The Willie Nelson Star-Studded 90th Birthday Concert: CD/Blu-ray Review
by Jeff Burger
Willie Nelson had quite a year in 2023. He earned two Grammys to add to the 10 he’d already won; published a book called Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs; released two studio albums, Bluegrass and I Don’t Know a Thing About Love; was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; toured constantly; and celebrated his 90th birthday with a giant two-night concert event at the Hollywood Bowl on April 29 and 30. All of this would add up to an impressive flurry of activity for a young or middle-aged artist, but the birthday Nelson was celebrating was number 90.
Willie Nelson and Keith Richards at the second 90th birthday concert at the Hollywood Bowl on April 30, 2023 (Photo: Randall Michelson; used with permission)
And what a celebration it was, complete with the sort of everyone-and-his-brother guest lists you’d associate with an event like Woodstock or the Band’s Last Waltz. In addition to Nelson himself, the shows featured Beck, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Keith Richards, Lyle Lovett, Neil Young, Norah Jones, Bob Weir, Sheryl Crow, Stephen Stills and Tom Jones, to name just some of the approximately four dozen featured artists. Their performances embraced many of Nelson’s own classic compositions, such as “Pretty Paper,” “Hello Walls” and “On the Road Again,” as well as other numbers that are associated with him, among them “Always on My Mind” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”
Even the backup band was luminous, with artists like Don Was on bass and the Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench on keyboards. So were the presenters, who included actors Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren and Woody Harrelson.
Highlights of the concerts have just been released in a package that includes two CDs and a widescreen, surround-sound Blu-ray. The set is called Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, but there’s nothing short about it: the CDs have a playing time of two and a half hours, and the video is even slightly longer. (And if that’s not enough for you, you can opt for a digital edition that adds 13 bonus tracks.)
Related: Our love letter to Willie Nelson—14 great collaborations
Inevitably, perhaps, given the wide range of artists, not every one of the 39 featured performances is memorable, but many of them are. Dave Matthews pours his heart and soul into an acoustic version of Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away,” for example, while Willie’s son Lukas delivers a show-stopping rendition of his father’s “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” in which he sounds almost exactly like his dad.
Another fine moment comes with Rosanne Cash’s reading of “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” which ends in an emotional duet with 86-year-old Kris Kristofferson, the song’s composer.
Watch the pair perform at the Willie Nelson 90th birthday concert on April 28
Nelson himself has many great parts, too, including duets with George Strait on Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho and Lefty” and with frequent songwriting partner Buddy Cannon on the poignant “Something You Get Through.”
Well before the show ends—with Nelson’s performance of his signature song, “On the Road Again,” followed by an all-hands-on-deck singing of “Happy Birthday”—you’ll be wishing you’d been there. You’ll likely also be wishing that when you hit 90, you can still be at least half as full of life as Nelson. He has had quite a career and, to quote the title of a Rodney Crowell song featured in this concert, “It Ain’t Over Yet.”
A top editor at leading consumer and trade magazines for more than 40 years, Jeff has interviewed dozens of musical luminaries, including Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Wolfman Jack, Tommy James, Tom Waits, the Righteous Brothers, and the members of Steely Dan.
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