOM CASCIATO: TOMMY PRINE: I agree.

There is de TOM CASCIATO: Tommy's father, John Prine,# was among the most renowned songwriters of## his generation, a Grammy lifetime achievement# winner.

His music cast a long artistic shadow.

TOMMY PRINE: I don't know.

I think# it's just -- I always wrote myself off.

TOM CASCIATO: Would you say that you were# repressing something in yourself TOMMY PRINE: Oh, yes, to put it lightly, yes.

TOM CASCIATO: And was the thing yo TOMMY PRINE: I think so, I mean, because# I was horrified to admit that to TOM CASCIATO: Even as he struggled with fears## about expressing himself He lost one of his best friends to addiction.# He wrote a song describing his downward spiral.

TOMMY PRINE: "This Far South," I wrote# in my early 20s.

I was partying, like,## really hard and doing a lot of stuff# that I shouldn't be doing.

And I wa just turning into a man that I never wanted to# be.

Like, I was ashamed of An d just through a lot of really# kind of gnarly, dark experiences,## I woke up one day and I think I recognized# something in myself that nothing felt right.

TOM CASCIATO: He continued writing songs with no# plan to release them, when tragedy struck again.## In 2020, John Prine, a two-time cancer survivor,# passed away early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

TOMMY PRINE: But on that day, I know that the# world lost one of the best songwriters ever.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) TOMMY PR TOM CASCIATO: Tommy wrote a song# for his father, but first this.

There's a picture of you and# your brother and your father## when you and your brother are in these bear suits.

(LAUGHTER) TOMMY PRINE: Yes.

TO TOMMY PRINE: I don't k and I was like, we should get the... TOM CASCIATO: Was it Halloween?

TO MMY PRINE: No, it was Ch (LAUGHTER) he essentially waited all year# for it to be Christmas again,## you know?

We just thought it would make him# smile, so we got that.

And it did.

He loved it TOM CASCIATO: Did you have a close relationship?

TOMMY PRINE: With my father?

Yes.

Yes.

I mean, everything got flipped on its# head when I lost my friend and then## when I lost my dad.

I think music really# saved my life, to be honest TO M CASCIATO: It was his music that led to a# call from two friends and Nashville notables,## musician Ruston Kelly and engineer Gena Johnson.

TOMMY PRINE: And I was working at a gift shop at# the time at the Country Music Ha they were like: "Hey, buddy.

We love you.

We think# you should quit your job and we will help you make a record.

And we both agree# that this is what you should do TO M CASCIATO: That wasn't the only love# in his life.

In 2022, he married his wife,## Savannah.

They'd been friends since they were 13.

TOMMY PRINE: She was with me through all of# the ups and downs.

I say music saved my life,## but I think we all know who really saved my life.

TOM CASCIATO: You might say friendship is# what's kept Tommy Prine afloat.

He tours## with another childhood friend# on lead guitar, Josh Halper.

And he's got a song that# sums up the whole journey,## from self-doubt to self-expression.# He wrote it at the V where Johnny Cash and June Carter once# lived.

It's called "Cash Carter Hill."

TOMMY PRINE: The song itself is kind# of like a proclamation of me putting## aside the fear of being an artist and# putting aside the preconceived notions## that people may or may not have# about me and the job that I chose,## and just saying, like, I am going to get# over everything that is thrown my way.

And I'm going to do it by playing music and being# the most authentic version of Tommy that I can be.

TOM CASCIATO: That means, he said not long ago,## walking not in his father's# shadow, but walking next to it.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm# Tom Casciato in Los Angeles.