100 years ago today (5-19), the man that many consider to be the original music roadie, Ben Dorcy III, was born. Also known by the nickname “Lovey,” he began working in the business in 1950.
What started as a very exclusive gathering has become a world-class event with international interest due to the names that play and attend the event during Austin’s greater SXSW festivities. This was especially true in 2024.
Willie Nelson gives a lot of credit to his success to the fact that he’s been able to keep the same people around him for so long. The very first part of that family was Paul English. Paul’s skills as a manager made him a mainstay in Willie’s band all the way until he passed away.
The impetus for the renewed interest in the song was its inclusion in the premier episode of the new season of Nextflix’s original series Orange is the New Black. But that was nearly a month ago. That may have lit the spark, but the song is now traveling under its own inertia it appears.
Raelyn Nelson and the Raelyn Nelson Band are just too much damn fun. The granddaughter of Willie is like a modern day country music Punky Brewster with a sound and energy reminiscent of the nascent 90’s country punk scene when things were just a little more unhinged and energetic, yet still rooted in the country music spirit more so than what most of what modern country offers today.
Where the last time Sturgill made a stop in Austin he was sporting a conversion van stenching of the road, now there was a big primary blue tour bus idling across the street. the gallery was packed by the time Sturgill took the stage. Tight and well-tuned from playing down-to-the-minute sets on tour with Zac Brown, Sturgill and the boys chewed through their songs like clockwork, with Simpson showing fire…
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the Nelson clan can now field three generations of performers on the stage, and the new generation is about as defiant and ass kicking as you might expect. Rearing out of the gates comes the rambunctious and ribald Raelyn Nelson and the Raelyn Nelson Band: a full throttle country rock experience, just as much Loretta Lynn as it is The Ramones.
Country music isn’t just a genre of music, it is a musical religion, a way of life, a cultural lineage passed down from generation to generation and preserved through the blood and bond of its performers and fans. That’s why it seems country music performers so very often tend to turn out to be the parents of country music performers themselves.
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the most talent-rich event I have ever been to, as the convergence of Willie Nelson’s 38th Annual 4th of July Picnic met up with the finale of this year’s Willie Nelson Country Throwdown tour at the largest honky tonk in the world, Billy Bob’s Texas, in the historic Ft. Worth stockyards.