Archive for the ‘News and Reviews’ Category

Willie Nelson receives leadership award in Nashville

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Photo:  Kay Williams

Willie Nelson receives award from Brenda Lee.

“I want to thank all of my friends, and all the people in this town, that made it possible for me to be standing here.  Hearing all these nice things said about me – I almost gave myself a standing ovation.   I held back, though.” — Willie Nelson

www.billboard.biz
by:  Elizabeth Hurst

The music community came together in Downtown Nashville on August 29 to celebrate pioneers Fred Foster, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson with the seventh annual Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award. Vince Gill hosted the ceremony for a packed room of music industry executives, creators, friends and family. The Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award was created “to recognize music trailblazers who exemplify the highest quality of leadership and leading by example.”

Photo:  Kay Williams

Kyle Young, Director, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum; Karen Oertley, Executive Director, Leadership Music; honorees Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster and Willie Nelson; Jamie Cheek, Board President, Leadership Music and Partner, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy; and Del Bryant, President & CEO, BMI.

Willie Nelson & Family to perform at DeLuna Fest (10/17/2010)

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

www.delunafest.com

Willie Nelson will headline a Sunday lineup at DeLuna Fest, the 3-day music festival set for October 15-17 at Pensacola Beach.

Admission to the festival’s final day is free of charge thanks to $300,000 organizers received last week from the Escambia County Tourist Development Council; money received from $25 million given to the state of Florida by BP in light of the Gulf oil spill.

Organizers also announced the addition of New Orleans jazz legend Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Swingers and New Orleans funk band Big Sam’s Funky Nation to the bill for October 17, and said they would be announcing 10 or more additional acts for the festival’s free day in the near future.

Known as the “Red-Headed Stranger,” Willie Nelson’s career spans more than 50 years as a singer, songwriter, performer and actor. He is a winner of 10 Grammy Awards having many hits that include “On the Road Again,” “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” “Always on My Mind” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”

Willie is no stranger to the Gulf Coast, however. He has performed several times at the Amphitheatre at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama, most recently on a triple-bill with Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp in July 2009.

He’s also no stranger to helping Pensacola recover from disasters, having performed a 2005 benefit for Rebuild Northwest Florida at the Pensacola Civic Center in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.

Willie Nelson performs at Neil Abercrombie Fundraiser

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

 

http://exbor.wordpress.com

www.kitv.com
Jodi Leong

HONOLULU — Thousands turned out to support candidate for Gov. Neil Abercrombie, with just three and a half weeks before the crucial democratic primary.

Abercrombie’s longtime friend and country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson headlined what the campaign called a Summer Jam fundraiser, which also included local artist Willie K. and actress Kelly Hu.

While a stream of supporters signs waved outside, Nelson thrilled Abercrombie and his supporters inside the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.

“We’re old friends and I’ve known him forever. And I know he’ll do a good job,” Nelson said backstage, before his performance.

“I’m just glad to see all these folks getting together, supporting a good man for a good cause. It’s America in action and I’m enjoying it all,” said Nelson.

Nelson has lived on Maui for 35 years, but admits he is registered to vote in Texas and not in Hawaii.

Abercrombie joked about their earlier years. “When we first got together, when Kris Kristofferson and Willie were here some years ago, Kris came up and said, ‘Willie, he looks more like you than you do!,’” Abercrombie quipped.

On Tuesday night, Abercrombie’s campaign celebrated with the throngs of people who showed up to support Abercrombie and see his friend, Willie Nelson.

Read the entire article, with all the politics, at
http://www.kitv.com/r/24753084/detail.html

Willie Nelson & Family to headline Free Concert, Pensacola Beach, FL (10/17/10)

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Photo credit:  Jim Durbin

www.pnj.com
by Julio Diaz

Music legend Willie Nelson will headline the Sunday lineup at DeLuna Fest, the three-day music festival set for Oct. 15-17 on Pensacola Beach.

The final day of the three-day festival will be presented free of charge thanks to $300,000 organizers received last week from the Escambia County Tourist Development Council. That money came from $25 million given to the state of Florida by BP in light of the Gulf oil spill.

Known as the “Red-Headed Stranger,” Willie Nelson’s career spans more than 50 years as a singer, songwriter, performer and actor. The winner of 10 Grammy Awards, his many hits include “On the Road Again,” “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” “Always on My Mind” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”

Nelson is no stranger to the Gulf Coast, however. He has performed several times at the Amphitheatre at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Ala., most recently on a triple-bill with Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp in July 2009. He’s also no stranger to helping Pensacola recover from disasters, having performed a 2005 benefit for Rebuild Northwest Florida at the Pensacola Civic Center in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.

Organizers also announced the addition of New Orleans jazz legend Kermit Ruffins & the Barbeque Swingers and New Orleans funk band Big Sam’s Funky Nation to the bill for Oct. 17, and said they would be announcing 10 or more additional acts for the festival’s free day in the near future, as contracts are signed.

Nick Bodkins, a partner in DeLuna Fest organizers Five Flags Tourism Group, could not have been more thrilled to announce the addition of Nelson to his festival’s bill.

A lot of people have a bucket list,” Bodkins said. “I don’t know that ‘book an American Icon’ was initially on that list, but I certainly think (fellow organizer) Scott (Wheatley) and I have thrown that one in the bucket. We’re so excited about Willie Nelson, giving back to the community with such an amazing artist, and we’re even more excited about how well the entire lineup for Sunday is coming together. Kermitt Ruffins and Big Sam are legendary New Orleans entertainers, and we still have so many acts to announce, but this is going to be one of my favorite days of the festival, for sure.”

Nelson fan Lindsey Dinsmore said that the opportunity to see the Red-Headed Stranger perform live would fulfill a childhood dream.

“The DeLuna Fest Facebook page posted a clue (before the official announcement), and from that, I knew Willie was a definite possibility,” Dinsmore said. “From that point, my heart started racing and I was refreshing the page at least 15 times a minute so I would catch the announcement. When I saw it, I squealed so loudly I woke up my 19-month-old daughter from her nap. It’s still a little hard to breathe. I love his music and his no-nonsense attitude about life in general. He is who he is, and no one will ever change that.”

Dinsmore said the addition of Nelson to the bill only makes her more excited about a festival she’d planned to attend even before the additional day was announced.

“My husband and I had tickets and hotel accommodations before the first round of additions were added to the festival,” she said. “I’m trying to get my mother-in-law to go with me on Sunday to see Willie, because she loves him, too.”

Those who have already purchased tickets for the festival are guaranteed entry on Oct. 17 as a free day added on. Any weekend passes purchased going forward include Oct. 17 admission, as well.

For those who do not wish to purchase weekend passes, free tickets for Oct. 19 will be made available starting early in September on a first-come, first-served basis. As many as 50,000 free tickets will be distributed, including the weekend passes.

Headliners for the two paid days of DeLuna Fest include Stone Temple Pilots, Daughtry, 311, Bush, Dierks Bentley, 30 Seconds to Mars and Michael Franti & Spearhead. In all, the two paid days encompass more than 20 acts on three stages.

Advanced weekend passes, which include admission to all three days of the festival and guarantee admission to the free third day, are available for $80 at www.delunafest.com through Aug. 31. On Sept. 1, that price goes up to $90. Also on Sept. 1, single-day passes for the first two days of the festival will be made available at $47.50 each. Purchase of single-day tickets will not guarantee admission for the free day. Festival organizers expect to announce the daily festival lineup when single-day tickets go on sale.

Aside from the free day, which is being paid for by public money, the festival is largely supported by more than a dozen private sponsors including Sam’s Club, Tom Thumb, Kona Longboard Beer, Drifter Pale Ale beer, the Pensacola News Journal, GoPensacola.com, MediaCom, Cox Communications, the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, Hampton Inn, Land Shark and Bud Light.

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Willie Nelson, Nokia Theater, LA (2/13/08)

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Willie Nelson,
Nokia Theatre, Feb. 13
Photos by Timothy Norris

http://blogs.laweekly.com
by Mark Mauer

If Willie Nelson had delivered a show with half as much heart, enthusiasm and class, it still would have been an excellent night of American music. I’m ashamed I expected so little from the man. With a simple backdrop of the Texas flag, a blessedly straightforward eight-piece band, and a setlist that would make Dylan, Van or Stevie Wonder shake their heads in awe, Nelson flips through nearly thirty songs, one after another, barely pausing for a breath.

“Trigger,” Nelson’s battered Martin guitar, still hasn’t disintegrated into dust, and Nelson plays the thing all night. No roadie comes out to tune it or swap it for some newer instrument. And by no means does Nelson ever just take a break from it and let his other two guitarists handle the duties.

Nelson not only plays Trigger, he rules the stage with that guitar. He knocks out solo after solo, never letting the opportunity pass quietly if there’s a couple of measures where he can pull another run out of the instrument.

Willie Nelson Live at Nokia Theatre

Photos by Timothy Norris

Just four years ago, Willie Nelson canceled a tour and had surgery on his wrist for carpal tunnel syndrome which caused him so much pain he couldn’t finish shows. Watching his hands move across the fretboard now, you’ve got to give the doctors a tip of the cowboy hat for letting us still see him in such fine action now.

Photos by Timothy Norris

Let me describe drummer Paul English’s set-up: A snare. Played with brushes. Seriously – that’s all. No fiddle, pedal steel, back-up singers, electric keyboards or any of that nonsense. Nelson’s band, made up of two sons, his sister Bobbi and some long-time bandmates were never showy (unless it was absolutely called for), and though they’ve probably played the bulk of this set list for years, it sounded fresh, loose and fun.

Photos by Timothy Norris

“Crazy”, “Night Life,” On the Road Again,” “Always On My Mind,” “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” yeah, he plays all of them, as well as a wonderful batch of covers including Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee,” Waylon Jennings’ “A Good Hearted Woman” and “Luckenbach Texas,” and a couple by Hank Williams.

Nelson’s vocal phrasings are tough to sing along to; he’s often singing lines a good couple of beats in front of the music, but Sinatra did the same thing in the later years of his live performing. I don’t make the comparison lightly. There’s an impatient quality about Nelson’s playing and singing – to say nothing of his recording over the past several years. For being a Zen cowboy, Nelson’s in a race. He’s still doing concept albums and writing excellent new songs like “Superman,” and “Still is Still Moving.” But time isn’t on anyone’s side, and it’s staring directly at Willie Nelson and checking the calendar regularly… Nelson’s not wasting a moment.

No one gets as rowdy in the Nokia as we might at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin or the Illinois State Fair on a hot July night, but Nelson still brings the crowd to its feet regularly throughout. Even the half dozen honest-to-god Hell’s Angels sitting a couple of rows in front of me were bobbing their tattooed anvil-like heads along with “Pancho & Lefty.” Young and old in the crowd? You bet. As we grow, we grow into his music. Willie Nelson speaks in a language more universal than just “country.” He’s one of the few artists my own mother and I have in common, and for that alone, he’s invaluable.

Paula Nelson’s, ‘Little City’ Album (Austin Chronicle Review)

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

This cd is available on iTunes, and on www.cdbaby.com.


www.PaulaNelsonband.com

“It’s unlikely Paula Nelson sold her soul for good songs, but Little City just kicked up her stock. Her Nelson moniker has probably opened doors, but originals “Baby Blue” and “Sunny Days” keep them propped wide. The loping, wicked tone of “Rainy Day Friend” sounds much like something her father, Willie Nelson, would write, while “Drink” suggests that if Paula went after the Southern rock queen title, she’d have no equal.”

– Margaret Moser
    Austin Chronicle

Luck Films released their music video for Paula Nelson’s song, ‘Have you Ever Seen the Rain,’ written by John Fogerty. The song appears on Paula’s new album, ‘Little City”, now available from itunes and www.cdbaby.com.   Willie Nelson and brother Lukas Nelson sing on this song with Paula Nelson and her band.

Willie Nelson and Family at the House of Blues, Boston (8/13/2010) (review)

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

http://news.bostonherald.com
by Brett Milano

Of all the two-dozen songs that Willie Nelson performed at the House of Blues on Friday, the single-best-received had to be “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” The anthem brought whoops and hollers from every corner of the near-full club, and even prompted Nelson to make a few approving points and smiles toward the upper balconies.

You usually know what you’re getting at a Willie Nelson show, because a good three-quarters of his setlist hasn’t varied in decades. But the stripped-down and up-close nature of the HOB show made it special. The crowd was in a partying mood and Nelson obliged, up to a point. He kept the set country, dropping some of the pop numbers he usually plays (no “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”) and adding a couple of his ’70s barnstormers (the thematically related “I Gotta Get Drunk” and “Bloody Mary Morning”).

He also prompted cheers by tossing a few of his hats and bandanas into the crowd. And he turned part of the set into a Hank Williams singalong, leading the crowd on “Hey, Good Lookin’ ” and “Jambalaya.” But whenever things got too rowdy, he’d sidetrack into a gospel number (“I’ll Fly Away”) or one of his trademark, deep-blue ballads (“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”). The Toby Keith collaboration “Beer for My Horses,” done early in the show, had a redneck rock slant that isn’t typical for Nelson, but the crowd dug the singalong chorus.

The 77-year-old Nelson retains his mystique, saying almost nothing but “Thank you very much” between songs. His band is nearly all acoustic these days, with no electric guitar (but plenty of Nelson’s amplified acoustic leads) and no drum kit (longtime drummer Paul English was recently sidelined by a stroke, so two sidemen alternated on a snare drum). But the core of the band remains sister Bobbie Nelson on piano and Mickey Raphael on harmonica; both went with Nelson’s flow as he took off on a few extended, slightly cosmic guitar solos.

As always Nelson got reverent at show’s end, getting lowdown on the gospel/blues standard “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” (the night’s only entry from his current album “Country Music”), and leading another singalong on the sanctified Hank Williams number “I Saw the Light.” The show ran like clockwork and wrapped up without an encore in just more than 90 minutes, but it still felt loose and satisfying.

http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1274666&srvc=home&position=also

Willie Nelson & Family on Cape Cod (8/12/2010) (another sold out show)

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

www.capecodonline.com
by Sean Corcoran

WIllie Nelson transformed the Cape Cod Melody Tent into “Willie’s Place” last night, storming through a history of country and Americana music, much of which Nelson himself composed.

With only a harmonica, a snare drum, an electric bass and a piano backing him, Nelson moved quickly from hard-driving country blues to soft, sweet and sometimes haunting ballads. At times, it seemed the music icon simply was playing whatever song came into his head, as if he was sitting on his back porch, smiling to his family as he played their favorites tunes.

For first-time Nelson watchers, the sold-out concert brought many “he wrote that?” moments. Nelson reminded Cape Cod that he composed “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” “On the Road Again,” “Beer for My Horses,” and the country classic made popular by Patsy Cline, “Crazy.”

During the course of more than five decades, Nelson has played the role of musician and songwriter, actor, Farm Aid promoter and political activist. For awhile in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it seemed he was as well-known for his bandana, marijuana smoking and tax problems as his music.

But Nelson has nothing if not staying power, and he’s one of the top songwriters America has ever produced. It would take dozens of Nashville superstars to top the 77-year-old’s number of Billboard charted albums. And despite his elder superstar status, Nelson appeared last night to have lost very little if any of his performance and guitar skills.

As a multi-generational crowd stomped, clapped and smiled along, Nelson blazed through what at times felt like one big medley of hits. Indeed, the stage contained no set list. The only guide Nelson seemed to follow was a big digital clock at his feet, which let him know how many more songs he could squeeze in before he hit 90 minutes of straight music.

The crowd featured a few dozen cowboy hats bobbing up and down, and to the sides, as Nelson performed songs about drinking, loving, losing and dying. And the iconic country troubadour appeared to have as much fun as anybody. His waist-long braids have been trimmed down to a shoulder-length bob, and Nelson wore New Balance sneakers rather than cowboy boots. But the distinctive soul of his voice left no mistake that an American-music master was on stage, and his only goal seemed to be to get as many people clapping as possible. That, and to have as much fun as he could.

And when he left the stage as his band played Hank Williams’ gospel number “I Saw the Light,” the crowd was on its feet, clapping and singing away, saying thanks to the Texan for bringing 90 minutes of merry-making music to a perfect Cape Cod evening.

www.capecodonline.com

Willie Nelson plays another sold out show, Portland, ME (8/11/2010)

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

www.pressherald.com
by Bob Keyes

PORTLAND — Willie Nelson is still playing his beat-up guitar and still thrilling crowds with his weathered old voice. 

Nelson, 77, played a sold-out show at Merrill Auditorium on Wednesday night, and impressed with his deft handling of his Martin guitar, which he has named Trigger in honor of Roy Rogers’ horse. Nelson has been playing that instrument so long and so hard, he’s worn a hole clear through the wooden body. 

At an age when many musicians turn picking duties over to younger gun-slingers, Nelson has done just the opposite. In the stripped-down band that he is currently touring with – sister Bobbie on piano, Bee Spears on bass, Mickey Raphael on harmonica and a tandem of Paul and Billy English on a single snare drum – Nelson is the band’s sole guitarist. 

On many occasions Wednesday night, he proved that his most lasting genius may well be his ability to pick and play with the best of them. On “Still is Still Moving to Me,” he stylized the song with jazz trappings. His finger-picked tight lines throughout his “Funny How Time Slips Away” medley, and blazed his way through a high-octane version of “Me and Bobby McGee.” 

The show felt very much like an American song book tour. Nelson played most of the songs that his fans wanted to hear, while covering material by Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Goodman, a host of tunes by Hank Williams and several traditional gospel numbers.In all, he burned through 32 songs in just a little more than 90 minutes. At times, the concert felt hurried. Nelson barely paused between songs and only occasionally spoke with the crowd – and he performed mostly fast versions of the songs. Many lasted less than two minutes each.

The show also felt a bit formulaic at times, with Nelson handing off solos first to sister Bobbie and then to Raphael and then closing them out himself. After a while, they began to sound and feel the same.

But Nelson did not give a cursory performance, by any means. He worked hard, and played his instrument exceptionally well most of the time. He was a joy to watch.

He also sounded pretty good in his voice. He has always half-sung, half-spoken his way through his songs, adopting a jazz-influenced, almost improvisational approach to vocals. That said, he demonstrated that he is still capable of belting out a song.

The highlights of the evening were many: “Help Me Make it Through the Night,” which sounded tender and sad, accented with a gorgeous harmonica solo by Raphael; a spare version of “Georgia on My Mind,” featuring Spears on acoustic bass; and a fantastic version of “Georgia on a Fast Train,” in which Nelson nailed the clickety-clack lyrics perfectly.

The goose-bumps moment came mid-set, when Nelson delivered “Angel Flying Too the Ground” and “You Were Always on My Mind.” Neither song sounded much like the versions we have come to know over the years, but no matter: Nelson held back, slowed the tempo and concentrated on finding the appropriate pace and exactly the right delivery to make each song soar.

If the show had any flaws, it was simply that Nelson seemed bored with some of his most popular songs. There were too many sing-alongs with the audience and too many cursory run-throughs of songs like “On the Road Again,” “Good-Hearted Woman” and “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”

But the audience loved him. They gave him a standing ovation the moment he walked on the stage to begin the show, and sent him off onto his tour bus with another big standing-O. Nelson hung around the front of the stage at the end of the show for a solid five minutes to shake hands and sign autographs.

It was a generous performance and a nice gesture from an icon of American music.

Read the entire article at the press herald.

Willie Nelson, Mountain Park, Holyoke, Massachusettes (8/8/2010)

Monday, August 9th, 2010

holyoke2

Photo by David Molnar

http://blog.masslive.com
by Kevin O’Hare

They’re mixing up musical styles a lot at Mountain Park this summer, so if you’re going to bring in some country music, you might as well go after a living legend.

That “legend” stuff gets used all too easily in sports and entertainment circles, but when one talks about Willie Nelson, the description is absolutely accurate.

So it was a special treat to see the 77-year-old Texas “outlaw,” playing before a crowd of approximately 3,000 fans at Mountain Park Sunday and sounding like he hasn’t missed a beat in 25 years.

Nelson is one of the last of a group of country music makers, that included the likes of the late Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, who shook up and practically tore down the Nashville establishment in the 1960s and early ‘70s to bring a new, less-polished style to country music.

On albums like “Red Headed Stranger” “Shotgun Willie” and even his classic set of covers, “Stardust,” Nelson helped country music break beyond the formulaic, and he’s still out on the road sending that message home every time he takes the stage. 

holyoke3

Photo by David Molnar

Together with his “Family” band, Nelson performed for 90 minutes in Holyoke, delivering more than 30 songs from a repertoire that includes hundreds of classics. After all, it was Nelson who wrote such ‘60s masterpieces as “Crazy” for Patsy Cline and “Night Life” for Ray Price, and they were just two of the standouts in a show that covered musical territory all the way up to Nelson’s latest album “Country Music.”

The singer kicked the night off with his signature opening “Whiskey River” before “Still is Still Moving to Me,” and other early highlights including his amusingly autobiographical “Me and Paul,” the latter which details the barnstorming adventures of Nelson and his longtime drummer Paul English who shares percussion duties with his brother Billy English in the current “Family” lineup.

Nelson, who’s wearing his hair shorter these days, wore several different red bandanas, which he tossed out to the crowd at different points in the night. Typically, he didn’t banter much with the audience, opting instead to let his music do the talking as he played one song after another.

Following a particularly poignant “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” he said “Let’s do one for Waylon,” and offered a strong take of the Jennings’ hit that the two co-wrote “Good Hearted Woman.”


photo by David Molnar

After the crowd fave “On The Road Again,” he gave his distinctive vocal phrasing a workout on “Always on My Mind,” before letting his sister Bobbie Nelson and harmonica master Mickey Raphael each take turns in the spotlight on a blend of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” and “I’ll Fly Away.”

Though some may have been unfamiliar with it, Nelson offered a dark and deeply compelling version of “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” from the new album, before shaking up the crowd with Hank Williams’ favorites “Jambalaya (On The Bayou)” “Hey, Good Lookin’” and “Move it on Over.”

As the night wound down, Nelson stayed strong, with latter set standouts that included Steve Goodman’s “City of New Orleans” a take of “Georgia” that was indeed “as sweet and clear as moonlight through the pines,” “You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore” and the joyous “I Saw the Light.”

holyoke4

Photo by David Molnar

Read the entire review, and see lots more of David Molnar’s great pictures of Willie Nelson and the band at masslive.com

Another Willie Nelson Fan: Matt Cole

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

www.jconline.com
Story and photo by Tim Brouk

West Lafayette native Matt Coles’ name has appeared on hundreds of records.  As a recording studio engineer in Nashville, Tenn., Coles has worked with numerous artists and producers ranging from small-time rock bands to country music’s elite. Getting his start in 2004, Coles quickly rose to be one of the most in-demand freelance engineers in Music City. The 32-year-old now is working on Rush’s new album.

TB:  Who are some big names that you’ve worked with?

MC:  Lots of country. Just about every country act.  Willie Nelson was the neatest person I got to work with.  Brooks and Dunn to Lee Ann Womack to Dolly Parton to Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, everybody. The only person I haven’t worked with in Nashville is Alan Jackson. … You never get star struck except with Willie Nelson. Shaking his hand was incredible.

TB:  What are these stars like in the studio?

MC:  It seems the younger ones, like Josh Turner, are more down to business in the studio. But a guy like Willie Nelson or guys even like Rush, they are more laid back about it. They’ve been making records for 30 years and know how to do it. … They just know what to do and they know how to do it and they do it. You’re not spending two hours doing punch-ins. With Chicago, I could barely keep up with the singer. Those guys were getting it on the first take. Same with Willie, he wouldn’t sing it again.

Read the entire article here.

Farm Aid Good for Milwaukee; Milwaukee Good for Farm Aid

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Willie Nelson, Farm Aid 2009, St. Louis, MO.

www.jsonline.com
by Don Walker

There’s a saying among the people who work for Farm Aid, the group that is bringing its music and messages of support for family farming to Miller Park on Oct. 2.

“Willie Nelson always says, ‘We go where we are wanted,’?” said Jennifer Fahy, Farm Aid’s communications director. “A lot of places made great pitches to us, but Miller Park fit the bill. The Brewers were excited to make it work for us. We are thrilled to be in a major-league park for the first time.”

The annual event has particular significance this year. It’s the group’s 25th anniversary, and organizers thought the Midwest would be a perfect locale to celebrate successes and challenges of family farming.

“We do have dedicated people who come every year from as far away as Hawaii and Alaska,” Fahy said. “They call themselves Farm Heads and they come every year.

“But Wisconsin is a perfect place for Farm Aid. We will draw a lot of people from the Midwest. Whenever we are in the Midwest, the audience is farm-based. For people in the Midwest, this is a natural.”

Brewers Enterprises, the arm of the franchise that markets the stadium, feels the same way. Months ago, Jason Hartlund, vice president of Brewers Enterprises, took at a look at the proposed date – Oct. 2 – and checked the baseball schedule. The Brewers are in Cincinnati that day, closing out the regular season on the road against the Reds.

Hartlund then made a proposal to Farm Aid that Miller Park, and that radial, retractable roof, would be a perfect spot for a fall Farm Aid concert.

Farm Aid is one of the bigger events Miller Park and the Brewers have landed. In August 2008, the Harley Owners Group came to Milwaukee for an annual gathering. Harley-lovers rocked out to Kid Rock and Sugarland at the stadium.

Hartlund says he hopes to land one or two big events a year.

He declined to discuss financial details of this event. “This will not be a cash cow for us,” he said, but he said the event will help put Miller Park on the map for the franchise.

Fahy said 100% of the ticket proceeds will go to Farm Aid.

“And the dairy industry is a big reason we are excited to be in Wisconsin,” Fahy said. “We have been calling attention to the dairy crisis for the last 18 months. The corporate concentration of dairying and dairy pricing are big issues for us. We’ve got to conquer the challenges family dairy farmers face.”

Hartlund said the Brewers would help promote the event.

Exact hours of the festival and the final lineup are still being finalized, but expect to see a full-day affair. Besides Nelson, Farm Aid board members Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews are scheduled to perform.

This week, Farm Aid organizers will talk to Visit Milwaukee, the city’s tourism group, about getting aid and support for the event.

“An event like this draws people from around the country,” Visit Milwaukee’s Dave Fantle said. “And we want to engage our hotel partners on packages for visitors.”

The Farm Aid stage will be set in the center field area beneath the scoreboard. Approximately 6,500 to 7,000 seats will be set up in the outfield. Capacity for the event will be 40,000-plus fans.

Farm Aid crews will provide their own sound, lighting and video.

Tickets for the event will go on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Brewers box office, by calling (414) 902-4000 or online at www.tickets.com. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $97.50. Parking will be extra: $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the event. Fahy said a strong selling point for Farm Aid was the Miller Park roof. “The roof is a great plus,” she said. “We had a show in Seattle in 2004 and it rained. Our bigger concern was the cooler weather. But the stadium and the park are just gorgeous. And there is real grass on the field. It’s a great field for us.”

Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

Willie Nelson & Family at Wolf Trap, Vienna, Virginia (8/3/2010)

Friday, August 6th, 2010

wolftrap
Photo by J.Kubin

http://communities.washingtontimes.com
by Jacquie Kubin

VIENNA, VA (8/5/10) – There are voices that define each generation. Watching Willie Nelson perform at Wolf Trap, I realized his is one of mine.

Nelson’s career reaches back to the early 1960s when the aspiring songwriter first sold Crazy (for loving you) to Patsy Klein (1962) reaching #2 on the country charts and becoming a signature tune for the songstress.

Putting the Texas cowboy on the map.

Nelson become an American icon during the 1970s – he was the outlaw cowboy, the real thing, that millions of urban cowboys dreamed they could be, and cowgirls fell in love with.

Now 77, Nelson appeared before a sold out crowd that spanned the generations.  Grandparents leading their grand children and young men and women there to enjoy the songs of this living legend. 

Very much in the trademark style the artist has shown over the last five decades, he walked onto a very large stage, of which he took only a small part.  No light shows or risers.  Just a Texas flag behind him and a spot and some color lights surround.

Simple.  The star of this show was Nelson and his guitar.  His music, decades in the making blends country, folk,  jazz, rock and roll, western swing and reggae.  

From the first notes of opener “Whiskey River” we watched entranced by the music he has created. 

To see Nelson play live, is to see a guitarist who creates sounds that are crystal clear and beyond description with mere words as he bends notes that seem to be enlivened with the soul of a Gypsy to create memorable moments in time.

The hour-forty or fifty-minute show ran through a greatest hits library of songs.  Of which there are many.  

Joining pianist Bonnie Nelson, bassist Bee Spears, drummer Paul English and harp player Mickey Raphael, Nelson opened the show with Whiskey River, a song that was once fast paced and rousing, but that now seemed to be a memory of times past.

It may have been the older crowd or the oppressive heat, but it seemed that people were comfortable to sit easily, tapping a foot, clapping along without being boisterous. 

The audience was filled with “cowgirls” from across the age range, remembering the first time they heard “Nightlife” or “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.”

Songs such as “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “On the Road Again” and “Good Hearted Woman” rousing the crowd to sing, dance and clap along. 

While the audience became quiet, listening with their hearts as he sang standards “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” and “Always On My Mind.”

Nelson seemed happy to be with the Wolf Trap crowd.  Someone yelled “How ya’ doing?” and he responded in that voice that is only his “Well, I guess I’m doing fine, but it seems it was only yesterday…,” before breaking into “Funny How Time Slips Away”

Which is not to say there were not the young women, singing and swaying hoping to catch Willie’s attention and receive one of the bandana’s he would put on his head for a song or two before throwing it to the crowd.

Nelson’s guitar playing is unchanged.  It remains fresh and crisp. Emotive. Soulful.  Similarly his voice remains as we remember, only slightly reflecting his age.  It was one of the best sounding shows seen at Wolf Trap this year.

But the songs of youth, love and longing; the songs that evoked the freedom of the open range, or vagabound lifestyle and made us dream of growing up to be a cowboy, even if we lived in Chicago, still sound good. Songs that still bring wistful sighs, and cheers of remembrance.

Leaving the show I encountered a young woman, maybe the same age I was when I first learned the absolute beauty of “Stardust Memories” while watching the sunrise reflected out my window. 

And she was truly in love with the man she just saw perform.  Repeatedly declaring him the best, the best ever.  And holding back a tear when she realized the tour bus had left with the cowboy of her dreams.

Which is why Willie Nelson was, and is, one of those voices for a generation. He made his fans believe in whiskey, love and having a good time with good friends.  And he still is.

And Nelson’s good times, including those with pal Waylon Jennings, whom he recorded “Momma Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys “ (Ed and Patsy Bruce) with, are legion.  That song, from the 1978 album Waylon and Willie has become the defacto theme to the outlaw country music, so named because it did not really fit within Nashville’s “country and western” box.

Making sure we remembered the antics of life on the road Nelson sang  “Me and Paul,” written in tribute to his longtime friend and drummer Paul English, a wonderful ditty about some of the cities his journeys took him to, and the ones that asked him to leave.

“There are a lot more old drunks than old doctors, so I think I will have another round” brought out a chuckle and cheer from the crowd as Nelson sang  “I Gotta Get Drunk,” smiling like an outlaw.

“Superman” had us smiling and as the band played on after the singing of “City of New Orleans” was done, Nelson greeted his fans, shaking hands and leaving new memories behind as he walked off the stage. 

Always a cowboy.  Always alone.

The Jack Daniels bottles of shows gone by were surely missing.

And so was Willie’s braid.  I am not sure what made him remove that trademark.  Again, it may have been age, or heat.  But like the Jack Daniels, I did miss it.

It only made sense to stop after the show.  Requesting Jack neat, and punching Red Headed Stranger into what now passes for a jukebox seemed fitting, however the young-hip techno crowd did not appreciate it. 

Made me wish I could set my boots up on the chair next to me.

Because I know Heaven holds a special place for cowboys – and cowgirls.

Willie Nelson, Levon Helm at Radio City Music Hall (8/28/2010)

Friday, August 6th, 2010


by Paul
www.hearya.com

The Levon Helm Band opened for Willie Nelson and Family last Wednesday evening at Radio City Music Hall. Both performances reinforced my deep respect and admiration for these two American legends.

The Band is my favorite all-time band and I’ve been lucky enough to see Levon at two Midnight Rambles over the past couple of years. For those of you who don’t know the background story on the Rambles – Levon had throat cancer in the 1990s, which left his voice and pocketbook in shambles for a number of years. In order to cover his staggering medical bills he started the Midnight Rambles up at his barn/studio in Woodstock, NY. Since the first ramble in 2005, The Levon Helm Band has toured extensively and released two Grammy award winning albums, Dirt Farmer (2007) and Electric Dirt (2009). Check out this link for more info.

Sadly, Levon is only singing on a couple of songs now and his voice is noticeably strained, but he doesn’t disappoint! He gave a spirited performance taking the lead on “Ophelia” and singing a verse on the American traditional, Deep Elem Blues. For their encore, Levon invited Willie on stage to join them for the wonderfully ubiquitous “The Weight.”

Not one to be upstaged, Willie Nelson sauntered on stage and preceded to knock it out of the park. At the ripe age of 77, Willie’s voice and guitar playing are silky and strong like an aged bottle of whiskey. Highlights of Willie’s set included the Waylon Jennings tune, “Good Hearted Woman,” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”