Landmark Willie Nelson Tribute Concert to Finally Be Released
A once-in-a-lifetime event happened on January 12th, 2019 when a wide-ranging assemblage of talent from country music and beyond came together at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to pay tribute to Willie Nelson. Called Willie: Life and Songs of an American Outlaw, unless you were there, you missed out on the full production put on by Blackbird Presents.
But now, just like a similar Merle Haggard tribute announced recently, the lion’s share of the concert is finally coming to a 2 CD and DVD set, with a release date of December 11th scheduled. It will include numerous performances by Willie Nelson himself, along with The Avett Brothers, Bobby Bare, Chris Stapleton, Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, Eric Church, George Strait, Jack Johnson, Jamey Johnson, Jimmy Buffett, Kris Kristofferson, Lee Ann Womack, Lukas Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Micah Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff, Norah Jones and The Little Willies, Ray Benson, Rodney Crowell, Sheryl Crow (of course), Steve Earle, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks, and Vince Gill.
A portion of the event aired on A&E in April, but this will be the full enchilada. The concert featured a house band that was led by Don Was that also included Mickey Raphael, Amanda Shires, and Jamey Johnson. Johnson also had one of the marquee performances of the event when he sang “Georgia On My Mind.” The tribute was also the first time George Strait and Willie Nelson ever performed together, and they debuted their duet, “Sing One With Willie.”
Though the full track list has yet to be released, you can see the complete set list from the concert below. The CD will include 24 tracks, and the DVD includes 27 performances. Willie: Life and Songs of an American Outlaw is now available for pre-order in a 2 CD audio only set, as well as 2 CD and DVD combo. And yes, it will make a good Christmas gift for country fans.
SET LIST:
āWhiskey River,ā Chris Stapleton
āThree Days,ā Lee Ann Womack
āMammas Donāt Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,ā Margo Price & Bobby Bare
āSisterās Coming Home,ā Steve Earle & Margo Price
āI Thought About You, Lord/Just As I Am/Time of the Preacher/Bandera/Hands on the Wheel,ā Micah & Lukas Nelson
āMilk Cow Blues,ā Jason Isbell
āA Song for You,ā Nathaniel Rateliff
āMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,ā Lyle Lovett
āShotgun Willie,ā Lyle Lovett & Ray Benson
āAngel Flying Too Close to the Ground,ā Alison Krauss
āBlue Eyes Crying in the Rain,ā Vince Gill
āGeorgia on My Mind,ā Jamey Johnson
āSomebody Pick Up My Pieces,ā Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks
āCity of New Orleans,ā Willie Nelson with Tedeschi/Trucks
āBloody Mary Morning,ā The Avett Brothers
āWillie Got There First,ā The Avett Brothers
āRemember Me,ā Norah Jones and the Little Willies
āI Gotta Get Drunk,ā Norah Jones and the Little Willies
āWillie Got Me Stoned,ā Jack Johnson
āRed Headed Rounder,ā Sturgill Simpson
āMe and Paul,ā Eric Church
āNight Life,ā John Mellencamp
āFunny How Times Slips Away,ā Dave Matthews
With Willie Nelson:
āCrazy,ā Dave Matthews
āAfter the Fire Is Gone,ā Sheryl Crow
āPancho and Lefty,ā Emmylou Harris
āTilā I Gain Control Again,ā Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell
āMe and Bobby McGee,ā Kris Kristofferson, Eric Church
āThe Harder They Come,ā Jimmy Buffett
āAlways on My Mind,ā Chris Stapleton, Derek Trucks
āSong One With Willie,ā George Strait
āGood Hearted Woman,ā George Strait
āOn the Road Again/May the Circle Be Unbroken/Iāll Fly Away,ā full cast
āRoll Me Up and Smoke Me,ā full cast
November 21, 2020 @ 9:36 am
Her again??…..What the hell!!!
November 21, 2020 @ 9:44 am
It’s the law.
November 21, 2020 @ 10:08 am
Trigger,
Forgive me if I a skip over any future articles with “tribute” or “compilation” in the headline…..Lol
November 21, 2020 @ 9:36 am
I haven’t owned a CD or DVD in years… maybe 8 years. My last 3 trucks didn’t have a CD player in it and I’m pretty sure my last two TVs didn’t have a built in DVD player.
I’ll get the mp3s. I’m excited because there is A TON of performances that didn’t make the TV airing.
What I remember from the broadcast was the Strait duet, Micah and Lukas stealing the show, Amanda Shires’ boob (inappropriate dress attire – I wonder if they censor it) and Eric Church making up his own lyrics to Me & Paul (I wonder if they edit it).
November 21, 2020 @ 9:43 am
That is a pretty amazing collection of artists and songs to honor Willie! Looking forward to listening.
And the age old question as you know is what is the fascination with Sheryl Crow?? All I think of is her song āAll I Wanna Doā and go huh?
November 21, 2020 @ 9:47 am
The only good song she has ever done is “Real Gone” from Cars.
November 21, 2020 @ 10:44 am
No Depression in Heaven
https://youtu.be/6cFjyHGXhU0
Juanita:
https://youtu.be/lXBN2ZyiUPw
November 21, 2020 @ 10:19 am
It’s just been reported that Sheryl Crow is releasing a tribute album titled “I love Sheryl Crow” by Sheryl Crow featuring Sheryl singing duets of her biggest hits with the artist she admires most. Song list includes.
1. If It Makes You Happy-Sheryl Crow featuring Sheryl Crow
2. All I Wanna Do-Sheryl Crow featuring Sheryl Crow
3. The First Cut Is The Deepest-Sheryl Crow featuring Sheryl Crow
November 21, 2020 @ 11:08 am
I came to this article looking for Sheryl Crow. I was not disappointed.
November 21, 2020 @ 11:19 am
Better options than Sheryl Crow and Margo Price:
Tanya Tucker, Mandy Barnett, Miranda Lambert, Roseanne Cash, Dolly, Ashley Campbell, Ashley McBride , Gretchen Wilson.
Tedeschi is a name in blues. Nothing wrong with that but, not a fit.
Norah Jones is a lite fm adult contemporary singer. Only reason she got called was her side project Little Willie’s.
I suppose we can nitpick Blackbird to death, but they consistently put quality shows together like nobody else.
November 21, 2020 @ 12:32 pm
Tedeschi has done shows with Willie. We caught and Outlaw Fest with them on the bill.
Willie and Norah have been friends for some time. Remember Willie has done his share of classic/ jazz albums in his time – American Classic and Stardust being the most noteworthy.
November 21, 2020 @ 1:36 pm
Margo Price totally fits and is good friends with Willie. Susan Tedeschi also totally fits. Miranda Lambert? No thanks! I agree on Norah Jones ans Sheryl Crow who both seem to always find their way onto these type shows.
November 21, 2020 @ 6:33 pm
Just my opinion but k.d. lang does the best version of Three Days…
April 9, 2021 @ 4:16 pm
I used to think this but it soars we’re both wrong.
November 21, 2020 @ 1:42 pm
The name Miranda is a hand grenade in the comments on SCM! Always!
November 21, 2020 @ 4:47 pm
About time! I was lucky enough to be able to attend this concert as I was in Nashville for another show at the Ryman. Excited to finally relive the full experience again as I was quite disappointed with the shortened version that aired on television.
November 22, 2020 @ 2:11 am
Nice that they included a couple songs Willie actually wrote, but I guess nobody likes Hello Walls. Too country.
November 22, 2020 @ 2:25 pm
Would have loved to see Crystal Gayle included here…her cover of Hello Walls is very good!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tsIV5Ipv3g
November 22, 2020 @ 7:02 pm
I don’t know about all the other people but I no I love me some willie nelson and he can sing to
November 23, 2020 @ 6:50 am
I absolutely love Mr.Willie Nelson!Dance with him everyday…smile.Looking forward to thisā¤