www.stillisstillmoving.com

October 1987

Anticipation spills over with the first few notes from Mickey’s harmonica. Then, as Willie takes the stage and sings “Whiskey River Take My Mind,” the audience responds as if each person there had just won the New York State Lottery.

This rapport increases throughout the show as Willie glides from Kris Kristofferson gems to gospel, cowboy songs to blues, self-penned classics to ballads. Whatever Willie sings, the people. Funny how two hours slip away.

Willie and Family Show is felt, not just seen and heard. It’s a natural high for those lucky enough to be there. Ad those people will be back for another show.

It’s easy to appreciate the efforts of Willie and the band members on stage. They have given us top quality entertainment. Not so visible, i.e. well-known, are the people involved backstage working before and after each show.

Willie and Family roll coast-to-coast on tires. Five chocolate/tan customized Silver Eagle buses, painted in various Indian and western themes, drive into the shows parking area. these carry the 27 or so experts, including band members, that work with Willie to keep the show running smoothly. And smoothly it does. Also on tour is a motor home with the concessions people, a rental truck, and a semi for equipment.

On tour with Willie can be 200 shows a year, covering up to 100,000 miles. The buses soak up to 200 gallons at truck stops and that translates to about 6 or 7 miles per gallon.

Your ticket might give the show’s starting time as 8 p.m., but the first of Willie’s crew starts long before that. The sound and lights technicians are setting up by 11 in the morning for an 8 p.m. show.

By 3 p.m. the security staff and stage manager are at work. Look for the Wrangler bus around the same time. the fourth bus, with the band members, comes over about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hour before the show starts.

The big question is, of course, When Does Willie Get Here? It varies.

It’s not unusual for Willie to arrive 30 minutes to an hour before show time. Or, it just might be any time from 11 a.m. to 7:45; each show has it’s own circumstances.

Eventually the evening ends, Willie waves goodbye and exits the stage. the audience also heads for home.

Willie’s crew, the same people that set up that morning, have another 2 to 2 1/2 hours of work to tear it all down. When you have the best sound and light equipment available, it takes that long before everything is loaded and ready to roll.

One by one the Silver Eagles and trucks hustle down the highway to the next show and another city.

Many thanks to Wrangler’s Mell Parkhurst who took time at the Salem, Ohio show to answer all our questions.

Jean and Beth Dolezal
Evanston, Indiana
1987

www.MSN.com
by:

TAMPA — Willie Nelson knew what the audience was thinking about his age.

The 90-year-old singer didn’t need to say anything about the subject. He already had a song for it, pulled from a 2017 recording that still felt relevant on Saturday night.

“I woke up still not dead again today….” Nelson crooned to a packed MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre. “Don’t bury me, I’ve got a show to play.”

Nelson grinned as he picked away on Trigger — a guitar that’s been around so long that it has a Wikipedia page of its own, plus a jagged hole by the bridge caused by years of fervid strumming.

Other than blowing kisses to fans as he shuffled onstage, Nelson remained in his chair through the concert. His trademark braids, long enough to kiss the tops of his thighs while seated, glowed white. But if you closed your eyes, it was like no time had passed. That gravelly baritone — warbling, growling, or just simply narrating to the beat — was unmistakably Willie.

Nelson came to Tampa as the headliner of the 2023 Outlaw Music Festival, a musical tradition he started back in 2016. Since then, it’s been a platform for new and established artists from across the Americana, folk and country universe. This year, the tour also doubled as an extended 90th birthday celebration for its founder.

Nelson’s Florida fans dressed for the occasion, donning cowboy hats and red bandanas to match the Red Headed Stranger. At least a dozen wore T-shirts with the slogan, “Have a Willie nice day.”

Particle Kid — aka Nelson’s son, J. Micah Nelson — was supposed to perform first. A case of debilitating vertigo caused him to back out, so Waylon Payne (guitarist and vocalist for Nelson’s touring band, the Family) stepped in.

After that, there was country singer and radio host Elizabeth Cook. Southern rock jam band Gov’t Mule, a side project for a few members of the Allman Brothers Band, followed her. Then the Avett Brothers bounded onstage for the longest — and perhaps most energetic — performance of the evening.

The Avett Brothers brought singalongs ( “Ain’t No Man”) and extended jam sessions (”Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise“). Mickey Raphael, Nelson’s harmonica player for over 50 years, even joined the band for a few tunes. During “I and Love and You,” the crowd swayed while thrusting one-two-three fingers into the air along to the chorus.

Scott Avett took a break from prancing around with his banjo to sing a solo version of “Murder in the City.” Seth Avett gave his best preacher impression during “High Steppin’,” saying, “Every single soul in the house tonight is a source of hope for sure. If you feel like hope tonight, make a joyful sound!” Harmonizing together — especially with a syrupy fiddle or a cool thump of the upright bass — their sound was pure magic.

photo: Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times

Read article here

After over 80 years in music and 150 plus albums, Nelson had plenty of material to choose from. He did not deprive Tampa of the favorites — “On the Road Again”, “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” Over half of the songs performed were covers that Nelson has made his own over the years, like Johnny Bush’s “Whiskey River.”

Our cowboy troubadour showed his sassy side, too, thrusting a finger in the air as he sang, “The world’s getting smaller and everyone in it belongs/ And if you can’t see that Mr. Purified Country/ Why don’t you just write your own songs?”

Photo: Janis Tillerson

Jim Irsay, longtime owner of the Indianapolis Colts, presented a check for $1 Million dollars to Farm Aid while performing on stage with his band, The Jim Irsay Band, at the 2023 Farm Aid Festival live from Noblesville, Indiana. John Mellencamp received the check.

Photo: Janis TIllerson

Jim and his family have donated millions and millions to the Indianapolis community, hospitals, YMCA, millions for mental health research and many other good causes.

Irsay has one of the largest musical, historical, sports and pop culture collections. He had a pop up museum at Farm AId, and displayed rare guitars from Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and other memorabilia. As you left the building, a volunteer gave you one of his guitar pics.

Historical items he owns include letters from George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and wanted poster for John WIlkes Booth and so much more. Most of these artefacts currently reside either at Irsay’s home or in his office at the NFL team’s headquarters and practice facility. He hopes to create a permanent museum, but currently takes parts of his collections on tour to music concerts, like he did at Farm AId.

You can read about his collection at The Jim Irsay Collection.

www.FarmAid.org

In August, we traveled with a film crew around Indiana to visit farmers and hear their stories. They shared how they became farmers, what their hopes are for their farms, and the challenges they have. These stories aired at Farm Aid 2023 during our press event, where artists and these same farmers came together on stage to share their visions for agriculture. Head to our blog to meet the following Indiana farmers:

• Joseph Fischer of Fischer Farms and Dan DeSutter of Hoosier Grassfed Beef. These two are proponents of cattle grazing for soil health and climate resilience.
• Norman Greer, Denise and John Jamerson, and DeAnthony Jamerson of Legacy Taste of the Garden. These three generations are stewarding the land and supporting Black farmers.
• Jason Federer of Living Prairie Farms. This farmer is working to transform the Midwestern corn and soybean belt into a more diverse cropping region.
• Lauren McCalister and Brett Volpp of 3 Flock Farm. These young farmers raise heritage breed sheep for meat and wool and work to cultivate a thriving and equitable local food system.
• Robert Frew and Juan Carlos Abango of Sobremesa Farm. These farmers follow principles of permaculture and work hard to foster their community.

MEET THESE INSPIRING INDIANA FARMERS

The Farm Aid festival may be best known for music, but advocating for family farmers is an equally important part of our annual event. Read about our People’s Hearing, which that took place the day before the festival where more than 300 policymakers, advocates, organizers and farmers gathered to call for a better Farm Bill.