www.stillisstillmoving.com

www.timesonline.com
by: Scott Tady

BURGETTSTOWN — Well, it was a marvelous night for a moon dance Friday, with Van Morrison at KeyBank Pavilion singing many of his classic songs.

Not that the lazy fans in the second-tier seats got up on their feet to shake and groove until the very end, though it looked rather lively on the lawn.

Granted, Morrison’s 90-minute performance got off to a slow start, bringing initial fears of, wow, what if the 45-year wait to see the Northern Ireland legend on a local stage didn’t meet expectations? Morrison and his band sounded too quiet, especially compared to the guitar-shredding set of alt-country artist Sturgill Simpson that had preceded them.

Morrison seemed to notice it, too, making a few upward pointing gestures, as in, hey, turn up the volume. Morrison played sax on “Benediction (Thank God For Self Love),” and he and his lightly jazzy pop-rock band sounded OK on “Magic Time,” but they were still too quiet and in need of more energy. Sporting a dark suit, tinted glasses and stylish hat, Morrison added harmonica to the blues standard “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” which perked up things. Everything finally started to click — evidently volume adjustments were made — as Morrison’s signature, soulful voice got good and peppy on “Here Comes The Night” by his 1960s band Them.

From there, it truly was a marvelous experience, as the band began to assert itself, including soothing female backing vocals on “Carrying a Torch” then the classic “Moondance,” somewhat re-arranged, with a prominent bass line behind Morrison’s jaunty vocals.

Van The Man even cracked a smile during “Broken Record,” where he and the band imitated a broken record, complete with a scratching, stuck needle sound effect, and him repeatedly singing “broken record, broken record, broken record…”

The excitement grew with a back-to-back “Days Like This” and the classic “Wild Night,” while Morrison played piano for “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

And talk about an epic ending, with the famed “Brown Eyed Girl” sparking the crowd to sing “Sha la la la la la la la la la la, dee dah” — just like that — and then a spry “Gloria,” in all its G-L-O-R-I-A glory, getting even those spectators in the pavilion’s second tier to stand and dance.

Not only did local Morrison fans get to a cross an item off their bucket list, they saw a fine performance.

For many of the 17,500 or so spectators, Morrison was the main draw, though six other acts made memories at this Outlaw Music Festival, including headliner Willie Nelson, who at 85, still has a charming stage presence. With a huge Texas flag unfurled behind him, Nelson, armed with his trusty and battered acoustic guitar, chugged through classics like “On The Road Again,” “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” and his set-launching “Whiskey River.”

Nelson’s son Micah played drums with brushes, giving the sound a nice country-western shuffle, with Willie’s other boy, Lukas, bringing some smoking guitar and a voice similar to his dad’s on the high notes during “It’s Floodin’ Down in Texas.”

From a Hank Williams medley to a lovely rendering of “Always on My Mind,” Nelson proved he’s still a quality entertainer.

His boys both got to play an afternoon set, with Micah, under the stage name Particle Kid, conjuring an intriguing sound that mixed twangy country, conga drums and psychedelic vocal effects. The crowd loved his “Everything is Bull—-” for which brother Lukas came on and added air guitar before seamlessly starting his own set that showcased exciting guitar and great songwriting.

Lukas and his band, Promise of the Real, connected with the crowd on “Turn Off The News,” a song that begins “I believe that every heart is kind/some of them are just a little underused” before getting to a message of skipping the TV news and doing something positive instead, like planting a garden or spending time with your kids. “We might feel a bit less hardened,” he says.

You’ll hear more about Lukas Nelson and Promise of The Real when they appear as the band in the much hyped “A Star is Born” reboot with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

Compared to Lukas Nelson’s set, outlaw country artist Sturgill Simpson and his band seemed too sprawling and self-indulgent, though there were some thrilling moments amid their lengthy jams.

Maybe the finest performance of the day came from Brandi Carilie whose rocking band entertained and delivered a message. Carlile mentioned her two daughters and her wife, saying she feels compelled to talk about them on stage to assert their rights to be a family. Alone on stage at that point, she sang the touching song “The Mother,” with a cute line about her first-born: “the first things she took from me were my selfishness and sleep.”

Carlile uttered something about there being no junkies, just people suffering through hard times, as she set her full, warm voice loose on “Sugartooth,” a song she wrote about a friend who had a drug addiction and took his own life.

Carlile ended her set with an impressive, full-bodied rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You.”

The sparse crowd entering the gates by 2:45 p.m. saw a wonderful opening set by Pittsburgh’s own The Commonheart. Clinton Clegg’s soul-searching voice, backed by scorching guitar, shined on a few originals and an excellent cover of “With A Little Help From My Friends,” done Joe Cocker style.

T

drawing by Nicole Rifkin

www.wideopencountry.com
by: Stephanie Heath

American singer and guitarist Willie Nelson is incredibly well-known. Having had any successful songs, he is no stranger to have his music hit the top of the charts. However, even someone who has written or co-written over 300 songs has to have their favorites. Recently, Willie Nelson revealed the favorite two songs he has written throughout his incredible career.

While there have been several songs that Willie Nelson has liked, or that have performed well, there are two that stand out among the rest. When Parade asked Nelson to share his most cherished pieces he shared his favorite two songs. Those songs were “On the Road Again” and “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.” While some fans may have been surprised by these two choices, Nelson had reasons for his choices.

The songs pained lyrics often show great loss of love or life, and Willie Nelson has repeatedly dedicated the song to his son, Billy, who passed by suicide in 1991. Perhaps that song feels good to sing not just for its melodies, but for the release of emotions that it brings.

“On The Road Again”

This song proves that inspiration can strike you at any moment. Willie Nelson admitted that he wrote this song on an airline puke bag. It only took him minutes to come up with the iconic lyrics. However, interestingly enough he did not come up with the music for the song until months later. I guess good things really do take time, and what a good thing it was. This song became a No. 1 country song and was nominated for a Best Song Oscar.

“Crazy”

Turns out that much like the title, this Willie Nelson song had quite the story behind it. After several failed attempts to find someone who could handle the song’s complex nature, Nelson finally stumbled upon Patsy Cline. However, it was Ms. Cline’s husband who convinced her to take on the song, and thank goodness that she did because it was a huge success.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Thanks, Budrock, for sharing this review from your great collection.

American Statesman
by: John T. Davis

There is a bit of doggerel that contends that boys are composed in the main of snips and snails and puppy dog tails. And by the same token, girls are sugar and spice and everything nice.

And a Willie Nelson concert at the Austin Opera House? Like the one he played Tuesday night? That’s a bit more problematic. There are the lights and the smoke and the whiskey, of course. But there is also the fleeting sight of a cowboy hat arching through the spotlight as Nelson backhands it into the audience. And that exhilarating moment to “Nightlife” when the lights go blue and the band hits everything is sight… And the breathless anticlimax of the second verse of “Bloody Mary Morning” after the long instrumental rave up… And the sight of the four – count ’em – four guitarists in the band (Nelson, Jody Payne, Grady Martin and Bobby Rambo) pulling off one solo after another… And the heartbreaking incongruity of Willie singing the upbeat lyrics of “Blue Skies” in the most heart-breakingly sad cadences imaginable.

Tuesday night was a bit of an anomaly in the history of Nelson’s annual Christmas shows. With a guest list of more than 500, most of them movie people from the Left Coast (Nelson is working on “The Songwriter” here in town, the audience was uncommonly subdued; in fact, for the first half of the three-hour show, they acted like they’d been sedated. Nelson couldn’t have cared less. He was playing for himself as much as the audience. After being pinned under the unblinking eye of the camera for weeks, he bolted for the stage like a resistance fighter breaking for the frontier and freedom.

The crowd really didn’t come alive until Kris Kristofferson and David Allen Coe came out to join Wilie in one of the most improbable harmonies ever to issue from the Opera House stage. Then Kristofferson’s band joined Nelson’s on stage and all of a sudden there were seven guitarists, two bass players and three piano players all vying for space.

It was a show that demanded some relief pitchers. Nelson did 34 songs, did an off-stage breath and then came back sporting a Santa Clause cap and hollered, “Now it’s time to get down and get serious!” before playing and eight-song encore. That got ’em on their feet.

There was enough music to sate any Willie Nelson fan, although he did not play anything from “Tougher Than Leather” or (except for the obligatory “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”, from “Red Headed Stranger” or his new album, “Without a Song”. No matter. No one felt the lack of Nelson singing, “Always on My Mind” in a pool of pastels and shadows or listening to the holiday medley of “Jingle Bells”, “Santa Clause is Coming to Town”, and “Pretty Paper”, or hearing him duet with Kristofferson on “Me and Bobby McGee”, or… But here we go again.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com
by:  John W. Barry

For all of he does to reinforce the image of an outlaw, a weathered journeyman who has staked a claim on the frontier, there is truly something gentle, warm and soothing about country music star Willie Nelson for me.

His soft voice, his wistful regrets and the manner in which he keeps moving on, in song and in real life, have all left a big impression on me, even though I would not call myself a big fan.

All of this will continue to come into sharper focus for me as Sept. 13 draws closer. That’s the day Nelson returns to Dutchess County, for a performance at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie that is being staged by the Bardavon 1869 Opera House.

I saw Nelson perform at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in 2002 and was taken with his ability to rile up a room, then calm it down and maintain a firm but relaxed hold on all of those in attendance.

Nelson performed at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill in 2004, on a bill that also featured Bob Dylan. I can clearly remember couples dancing in the outfield, as a country fair atmosphere consumed the home of the minor league baseball Hudson Valley Renegades.

Will I be attending the Willie Nelson concert at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center on Sept. 13? You know I will. Visit www.bardavon.org, www.ticketmaster.com and www.midhudsonciviccenter.org for information.

ALSO: O+ Poughkeepsie is quickly approaching.

www.papercitymag.com
by: Jane Howze

Texas musical icon Willie Nelson, who will celebrate his 90th birthday on April 29th, is the subject of a new five-part documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Willie Nelson & Family is an honest, emotional, sometimes heartbreaking, and ultimately affectionate portrait of one of the world’s most extraordinary and prolific musicians.

The documentary opens with Nelson at the set created on the singer’s ranch outside of Austin for the 1986 motion picture Red Headed Stranger (starring Nelson and Morgan Fairchild), based on Nelson’s multi-platinum concept album by the same name. Nelson calls his ranch Luck Ranch.

“When you are here you are in Luck, and when you are not here you are out of Luck,” he jokes.

The documentary quickly switches to a live performance of Nelson singing “Whiskey River” to a wildly cheering crowd. Even if you don’t stand up and start dancing from the comfort of your TV room, you know you are in for something special.  

Directors Thom Zimny (who also directed Netflix’s Springsteen on Broadway) and Oren Moverman (producer of the Emmy-winning HBO documentary Bad Education) faced both challenges and opportunities in filming the first Willie Nelson documentary made with the full cooperation of the singer’s family and friends.

What is left to be said about Willie Nelson? How can you condense a 70-year career with such astonishing highs and lows into five hours?  

Zimny and Moverman skillfully present Nelson’s life and career as a collage rather than a chronology. This doc does not follow a specific timeline. Instead, it is a series of stories that are skillfully knitted together to provide a well-rounded view of the man, his spirituality, and his love for family (which includes his fans to Nelson), and how it has evolved over his career. The documentary, like Nelson himself, has a cadence that moves from guitar technique to his battles with alcohol to his relationships with Presidents Clinton and Carter. All in the space of minutes.

The directors of Willie Nelson & Family also benefited from the COVID pandemic, which forced Nelson to suspend touring and allowed Zimny and Moverman extended one-on-one time with him. It also allowed them to conduct more than 80 other interviews and do a deep dive into archival material.

Filmed in Maui, California, Nashville, and at Nelson’s ranch outside of Austin, the film features in-depth interviews with Nelson and his family while fellow musicians, producers, and friends are filmed alone against a black backdrop. They stare into the camera, with the interviewers heard but not seen, and reflect on Willie.  

Included in the star-studded group of collaborators are legendary country singer Brenda Lee, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, soul pioneer Booker T. Jones and country music stars Roseanne Cash and Dolly Parton. Parton, who has known Willie Nelson for more than 50 years, laughingly describes him back in the early days as “dorky looking (pause) in a professional sort of way, of course.”

Willie Nelson, The Early Years

The first episode of this five-hour extravaganza features the bond Willie and his sister Bobbie Nelson form after being abandoned by their parents and left to their grandparents to raise. At age six, Willie receives his first guitar.

“The guitar had a voice,” Nelson says. “The box wood sings. It was near to my heart and became a part of me.”

The scene shifts to him and his sons Lukas and Micah singing “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” under palm trees. With such an emotional punch, I wondered how the filmmakers could top that.

Not to worry. Because of the documentary’s almost stream-of-consciousness approach, the succeeding episodes continue to enchant and engage the viewer with early music you may not have heard before. And new anecdotes about this complex and extraordinary man. Willie Nelson & Family viewers are delightfully surprised because of the directors’ freewheeling nonlinear treatment of their subject.

It is hard to imagine today, but success came late in life to Willie Nelson. The second episode of Willie Nelson & Family describes his childhood in Abbott Texas and his early start in Nashville. Nelson was so discouraged by the early rejections that he tried to commit suicide. Even after he achieved artistic and financial success, he experienced heartache (some self-inflicted). Willie divorced three times, suffered through the suicide of his eldest son, and watched his assets get seized to satisfy an IRS lien. Former University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal is credited with rescuing Nelson’s beloved guitar named Trigger during this period.

In the documentary, Nelson vulnerably addresses his mistakes and tragedies — and the importance of his spirituality.

All of Nelson’s kids have a voice in Willie Nelson & Family as do his ex-wives and his wife of 30 years Annie (mother to Lucas and Micah). His sister Bobbie, who accompanied him on the piano in church as a child and then on stage for the last 50 years, is also heavily featured.

But perhaps the unsung star of the entire five-part documentary is Texas itself. The filmmakers stated at the premiere and in interviews that capturing the Lone Star State, its people, and musical history is pivotal in telling Willie Nelson’s story. And indeed, Nelson did not achieve fame until after he returned to Texas from Nashville. The film movingly shows Texas hippies and country music fans finding commonality in Nelson’s music.

Willie Nelson and Friends 

Willie Nelson fans will be moved not just by the songs and the story, but by his collaborations. One of Ray Charles’ last performances came in serenading Nelson on his 70th birthday. Other goosebump moments include Nelson with Johnny Cash and the famed Highwaymen, Julio Iglesias, and Leon Russell. There is also a sacred moment with his sister Bobbie as they played hymns at the Abbott Texas church in which they grew up.

Nelson’s spirituality and wisdom gained through life’s struggles is an overriding theme of the documentary, as are treating people kindly and avoiding negativity, which Nelson says will kill you. The Nelson Family’s motto is: “Don’t be an asshole. Don’t be an asshole. Don’t be a goddamn asshole.”  

Willie Nelson fans will relish every minute of this 234-minute-long documentary. While distribution rights are still being worked out, it’d be a surprise to not have the chance to see this epic doc later this year. In the meantime, fans can celebrate Nelson winning a Best Country Album Grammy for A Beautiful Time and check out his newest album, I Don’t Know a Thing about Love, which came out last month. Of course, there is also a mega 90th birthday concert planned for the Hollywood Bowl on April 29 and 30. 

It’s Willie Nelson. Everything has to be bigger.

Read article, see photos here.

Abilene Reporter-News
by:  Greg Jaklewicz

Stony LaRue and other artists proved to be accurate weathermen Saturday.
What a wonderful day for an outdoor musical festival, he said during his early evening set.

As West Texas spring days go, it was darn near perfect.
Well, except for a bit of wind taking hold of a large orange sun umbrella and sending it spinning into the crowd. No one was hurt but made a quick check to make their umbrellas wasn’t going anywhere.

And when the sun set, it got better as, without fanfare, Willie Nelson ambled on stage. With help from his band, he unholstered Trigger – his one-of-a-kind guitar – from its stand and to raucous cheers took a seat on the Back Porch of Texas. Smiling, he said thanked fans for coming and launched into “Whiskey River.”
Three years of waiting was over.

Willie, scheduled to play in 2020, came to the Outlaws & Legends Music Festival at last.

The iconic Texas singer, who will be 90 later this month, still has game. He cannot sing like he once did, often letting the audience help him. But he played the heck out of Trigger, and when he smiled, the appreciative audience knew Willie was doing what Willie loves to do.

Guitars in tune still is one of the only two things in life that make it worth living.
Willie started the show wearing a cowboy hat, but he took it off to reveal his long, braided hair wrapped by a bandanna saying “Willie Nelson.”
He whisked through the songs fans knew by heart, stopping now and then to thank the crowd for its applause.
“I hear you,” he said, smiling. “Thank you.”
“Mamas,” he led, before the crowd sang, “don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.”
Soon enough, he got to “On the Road Again,” which he recently has been singing on the Capital One commercial during coverage of March Madness.

Oh, did you know that also was going on Saturday?

Not many at the 12th annual event, which seemed to draw its largest crowd ever Saturday, cared too much. No scores were announced.

Read article here, see more photos.

Two big stars for ChicagoFest will be country music singers Waylon Jennings on August 8 and Wilie Nelson on Aug. 9.  Willie, who likes only Southern cooking, is bringing his own chuckwagon and chef.  Joe drives the chuckwagon with his motorhome behind it.    The rock group Kiss will perform at the international Amphitheater on Sept. 22.

photo: Kansas.com

www.wokv.com
by: Erick Erickson

WICHITA, Kan. — Willie Nelson was on the road again, and the country music legend showed he could still draw a crowd.

Nelson, 89, took to the stage at the Wichita Riverfest on Saturday, KSNW-TV reported. Nelson and his band performed at Kennedy Plaza in the Kansas city, and Wichita police estimated more than 50,000 people were in attendance, The Wichita Eagle reported. Willie Nelson & Friends was joined by the singer’s three opening acts: Charley Crockett, Chapel Hart and Katie Jo, KSNW reported.

“Everybody was just excited for Willie,” Wichita Festivals Inc. President Nancy Duling told the newspaper. “You could just feel the energy.”

Festival officials say it’s the biggest concert turnout in at least 15 years.