There are countless ways to spend the 4th of July in Austin—hit the lake or lounge in the pool, kick back with a few beers, post up on top of a parking garage and revel in the downtown fireworks display—but perhaps none is so quintessential as attending Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic. The event celebrated its 34th annual edition and 3rd consecutive year at Austin360 Amphitheater at the Circuit of the Americas yesterday, with 17 acts across two stages from noon to nearly 1am.
As temperatures hit 100 degrees at their height, the 10-15,000 attendees (the crowd grew steadily all day) had to rely on quality music to keep their mentalities cool (there was some respite in the form of misting fans, a shallow wading pool and, of course, copious amounts of cold beer). Good thing talent wasn't in short supply: from contemporary country (Austin’s own Hayes Carll, Oklahoma’s Turnpike Troubadours and Nashville stars Margo Price, Jamey Johnson and Kacey Musgraves, to name a few) to more seasoned players (David Allan Coe, Johnny Bush, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Earle, Asleep at the Wheel), the day didn’t lack in boot-stompin’ ballads that all helped beat the heat.
Of course, the final acts of the one-day fest unquestionably delivered the highlights. After a brief but dazzling fireworks show, Sheryl Crow concluded her hits-packed set (which also included new single "Long Way Back") with a stirringly heartfelt in-the round jam on the Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider” with Willie and son Lukas, a fitting tribute to the late Gregg Allman.
Then, during Willie’s finale—which featured sister Bobbie (on piano, per usual), sons Lukas and Micah (on lead guitar and percussion, respectively) plus Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson (on rhythm guitar)—the tone occasionally turned toward the somber, but always with an air of defiant livelihood (tongue-in-cheek tunes “Still Not Dead” and “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” saw the 84-year-old songwriter singing smoother than some other musicians 20 years his junior). Ultimately, it all ended in the most uplifting manner: Crow, Johnson and Earle joined for gang-gospel backup vocals on “I’ll Fly Away” and “I Saw the Light,” their exuberance easily rallying at least 10,000 fans’ voices for a pair of final choruses worthy of country music’s most loved (and still most badass) outlaw.
All photos by David Brendan Hall
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Musgraves
Jamey Johnson
Turnpike Troubadours
Steve Earle & the Dukes
Margo Price
Asleep At the Wheel
Hayes Carll
Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real
Ray Wylie Hubbard
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