Willie Nelson's 2023 checklist: Another Grammy. Turn 90. Join Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
On Friday, revered country music artist Willie Nelson will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be at the Barclays Center in New York. For the first time, fans in Austin (and around the world) will be able to watch the ceremony live on the streaming television app Disney+.
The patron saint of Austin will be inducted alongside a stellar slate of top tier artists: Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Rage Against the Machine, the Spinners, DJ Kool Herc, Link Wray, Chaka Khan, Al Kooper, Bernie Taupin and Don Cornelius. Many will perform at the ceremony. Guest performers for the event include Brandi Carlile, Dave Matthews, Elton John, H.E.R., Chris Stapleton, St. Vincent and New Edition.
Despite entering his 10th decade, Austin's original country outlaw is showing no signs of slowing down. Here are a few highlights from Willie's whirlwind year:
He added to his collection of Grammys
Willie upped his lifetime Grammy total to a cool dozen when he picked up a pair of wins at the ceremony in February. Willie won best country album for "A Beautiful Time," an album he released on his 89th birthday. He also took home a trophy for best country solo performance for "Live Forever." The Billy Joe Shaver classic was recorded for the record, "Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver." The collection pays homage to the Texas songwriting legend who died in October 2020. Willie did not attend the Grammy ceremony.
He celebrated his 90th birthday with a star-studded bash
Austinites might have chafed about Willie's decision to celebrate with (gasp) Californians rather than at home, but "Long Story Short: Willie Nelson at 90" was a magical event.
Over two cool, beautiful nights at the Hollywood Bowl, dozens of artists took the stage to wish happy birthday to Nelson. The sprawling event traced the winding path of Willie’s career from the dusty landscape of Abbott, Texas, where he fell in love with folk songs sung in the cotton fields and spirituals in the local tabernacle, through the country music machine of Nashville to Austin, where he defied labels to smash the mold of country music and produce some of the greatest albums of the modern era.
Replay: Celebrities celebrate Willie Nelson's birthday on red carpet
He released not one, but two new albums, plus a book
The ludicrously prolific singer-songwriter released his 73rd studio album, "I Don't Know A Thing About Love: The Songs of Harlan Howard," in March. The album, which included classics like "Tiger By The Tail" (co-written by Buck Owens) and the Waylon Jennings hit "The Choking Kind," paid tribute to Howard, a singer-songwriter who gave Willie his first job as a songwriter.
Then, in September, Nelson released his 74th album, "Bluegrass," a 12-song collection that reworks favorites like "Bloody Mary Morning," "Yesterday's Wine" and "On the Road Again" with Appalachian strings.
Willie's new book, "Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs," co-written by longtime collaborator David Ritz, was released Tuesday. The book chronicles the tales behind 160 of Willie's songs.
He was honored with the LBJ Liberty and Justice for All Award
In March, the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs created the Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities. The new endowment will pay for research and student fellowships focused on sustainable agriculture and other rural concerns. The well-being of rural communities is close to Nelson's heart. A native of the tiny town of Abbott, Nelson co-founded the Farm Aid concert series in 1985 to provide assistance to family farmers.
"This is an incredible honor, and I'll always cherish it," Nelson said at the ceremony. "LBJ and I were good friends, fellow outlaws. We both believed, if it ain't broke — break it."
His Fourth of July Picnic turned 50
The Red-Headed Stranger relocated to Austin in 1972, disenchanted by the buttoned-up ethos and overblown production of the Nashville music machine. He was inspired by the Dripping Springs Reunion in March of that year, which drew roughly 10,000 fans to a "dusty, deserted ranch" and where conventional country music fans mingled with "a good number of long hairs," Nelson wrote in his 2015 biography "It's A Long Story," co-authored by David Ritz.
A year later, Nelson, alongside fellow outlaw Leon Russell, launched his own ramshackle production. The Fourth of July picnic in 1973 included performances by Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. Jittery about turnout, Russell and Willie were up before dawn. They took to the stage and played gospel hymns as the sun rose to calm their nerves. A crowd eventually did show up, and the bands, in turn, took the stage. “We might have been more than a little unorganized, but we pulled it off. The music was great. The crowd was happy. Buzzed on beer or high on weed or tripping on acid, the different cultures got along great,” Willie wrote.
Photos: Willie Nelson, friends and fireworks converge for Fourth of July Picnic at Q2 Stadium
This year's anniversary celebration was a much more organized affair at Austin's Q2 Stadium with cooling misters and brisket and beer galore. Performers included Tyler Childers, Shakey Graves, Dwight Yoakum and, of course, Willie and Family.
He spent the second half of the year 'On the Road Again'
Look, this is no secret. The life Willie loves is "making music with my friends." In June, he embarked on a four-month run headlining the Outlaw Music Festival Tour. Over 32 dates, Willie shared the stage with Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff and more.
In September, he stopped by the Ruoff Music Center in Indiana to headline Farm Aid alongside Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews.
Then Whopped back on the bus to finish the Outlaw tour. Even at 90, he's "Goin' places that I've never been/Seein' things that I may never see again." We should expect nothing less.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How to stream Willie Nelson's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction live
