‘Our National Treasure!’ Night Two Highlights of Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Concert at the Hollywood Bowl
- last year
“Who else could pull together a night like this? Two nights!” declared Sheryl Crow onstage at the Hollywood Bowl during the second of the two concerts Sunday (April 30) to celebrate the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson, the peerless songwriter, singer, actor, author and activist.
“Our national treasure!” said Emmylou Harris, one of the dozen musicians exclusive to the bill of Night Two of Nelson’s birthday bash. The weekend’s concerts were billed as Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 and the second evening contained no shortage of storytelling, insights into Willie World and unforgettable collaborations.
After Billy Strings once again opened the evening with “Whiskey River” —the song with which Nelson has started every concert for decades—presenter Ethan Hawke spoke of Nelson’s willingness to fly the “flag of equality.” Proof came as Orville Peck emerged onstage, his fringed face mask firmly in place, to sing a song written by Ned Sublette and released by Nelson in 2006 in the wake of the film Brokeback Mountain. Titled “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other),” the light-hearted ballad has been called the first LGBTQ-themed song by a major country artist.
“Thank you for always bringing people together,” said Norah Jones, who was joined onstage by Allison Russell. It takes exceptional talent and guts to reprise a classic duet originally recorded by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles. But Jones and Russell proved equal to the challenge, singing the epic tale of star-crossed lovers “Seven Spanish Angels,” their voices soaring over the Hollywood hills.
The inspiration for Nelson’s song “Me and Paul” was his longtime late friend and band member Paul English, who died in 2020. Onstage Sunday, Dwight Yoakam described English as Nelson’s drummer, bodyguard and “the Huck Finn to Willie’s Tom Sawyer.” Yoakam said he was “honored that Willie allowed me to do this particular song.” After all, Yoakam said, describing English’s role in Nelson’s life, “Willie wouldn’t have made it to 60” [ITAL] without him.
“Our national treasure!” said Emmylou Harris, one of the dozen musicians exclusive to the bill of Night Two of Nelson’s birthday bash. The weekend’s concerts were billed as Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 and the second evening contained no shortage of storytelling, insights into Willie World and unforgettable collaborations.
After Billy Strings once again opened the evening with “Whiskey River” —the song with which Nelson has started every concert for decades—presenter Ethan Hawke spoke of Nelson’s willingness to fly the “flag of equality.” Proof came as Orville Peck emerged onstage, his fringed face mask firmly in place, to sing a song written by Ned Sublette and released by Nelson in 2006 in the wake of the film Brokeback Mountain. Titled “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other),” the light-hearted ballad has been called the first LGBTQ-themed song by a major country artist.
“Thank you for always bringing people together,” said Norah Jones, who was joined onstage by Allison Russell. It takes exceptional talent and guts to reprise a classic duet originally recorded by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles. But Jones and Russell proved equal to the challenge, singing the epic tale of star-crossed lovers “Seven Spanish Angels,” their voices soaring over the Hollywood hills.
The inspiration for Nelson’s song “Me and Paul” was his longtime late friend and band member Paul English, who died in 2020. Onstage Sunday, Dwight Yoakam described English as Nelson’s drummer, bodyguard and “the Huck Finn to Willie’s Tom Sawyer.” Yoakam said he was “honored that Willie allowed me to do this particular song.” After all, Yoakam said, describing English’s role in Nelson’s life, “Willie wouldn’t have made it to 60” [ITAL] without him.