We have been notching off some bucket list items this year and this was one of them! Willie Nelson is the musician I have listened to the longest in my life. It started back in elementary school, when we would ride with Mrs. Kathy in the back of her two door Cutlass, maybe it was a Pontiac. All I remember was it was a two door burnt orange car, and I had to be careful when I squeezed into the back seat behind her that I didn’t accidentally push her seat back as she leaned up towards the steering wheel. Well, that and Willie on the radio and a cigarette in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. We lived a mile from the elementary school and I was always happy that I didn’t have to walk past the rice grainery and all the 18-wheel truckers (my mom always told me to walk down the other road; I never did), so it was great to catch a ride with Mrs. Kathy. When we would pull up to school, the smoke would come billowing out along with us kids and Willie’s voice crooning out across the airwaves preparing us for the day ahead. So…to see him in real life…What a treat!

And he did not disappoint! Willie is 89 years old. YES 89! He walks out onstage unassisted. Grabs his guitar and plays and sings up till 10 pm. He sang lots of old favorites with a glint in his eye as everyone sang along. You could tell he really still loves performing in front of people. And he was so encouraging to his band, especially his son who was singing with him and performed some of his own tunes. His son was really, really good. I’d happily go see one of his concerts with just him, Micah Nelson. Wow he was good. Anyway, back to Willie. It was hot as hades that night and everyone was complaining about the heat in the audience, every single person I spoke with mentioned how hot it was, and they were right my clothes were soaked. But Ole Willie, never complained about the heat and didn’t even seem to be bothered by it. Sure he talk sang a few times and yes, Micah chimed in on a few songs to help him along. But really Willie still has got it. My favorites that night were On the Road Again, Crazy, one that I used to hear as a child but I don’t know the title, and I loved that he wrapped up the concert with I’ll Fly Away, another gospel and top it off O Lord It’s Hard to be Humble! He lived up to my childhood dreams of what it would be like to see him in concert – a Legendary Performance by a Legend!

Willie Nelson https://willienelson.com/
Micah Nelson https://www.particlekid.com/
MAD Amphitheater https://eldomad.com/