Phoebe Bridgers recruits Jackson Browne for acoustic reimagining of Kyoto, covers John Prine's Summer's End

[L-R] Phoebe Bridgers and Jackson Browne
(Image credit: Andrew Benge/Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

Guitar-smashing feather-ruffler Phoebe Bridgers has teamed up with singer-songwriter Jackson Browne for a “sadder version” of Kyoto, taken from her sophomore studio album, Punisher.

The track comes as part of Bridgers' contribution to the Spotify Singles series, a collection of originals and covers recorded by artists in various Spotify studios. Kyoto is one of two tracks on the release – the other being a cover of Summer's End – originally composed by late country/folk legend John Prine.

The newly reimagined take on Kyoto sees Bridgers discard the original's full-band instrumentation, making way for a more stripped-down acoustic arrangement with Browne's backing vocals in the chorus.

Bridgers' take on Summer's End remains faithful to Prine's original, albeit with the inclusion of a belated birthday phone message from her father.

Over the next week, Spotify will release new Singles offerings from Chika, Noah Cyrus, D Smoke and Ingrid Andress – all of whom join Bridgers in the Best New Artist category at the Grammys 2021.

Alongside her Best New Artist nomination, Bridgers is up for three other Grammy awards, including Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song (both for Kyoto), as well as Best Alternative Music Album (Punisher).

This year's Grammy Awards ceremony is set to take place in Los Angeles this Sunday (March 14). The event was originally scheduled for late January, but was postponed due to a surge in coronavirus cases in LA.

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Sam Roche

Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.