Thanks Will ... and Willie

He’s 92. And he went on stage about the time I’m usually taking my “pre-bedtime nap” every night. (Don’t give me that look; you take pre-bedtime naps too.)

But there we were—my son, Will, his friend Jacob and myself—fighting off raindrops, sitting on a beer-soaked blanket (still not sure where the spilled beer came from since we weren’t drinking) and ensconced in secondhand smoke from copious amounts of weed, and thoroughly enjoying our one (and most likely only) opportunity to see Willie Nelson.

“See Willie Nelson live in concert” wasn’t ever on my bucket list. (Who am I kidding? I don’t even have a bucket list.) But as a music lover, I guess it wouldn’t have been out of realm for me to have experienced him earlier in my life. But I hadn’t, and until recently, I had never given it much thought.

And so, earlier this year when Will called and asked if I wanted to go to the Outlaw Music Festival with him (his treat; it was my combined Father’s Day/birthday gift), I jumped at the chance.

The event was held at a large, outdoor venue (the same place where Stevie Ray Vaughn lost his life in a post-concert helicopter crash in 1990), and where earlier in my life I’d seen artists like Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Band, Al Jarreau, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Bob Dylan (who also co-headlined Friday night).

But even before those shows, when I was in eighth grade, I saw Steve Martin there when he was on his “Let’s Get Small” standup tour. My buddy’s older sister took us, and it was an amazing (and eye-opening) experience. (Lots of weed going around that night as well.)

I tell you all this because pulling into the grass-and-gravel parking lot Friday took me back 35+ years, to the last time I’d visited this place. In some ways, it hadn’t changed, and it immediately brought back great memories.

And I couldn’t believe I was now experiencing it with my son.

After spreading a blanket and taking our seats on the grassy hillside, we enjoyed the opening acts: Melanie Edwards (a young “up-and-comer” who took the stage with one other guitarist and a voice like it was shot out of a cannon); Waxahatchee, a band I think will make it big, and then the headliners: Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan and finally, Willie.

All of the acts were fantastic, and seeing any one of them would have been a great evening. But to have such a concentration in one place over a seven-hour period was unbelievable. And the fact that Will and Jacob allowed me to share it with them made it even more special.

After Dylan played his “interesting” but entertaining set (frankly, it would take an entire essay to explain it), it was time for Willie. Before he took the stage, my young cohorts and I speculated on what the set would look and sound like. I mean, the dude is in his 90s, and this was the last show of their tour. He could have mailed it in. He could have let his band do all the work.

But that––as we learned––is not Willie.

It's obvious that he’s near the end of his career. He’s slowing down. (I mean, how many people have a lifespan, and a healthspan, that goes beyond 90?) And yet, though his face, hands and body showed the scars, the aches and the pains of a hard life lived mostly on the road, his voice, his guitar playing, and his band were absolutely fantastic.

Willie is one of those artists who makes performing look easy. His demeanor, his singing and even his manic (yet impressive) lead guitar playing (all done on Trigger, his beat-up trademark acoustic) are all effortless, comfortable and inviting.

He sat throughout the show, as though he had shown up to your house and, only after much encouragement and cajoling from his hosts, agreed to “play a few tunes” for you and your friends.

And play he did; 20 songs in an hour, accompanied by a wonderful band that included a “co-singer” (a guy who would give Willie a break from lead vocals every third song or so and also played rhythm guitar), another guitar player, a standup bass, a “multi-instrumentalist,” and one of the best harmonica players I’ve ever heard.

An hour is uncommonly short for a headliner. But it was among the best hours of music I’d ever experienced.

I don’t know how long Willie will “keep on keepin’ on” (though he was leaving after the show to host Farm Aid the next day). And who knows if his energy or health (along with his guitar playing or singing) will start to flag in the coming months and years?

But Friday, he looked and sounded like he wasn’t ready to quit … not yet.

I can’t believe I reached 60 years of age before I saw this American treasure in person. For context, when he was 60, I was 28, and my two companions Friday night hadn’t been born. But that night, we were all on in the same place, all on the same page, taking in the environment, having a ball and experiencing history.

Because after seeing Willie Nelson perform, I believe every time he goes on stage, it’s a historical event.

I’m so glad and grateful Will bought those tickets. And I’m also grateful he and Jacob were willing to take an old guy like me with them to see another, even older guy. Because if they hadn’t, I probably would have never gotten the opportunity to see Willie Nelson in concert.

And that would have been a real shame.

© 2025 David R. Haznaw