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photo: Suzanne Cordeiro
www.austin.eater.com
by:
As part of the legendary Willie Nelson’s annual music festival Luck Reunion during South by Southwest, the true Texan musician is hosting a special dinner led by female Texas chefs out on his ranch space in Spicewood, Texas.
The PotLuck Dinner, which takes place the evening before the music festival starts on Wednesday, March 13, features five notable chefs from the state:
“We look forward to tasting their dishes and hearing their stories as they show us how their heritage influences their cooking,” Austin Food & Wine Alliance executive director Mariam Parker told Eater.
The evening also includes reception cocktails from Jessica Sanders, the owner of Austin cocktail bar Drink.Well.
Luckily, the meal will end with a performance by Nelson. It benefits Nelson’s nonprofit Farm Aid and is organized by the Austin Food & Wine Alliance and Salt & Time’s Ben Runkle. While tickets to the dinner are already sold out, those who will manage to snag tickets to the Luck Reunion festival (which are available on a staggered rolling basis up until the festival) will be given the opportunity to buy admissions to the meal too.
The Luck Reunion music festival takes place the next day on Thursday, March 14, out on the ranch, with performances by artists like Mavis Staples, Shakey Graves, Nathaniel Rateliff, and many others.

www.PalmSpringsLife.com
Willie Nelson & Family
May 18
Casino Resort Spa
32250 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage
hotwatercasino.com
One of the most beloved and respected artists in American music, superstar Willie Nelson makes a welcome return to The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa on May 18 with his full band, Willie Nelson & Family.
With a six-decade career and 200-plus albums, the Texan is the creative genius behind the historic recordings of “Crazy,” “Red Headed Stranger,” and “Stardust.” Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and amassed reputable credentials 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 album releases; published the book It’s A Long Story: My Life, the unvarnished and complete story of his life that landed him on the New York Times’ bestsellers list; again headlined Farm Aid, an event he co-founded in 1985; received his 5th degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul; headlined the annual Luck Reunion food and music festival at his ranch in Luck, TX during SXSW; launched his cannabis companies Willie’s Reserve and Willie’s Remedy; and graced the covers of Rolling Stone and AARP The Magazine.
In November 2015 the Library of Congress honored Nelson with their Gershwin Prize for Popular Song for his contributions to popular music. He is the first country artist to receive the distinguished award. That year he released a new studio album with Merle Haggard titled Django And Jimmie, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country album chart and No. 7 on Billboard‘s Top 200 album chart. The following year began with the release of Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin, a collection of 11 newly recorded Gershwin classics.
The album debuted at No. 1 on both the Top Current Jazz chart and the Top Traditional Jazz chart, as well as earning him a Grammy Award for the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In September 2016, came For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price, an album of newly recorded interpretations of 12 Ray Price songs. In 2017, he released two albums of newly recorded performances: God’s Problem Child, with 13 new songs, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country album chart and No. 10 on the Billboard 200, and Willie Nelson and The Boys (Willie’s Stash, Vol. 2), that includes 11 country classics and one brand new song performed by Nelson and his sons Lukas and Micah.
In April 2018, he released Last Man Standing to celebrate his 85th birthday, comprised entirely of songs newly-penned by Nelson (and longtime collaborator and producer Buddy Cannon).
And September saw the release of My Way, a collection of newly recorded standards and classic originally made famous by Nelson’s close friend and musical colleague Frank Sinatra. These new songs and performances add to his classic catalog, and find Nelson rolling at a creative peak, writing and singing and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road, which he still travels along performing for fans.

Fred Foster (center) signed Willie to his label, Monument Records, in 1964.
www.Billboard.com
by: Annie Reuter
read entire article here.
Fred Foster, longtime producer and Country Music Hall of Fame member, died in his sleep Feb. 20 following a short illness. He was 87.
The North Carolina native founded Monument Records in 1958 and was at the helm of many iconic country records, including seminal albums from Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Ray Stevens and Jeannie Seely. He also founded Combine Music, which published Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee” (co-written with Foster) and “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” Orbison’s “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)” and Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie.”
Foster had a hand in producing many hits by Orbison in the 1960s, including “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Only the Lonely” and “Crying,” as well as Parton and Jimmy Dean’s first singles. He also helmed Kristofferson’s debut album, the 2007 Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price album Last of the Breed, as well as Price’s final album, 2014’s Beauty Is. His last project was Dawn Landes’ 2018 album, Meet Me at the River.
Nippon Budokan, often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Budokan was originally built for the judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics, hence its name, which translates in English as Martial Arts Hall.

Congratulations to Mickey Raphael on this recent 2019 Academy of Country Music Awards nomination for Specialty Instrument Player of the Year.
he Academy of Country Music announced ACM Awards nominees in the industry and studio categories. The winners will be acknowledged during the 12th annual ACM Honors ceremony, an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 53rd ACM Awards.
The ACM Honors will take place on Aug. 22 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- Carl Miner
- Danny Rader
- Mickey Raphael
- Bryan Sutton
- Derek Wells