Letting it RIP on Austin City Limits.
Chris Stapleton recently appeared on the special 50th Anniversary season of ACL, where he played some of his own music, in addition to tipping his cowboy hat to the legendary Willie Nelson. Of course, back on October 17th, 1974, Willie helped ACL, headlining the very first episode. The PBS station KLRN in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, produced the pilot episode of the incredible, long-standing variety show and music program, and the rest is history.
There have been so many legendary performances on ACL over the years, and it’s one of the few musical variety shows left that brings in such a wide variety of high-quality artists every season, and allows them to display their unique and impressive talents to the world.
But this… this performance is next level.
Chris delivered a flawless cover of Willie’s “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” which looked completely effortless and sounded perfectly simple and a little bit bluesy, in typical Stapleton fashion.
Of course, Willie originally wrote the song for his starring role as a country singer in the 1980 film Honeysuckle Rose, but the true inspiration behind it remains pretty vague and unclear. Some fans believe that because of the word “angel” in the title, Willie wrote it about his friend, Hells Angels biker Charlie Magoo, though Willie has never confirmed or denied that.
Willie has also hinted in the past that it’s actually about his ex-wife, Connie Koepke. And during live performances, he occasionally dedicates this song to his son Billy, the third child from his first marriage to Martha Matthews, who committed suicide in 1991.
There are very few people who can cover Willie Nelson and come this close to doing him justice, but obviously Chris is at the very top of that list. He’s performed and recorded incredible covers of other Willie classics before like “Always on My Mind” and “Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning,” which are truly timeless works of art.
Chris is the best vocalist in all of mainstream country right now, and this just proves why he’s one of the most well-respected and beloved artists in the game right now, loved by fans and even Willie himself. Willie’s longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael also travels with Chris now and is featured here, which makes it that much better.
Do yourself a favor and check it out:
Chris is currently out on the road for his 2025 addition of his All-American Road Show tour, and you can check out all of the dates below.
Chris Stapleton 2025 Tour Dates
June 4—Greenville, SC—Bon Secours Wellness Arena†
June 6—Charlottesville, VA—John Paul Jones Arena†
June 7—Charlottesville, VA—John Paul Jones Arena‡
June 12—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena+
June 13—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena+
June 18—Greensboro, NC—First Horizon Coliseum^
June 20—Albany, NY—MVP Arena^
June 27—Tinley Park, IL—Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre#
June 28—Tinley Park, IL—Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre#
July 11—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre‡
July 12—Milwaukee, WI—Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival
July 23—Belmont Park, NY—UBS Arena~
July 25—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden~
July 26—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden~
August 1—Noblesville, IN—Ruoff Music Center**
August 8—Phoenix, AZ—Desert Diamond Arena‡‡
August 9—Phoenix, AZ—Desert Diamond Arena‡‡
August 15—Salt Lake City, UT—Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre*
August 16—Salt Lake City, UT—Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre*
August 22—Denver, CO—Ball Arena**
August 23—Denver, CO—Ball Arena**
October 10—Hollywood, FL—Hard Rock Live
October 11—Hollywood, FL—Hard Rock Live
*with special guest Marcus King
†with special guest Nikki Lane
‡with special guest Brittney Spencer
+with special guest Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs
^with special guest Maggie Rose
#with special guest The War & Treaty
~with special guest Grace Potter
**with special guest Allen Stone
‡‡with special guest Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
