Willie Nelson has accomplished more as an entertainer than anyone could ever hope to accomplish. Nelson has sold over 50 million records worldwide, published his own book The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes, pimped GAP jeans to the masses with label mate Ryan Adams in a commercial, won multiple Grammies and portrayed Uncle Jesse in this summer’s remake of The Dukes of Hazzard.
The award-prolific country artist made his way to Johnson City’s Freedom Hall Sunday to a near sold-out audience.
The crowd, made up mostly of older Nelson fans, also saw the likes of younger children and teenagers there with their parents to take in what has become country music standards from one of country music’s legends.
Performing in front of a Texas flag, Nelson, backed by a band consisting of a drummer with only a snare drum, a pianist, bassist, hand percussion player and a harmonica player, jammed out 26 of his hits in just under an hour and a half.
Nelson began his set accompanied by his weathered and holey guitar with “Whiskey River” delivered with a sullen vocal croon. The crowd roared with excitement as Nelson jammed out at the end of the songs, expounding upon their original foundation showing that after all these years he is still one of the best country music has to offer.
As Nelson continued through his set the crowd went crazy when Nelson sang, “Momma Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” After exciting the crowd he brought them back down as the lights dimmed and he sang a maudlin crowd favorite “Angel Flying to Close to the Ground.” Then he went back into another old country radio hit “On the Road Again” and the crowd sang and clapped along to the country stomp.
Nelson gave each of the musicians in his band a chance to showcase their talents with short jams between songs where “little sister Bobbie” pounded out a jangley bar room piano solo.
The only thing missing from Nelson’s 26-song set was songs from his new reggae full-length Countryman – the record, released earlier this year, that was laden with controversy over its pot leaf cover was all but forgotten.
Yet you could still purchase the record at Nelson’s merchandise table and his tour shirts bore the artwork from the cover as well.
I suppose Nelson found it better to stick with the standards and his classic style than to showcase his latest efforts that veer off in a completely different direction than he has ever gone.
This seemed best since his latest work is inspired but seems to lack that “Willie Nelson feel” that caused Walter Cronkite to say, “Willie Nelson is the Walt Whitman of our age.”
Nelson delivered each song with more passion and heart than the musicians on the radio that are half his age put into their uninspired works. * * * *

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