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.