The great Willie Nelson is turning 90 this year, and he’s doing it big.
Announced today, the country music legend will host his 90th birthday celebration in the form of a two-day concert dubbed: Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday.
The shows will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 29th (his actual birthday) and 30th, 2023, at the iconic Hollywood Bowl.
“I can’t think of a better way to spend my 90th birthday than being surrounded by family, friends and of course the fans who made this all possible. It’s an honor to perform with such an incredible group of artists at such an iconic venue.”
And the lineup is PHENOMENAL.
Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday includes performances by Willie Nelson himself, along with Allison Russell, Beck, Billy Strings, Bobby Weir, Charley Crockett, Chris Stapleton, Edie Brickell, Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges, Lukas Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Miranda Lambert, Nathaniel Rateliff, Neil Young, Norah Jones, Orville Peck, Particle Kid, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Sturgill Simpson, The Avett Brothers, The Chicks, The Lumineers, Tom Jones, Tyler Childers, Warren Haynes and Ziggy Marley.
Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
Two-day packages for the general public go on sale Saturday, Jan.uary 28th, at 10 AM PT. All eligible Capital One Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cardholders will have access to exclusive presale tickets before the general public beginning Wednesday, January 25th at 10 AM PT.
Willie Nelson To Release New Album, ‘I Don’t Know A Thing About Love’
Make that 98…
Willie Nelson just announced his 98th career studio album (his 73rd solo studio album to go along with his 26 collaborative studio albums), I Don’t Know A Thing About Love is slated for release on March 3rd.
The red headed stranger put out a great record called A Beautiful Time on his 89th birthday last year, and he’s not slowing down one bit in 2023.
The project will consist of fresh takes of 10 classic songs penned by the legendary American songwriter Harlan Howard, who was an early inspiration of Willie’s, and quite famously defined a great country song as “three chords and the truth.”
Over a six-decade career, Harlan churned out dozens of hits, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and, in 1997, was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
And for the lead single, Willie dropped “Busted” today, which was initially a hit for Johnny Cash with the Carter Family in 1963, when it peaked at #13 on the country charts.
It also became a big hit for Ray Charles when it peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ray and Willie Nelson later recorded a live version of it for Ray’s 2005 duets album, Genius & Friends.
Check out Willie’s new studio version here:
I Don’t Know A Thing About Love was produced by Willie’s longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon, and the album art was done by his son, Micah Nelson, in addition to his full band backing him.
It’s hard to say anything about the living legend that hasn’t already been said, but based on the aforementioned recent record he just put out last year, it’s more than safe to say the country outlaw has still got it.
Willie’s also up for four Grammy Awards this year, and with this new album announcement today, 2023 is shaping up to be another massive year for Willie Nelson.
It’s hard to believe we can even still say that, but I couldn’t love it more…
I Don’t Know A Thing About Love tracklist:
1. Tiger By The Tail
2. The Chokin’ Kind
3. Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got A Heartache)
4. Life Turned Her That Way
5. I Don’t Know A Thing About Love
6. Streets Of Baltimore
7. Busted
8. She Called Me Baby
9. Too Many Rivers
10. Beautiful Annabel Lee
