Willie Nelson's 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl could have been mistaken for a retirement party.
But two years later at 92, he's working as much as ever. Not that retirement would look much different. The life he loves is making music with his friends, even after outliving so many dear ones.
Nelson will be on the road again with Bob Dylan when the Outlaw Music Festival resumes for the second leg of its 10th year starting on June 20 in Clarkston, Michigan
Asked if he’d ever like his life to get the feature film treatment that Dylan did last year with “A Complete Unknown, ” Nelson said, “I’ve heard some talk about it. But I'm not through with it yet.”
Nelson spoke to The Associated Press in a phone interview from Hawaii's Oahu.
“Bob's a good friend,” Nelson said. “And I'll be glad to let him headline.”
The tour is one part of a loaded year. It'll lead right up to the 40th anniversary of Farm Aid in September. This spring, Nelson released his 77th studio album. And he's added a new THC tonic, Willie's Remedy, to his wide world of weed products.
An all-Crowell album
Nelson has always loved singing the songs of his friends as much as if not more than the ones he writes himself. In 1979, he released “Willie Nelson Sings Kristofferson,” a full album of the work of his friend Kris Kristofferson, who died last year.
He has similar love for the songs of his friend Rodney Crowell. Nelson has long performed Crowell's “Til I Gain Control Again,” which he called “one of the best country songs that I think I've ever heard.” Now he's released a whole album of Crowell tunes, “Oh What a Beautiful World.”
“So far he hasn’t written one that I don’t like,” Nelson said.
The album comes on the 50th anniversary of “Red Headed Stranger,” the album that many consider Nelson's masterpiece. A breakthrough for him at age 42, it took him from respected journeyman to beloved superstar.
Nelson said he's already begun work on album number 78, but declines to share its direction.
Willie's Family band, old and new, still with no set list
As Nelson returns to the road, the only surviving member of the classic lineup of his Family band is Mickey Raphael, 73, whose harmonica has duetted for decades with the Willie warble.
Bassist Bee Spears died in 2011. Guitarist and backup singer Jody Payne died in 2013. Drummer Paul English died in 2020. And Nelson's sister Bobbie Nelson, his only sibling and his piano player, died in 2022.
But the band he takes on the road now is just as familial in its own way. It often includes his sons Lukas and Micah. English's brother Billy plays the drums. The son of Payne and singer Sammi Smith, Waylon Payne, plays guitar.
They collectively keep up with Nelson's wants and whims on stage. One thing the live show never includes is a set list. He refuses to use them. Band members — and sound guys, and lighting guys — have to stay on their toes and be ready for anything.
“I’d rather play it off the top of my head, because I can read the crowd pretty good,” Nelson said. “They jump in there.”
The list-less set lately has included classics like “Whiskey River” (always the opener, no guessing to be done there,) and “Bloody Mary Morning” along with newer adoptees like Tom Waits' “Last Leaf,” a song that perfectly expresses Nelson's survivor status.
“I'm the last leaf on the tree,” Nelson sings in the song that leads his 2024 album of the same name. “The autumn took the rest, but it won't take me.”
“My son Micah found that for me,” Nelson said. “I really love the song, and the audience likes it, it’s one of the real good ones.”
He's also been performing songs written by Micah, who records and performs as Particle Boy.
One favorite, “Everything Is B- - - - - -t,” seems to stand in contrast to the gospel standards like “I'll Fly Away” and “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” that he often plays a few minutes later. Willie disagrees.
“It's all gospel,” he says with a laugh.
Farm Aid turns 40
September will bring the 40th anniversary addition of Farm Aid, the annual festival to support family farmers, which Nelson founded with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, He performs there annually. It was inspired by one-off charity concerts like “Live Aid,” but became an annual institution, rotating each year to a different farm-adjacent city. It's in Minneapolis this year.
Asked his favorite, he said, “They’ve all been good, for different reasons. The first one was great, the last one was great.”
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
