And that’s what he’s done… Getting to witness him reaching 90, reaching this momentous point in his life, and he’s still gonna go out and play and sing? I mean, how many people get to say that they do that?” What would her dad be thinking? “I think he would’ve been jealous.”įor a comic high point, there might’ve been a tie, late in the game. You know, it’s not just about talent, it’s about showing up for work every day. “I got to sing that for Willie when he got the Gershwin Award, and it was so much fun, I asked for that again… the ultimate story-song.” Of Nelson’s enduring appeal, Cash cited his command of multiple genres, his authenticity and, last but maybe not least, “his perseverance. Kris Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash sing at the Hollywood Bowl for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday (Josh Timmermans for Blackbird Presents) Joshua Timmermans | Noble VisionĪsked on the red carpet about her song picks for the two nights, Cash said, “Oh, I got in there early, man, and asked for what I wanted!” - “Lovin’ Her” (or “Him,” in this case) on night 1 and the Townes Van Zandt-penned “Pancho and Lefty” for night 2. But how sweet it was, regardless, as Cash gave her spiritual uncle all the support he needed to make this sad memory song feel like a warm, communal hug. The most emotional moment during Saturday’s opening night came not while Nelson was on stage for the final stretch, but literally hours earlier, when Rosanne Cash brought out Kristofferson to join her for a song he wrote, “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again).” Kristofferson’s longstanding issues with memory took him off the road years ago, and his voice wasn’t built for sweet harmony singing even in the best of days. Did those two titans cancel before they ever got a chance to be announced, or are they being held back for a last-minute surprise - to everyone except the thousands of people who bought a poster Saturday? Oh, and how about a couple of surprises that may yet be in store: Attentive fans in the merch lines noticed that the T-shirts being sold for the two-nighter mention Keith Richards and Justin Timberlake in the fine print. Some other big names had not yet appeared by the end of night 1, like Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris. Some of those who played Saturday will not be returning for night 2 - like Stapleton, obviously, who is headlining Stagecoach on Sunday. It was a tribute to the persona as well as the pen, of course… a salute to Zen made flesh.Īlthough the lineups for each night were not announced in advance, a majority of the artists announced are appearing both evenings, as it turns out, albeit not repeating the same numbers from night to night. Except you can’t really say it paid testimony just to the writing, since Nelson had so many substantial hits with songs he didn’t pen himself, too. It was a savvily assembled mixture of talent and song choices - some of them very, very deep cuts - that paid tribute to a songwriting mastery that began in the Eisenhower era and will end well into the legal weed era. (Scroll through for a complete setlist from night 1.) In the preceding hours, he was serenaded by such disparate musical figures as the Chicks, the Lumineers, Ziggy Marley, Miranda Lambert, Beck, Chris Stapleton, Tom Jones, Norah Jones, Bob Weir, Jack Johnson, Margo Price and the rare surviving figure that can still count as one of his actual contemporaries, Kris Kristofferson. Saturday’s show climaxed with Nelson emerging more than three hours into the 220-minute proceedings to join forces with George Strait, Neil Young and Snoop Dogg, symbolically representing how welcome Willie has been in the worlds of country, rock and cannabis, respectively. With roughly seven decades of songwriting and recording to commemorate, though, the party is stretching over two nights, bundled together and sold as a single ticket, where by the end of Sunday night everyone will have heard about 50 artists perform a total of about 75 songs. “Thanks for coming to my dad’s birthday party,” said Micah Nelson, a few songs into an all-star tribute to Willie Nelson at the Hollywood Bowl, attended by a sold-out house happy that Willie had found a way to schedule the 90th anniversary of his birth on a Saturday night.
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