photo: Lana Nelson
www.WillieNelson.com
www.goupstate.com
by Dan Armonaitis
With a large Texas flag draped on a wall behind him, Willie Nelson trotted on stage to thunderous applause and cheers from thousands of enthusiastic fans, most of whom had enjoyed the rest of the performers but were clearly there to see the most legendary member of the bunch.
It would be a shocking revelation if the 78-year-old cultural icon left any of them disappointed.
The concert was billed as Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown, and its main draw provided just that.
From the opening strains of “Whiskey River,” which started his hour-long set, Nelson had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Throughout the night, he smiled, nodded and made a lot of eye-contact with those closest to the stage.
Once a while, he said a few words between songs. Mostly, though, Nelson just sang and picked on his trademark acoustic guitar that he calls Trigger.
The sounds weren’t just country; there were elements of everything from jazz and blues to rock and folk in his playing.
Nelson filled the set such classics as “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Crazy,” “On the Road Again” and “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” along with more recent favorites such as “Beer For My Horses” and “Superman.”
Nelson’s backing band — or the Family, as he calls them — provided perfect accompaniment with longtime member Mickey Raphael driving many of the songs with his distinctive harmonica licks. Veteran drummer Paul English, whom Nelson immortalized in his song “Me and Paul” (which he performed Friday), suffered a stroke last year and was on stage for only part of the show.
Nelson gave his actual sister Bobbie a chance to shine with a piano-driven instrumental take on “Down Yonder,” and his son Lukas, on electric guitar, provided lead vocals on a blues tune called “Texas Flood.”
Before bursting into “Good Hearted Woman,” Nelson acknowledged the late Waylon Jennings. “Let’s do one for Waylon,” he said, referring to his singing partner for the hit 1970s recording.
Later, it was, “How about some Hank Williams?” — a question answered with cheers from the approving audience. Nelson then delivered hi-octane renditions of “Jambalaya,” “Hey Good Lookin’” and “Move it On Over.”
The Williams trilogy was followed by the gospel standards, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and “I’ll Fly Away,” with the crowd joyfully singing along.
Other highlights included the psychedelic-tinged “Still is Still Moving to Me,” the hauntingly beautiful “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” and pensively romantic “Always on My Mind.”
Nelson also gave a rousing blues-based rendition of Tom T. Hall’s “Shoeshine Man” early in the set, and he closed the concert with his own “Bloody Mary Morning”
Before making his exit, Nelson walked along the edge of the stage and quickly shook hands with some his adoring fans and signed a few autographs. The band reprised “I’ll Fly Away” as an instrumental sendoff.
Earlier, modern country outlaw Jamey Johnson gave a sparkling performance that showcased his ability to blend rock influences into his music without sacrificing its traditional honky-tonk roots.
Starting with his Grammy-nominated “High Cost of Living” and concluding with his Grammy-winning “In Color,” Johnson eased his way through a fantastic hour-long set that channeled Nelson, Jennings, Merle Haggard and Johnny Paycheck.
The bearded former Marine showed his tender side with delightful covers of such ballads as “I Love You So Much It Hurts” by Floyd Tillman and “Raining in My Heart”(best known for Buddy Holly’s orchestral version), but the audience seemed to connect better to his more rousing material.
The crowd responded very favorably to Johnson’s duet with South Carolina native Lee Brice, who performed earlier. Johnson and Brice sang Haggard’s “Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver),” overcoming a couple of lyrical mix-ups with sheer emotion.
Randy Houser and Brice performed on the main stage, kicking the festivities into high gear with turbo-charged sets that were as much electric guitar-driven Southern rock as they were country. Houser covered Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” and Brice — accompanied by side stage performer Craig Campbell — covered Hank Williams Jr.’s “Family Tradition.”
Along with Campbell, the side stage featured performances by Brantley Gilbert, Lukas Nelson & the Promise of Real and Drake White.
The Bluebird Café stage, meanwhile, emphasized acoustic singer-songwriters and included Austin Lucas, Brent Cobb, Dani Flowers, Adam Hood, Erin Enderlin and Caitlyn Smith — all of whom had the opportunity to play a song on the main stage.
