Willie Nelson

Doors open at 6:30PM

With a seven-decade career, Willie Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and has amassed a reputation as an author, actor, and activist. He continues to thrive as a relevant and progressive musical and cultural force. In recent years, he has delivered more than a dozen new albums, released a Top 10 New York Times’ bestsellers book, again headlined Farm Aid (an event he co-founded in 1985), his annual Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic, been honored by the Library of Congress with their Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, received his 5th degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul, headlined the annual Luck Reunion food and music festival during SXSW as well as the annual Outlaw Music Festival Tour, launched his cannabis companies Willie’s Reserve and Willie’s Remedy, and graced the covers of Rolling Stone and AARP The Magazine. Nelson started this decade by releasing four albums of newly recorded music—First Rose of Spring (2020), That’s Life (2021), The Willie Nelson Family (2021), and A Beautiful Time (2022, GRAMMY Award winner for Best Country Album)—and three books—Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of The Family Band (2020), Willie Nelson’s Letters to America (2021), and Me and Paul: Untold Tale of a Fabled Friendship (2022).

Throughout 2023, Willie celebrates his 90th birthday with multiple projects and events, including a two-night star-studded concert at the famed Hollywood Bowl, Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, that was released as a feature film and a televised broadcast special. The year began with the debut of “Willie Nelson & Family,” a new five-part film documentary series directed by Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the release of a new album, I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, which features 10 performances that pay tribute to American songwriter Harlan Howard. Last year also welcomed two new releases: the GRAMMY-nominated album, Bluegrass (with newly recorded studio performances of 12 Willie Nelson-penned classics showcasing Willie with a bluegrass ensemble), and a new book, Energy Follows Thought (with stories behind the lyrics of 160 of his favorite songs, along with never-before-seen photos and ephemera).

To cap the momentous year, Nelson was inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2024, Nelson expanded his output with the release of two new albums and a new book. The month of May saw the arrival of the studio album The Border, which includes Willie’s versions of 10 contemporary country songs, and four new compositions with Buddy Cannon. And in November, he released a cookbook co-authored with his wife, Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook: Mouthwatering Recipes and the High-Flying Stories Behind Them, as well as another studio album, Last Leaf on the Tree, which features close collaborations with Nelson’s son Micah. These creative endeavors as well as new songs and performances that add to his classic catalog, find Willie Nelson rolling at an artistic peak, writing and singing and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road.

Opening performance by Lily Meola.
Lily Meola, a Maui-raised singer-songwriter, blends country, Americana, and pop into a genre-crossing sound showcased on her EP Heartbreak Rodeo. A former America’s Got Talent standout, she has collaborated with artists like Willie Nelson and toured alongside major acts, earning recognition for her powerful vocals and emotionally honest songwriting inspired by personal loss and resilience.