American musician and actor Willie Nelson celebrated his 89th birthday on April 29th with a new record and a series of live performances. He was one of the main figures in outlaw country, a type of country music that emerged in the late 1960s as a backlash to the Nashville sound’s conservative limitations. Nelson has appeared in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and campaigned for the use of biofuels and marijuana legalisation. He composed his first song at the age of seven and went on to write successes for Patsy Cline, Ray Price, and others. He had engraved his irrefutable superstardom by the time the 1970s dawned.
On the occasion of his 89th birthday, he sought to give the world a gift, in the form of a new studio album. Nelson’s 17th album, A Beautiful Time, was published on Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, and was produced by Nelson’s longtime collaborator and musical colleague, Buddy Cannon. It was released on digital streaming platforms and CD/vinyl. At Barnes & Noble, the vinyl will be available in black and a unique orange. This album is Nelson’s 72nd solo album and is a monument to his never-ending studio ingenuity and dedication to his craft. The album was originally previewed in February with “I’ll Love You Till The Day I Die,” a gentle, emotional country anthem written by Rodney Crowell and Chris Stapleton.
Nelson celebrated his birthday in Austin, Texas, with the grand opening of the “Strait from Moody Center” on Friday and Saturday nights at about 7:30 p.m. George Strait is the headlining act, with special guests Willie Nelson & Family and Randy Rogers Band. Nelson will host a unique concert event on his ranch in Luck, Texas, on Sunday, May 1st, with Bruce Robinson as the emcee and performances by Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff, Robert Earl Keen, Margo Price, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Vincent Neil Emerson as guests of honour. For the three-day birthday celebration, the show will air at 8 p.m. EST on Nelson’s SiriusXM channel Willie’s Roadhouse. Paula Nelson, his daughter, will headline a one-hour show at 6 p.m.
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