Willie Nelson

Before I give this review I want to highlight or point out there is a VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE for Willie in this review.

This concert was the first of a three night stretch at whitewater in new braunfels,tx. And the beginning of Merle and Willie's national tour. My significant other(Jen) and I decided to make this our celebration for our 16th anniversary(of not being married). Haha. I know this is a place for a review of the concert and I will say the concert was unforgettable for sure. There were too many separate events within the event to go into. I can just tell you we had an absolute blast. I saw Willie about 25 yrs with my Mother in Corpus Christi, Tx. I will say he has toned down since then. but haven't we all? I know it seems like everyone who follows Willie or has met Willie has a connection with him and I'm sure they do.
I just feel that my connection is so much more genuine and only Willie will be the only one able to confirm this to be true.
I spent my summers growing up in Helotes,Tx. Where Willie used to play every Sat. Night at John T. Floors. When my mom and dad as high school sweethearts would sneak in to. A dance hall in downtown Helotes. This is when he had short hair and always wore a tie when he preformed. There is still a sign of "Willie Nelson Every Sat. Night" that is hung in front of Floor's entrance. Pretty cool. It gets much better.
From the time I was born to my earliest memory was from Medina lake where I lived the first 6 yrs of my life from 1973 thru 1978-79. Furthermore spent many summers there with family. The significants of this will be revealed when I tell all, my connection to him. I'm sure Willie won't be the one that reads this initially but he for sure would like to hear from me.

I tried to get to him at the concert but he is a rock star and it's tough to close enough to him to get his attention. I know he would have love to hear from me. And to hear the message I was sent to give him. Due to the tight security and the disbelief of who I am of the ones who manned the gates I was not able to catch Willie before he apparently left the scene. I tried everything to just get a message to him. Didn't even need to see him face to face. Just needed a message sent to him. I even offered $500.00 to a gate keeper to just relay a message to him. I was ultimately turned down. I felt I was under some pressure to make this happen and I was unsuccessful. This is one reason why I'm doing it this way. The person that is reading this I hope will have the compassion to make this happen. Getting this message to him.

The message I was sent with and who I am will now be explained.
First to tell you who my Mother is and the message she sent me to relay to him. She told me to tell him that I am the son of the person that not once, not twice but three times told her that "you are the prettiest girl in Texas"!! And for sure looked the part. She was at the ripe ages of 17-20 yrs old a knock out of a girl. Here name is Patricia Cullinane. Now if that doesn't ring a bell or bring back memories the next paragraph will. My mother Patricia Cullinane is the sister-in-law to Linda Stewart(my only Aunt). Now we are getting to the connection that I have with Willie. My Aunt Linda(Stewart) is the daughter of your(willie's) very first promoter, CRASH STEWART. Us kids growing up called him "Papa Crash". We would go to his place on Medina every summer and many yrs after he had passed away and swim and enjoy the lake. My only two first cousins Jeff and Tim and I would and do talk about "Papa Crash's" successes and the exclusive life he led. In our eyes he is a
"Revolutionary". I grew up looking thru a roll-a-dex(that Aunt Linda still has)that was Crash's. It has names, phone numbers, addresses and other personal information of all the, now famous people. Charlie Pride was one of them and of course Willie and many others that Crash promoted. This was something that I would forward to checking out when I would go and stay with Grandma who is another person you(willie) could never forget for she was Crash's wife Barbara. My Aunt Linda's mother. Us cousins have grown up and have the stories of our parent's experiences with willie. He has been an indirect influence on all of us growing up and still does. We are honored to be a relative to the man that saw Willie Nelson's potential when he first started, and had a hand in his success. way back when.
I can't go without mentioning One more name you would remember from those days. That is. Jackie Stewart, My Aunt Linda's sweet sister for which I have a picture of you and her together. Not as a photo opp. but rather casually hanging out. Of course you know of her passing many yrs ago. She was gorgeous.

I was instructed by My Aunt Linda to get a message to you(willie)an update of her Mother Barbara. and Step dad Joe Turner. Joe passed away last month. Barbara is now widowed and is being cared for by Aunt Linda. And that her husband my Uncle Tommy Cullinane( my moms brother)is living with Alzheimer's. She has been awarded the first award from scott and white hospital "Hero of the year" award for taking such good care of Tommy and Barbara.
We are very proud of her. I was instructed to relay all this to you. This is information that we thought you would appreciate us giving you. On top of all this. I've wanted to tell you how much I have admired your success and to see the person my family has so many memories and the fact that Papa Crash or Crash Stewart helped in your success story.
Unfortunately I was not successful getting this to Willie(you)

Maybe songkick or the person that is reading this review for willie will help me get this to him. My name is Scott Taylor and I currently live in the highland lake area. I too would love to finally meet you and show you these pictures And tell you the stories that we have heard and told all my life. I appreciate your time and your attention to this review. My whole family appreciates it. You will always be family to us and a legend In our minds. Thank you Mr. Nelson. We hope to hear from you in Reference to Crash Stewart your first promoter.
My email is: scott.gotoman@gmail.com
P.s. I will be posting this letter to every possible outlet or link to get to Willie himself. Thanks again for your time.

Most in our group had a great time last night at Willie Nelson and Family, with opener Tennessee Jet. I say “most”, because others were less able to ignore a growing trend: people spending more time documenting their time at a show than actually being in the moment enjoying the show. This is not limited to the occasional snap of a pic, but taking group pictures with their backs to the stage, selecting the perfect shot, posting it to social media and discussing the responses. STOP IT PEOPLE!

Now for the show. Willie was, well, Willie. Yes he’s in his eighties, and no longer possesses the vocal range of his youth, but he has found new ways to express the soul of the words that if anything, allow one to rethink a tune they’ve long since committed to soulless, rote memory. And his guitar playing? Masterful, and still so uniquely his. If Id been led blindfolded into the venue, I would have known at the strum of the first cord who I was hearing. The band, friends and family, complemented him perfectly, neither overstepping nor understating the partnerships.

Some complained the show was short and there was no encore, but I think if they review the setlist, they’ll note there were many tunes; there was just not any meaningless banter and the whole encore routine is kinda tired anyway.

To those signed up to see a show to come. You'll have a great time, if you limit your in-show screen time.

The concert was pure Heaven! Willie was absolutely amazing! He walked right out, picked up Trigger and he did not stop! It was one classic memory after another! His son Micah stood to his right, there was a bass player, a snare drummer and a guy that played the harmonica, together they played flawlessly! The sound was magical ! I was worried the quality of Willie’s music would have been less than standard because of his age....but he left me wanting nothing! When he played Trigger, his fingers floated across the strings and could be described as nothing but pure perfection. I must say that hearing children laugh, waves on the beach and Willie play his guitar are my top three favorite sounds to hear. Last night was a dream come true. I will cherish this memory for the rest of my life. I smiled through the entire concert, and honestly, I am smiling now. Thank you Willie Nelson!

Now, the opening act was a lady named Cassidy Daniels and she was a doll! Her sound is an updated Janis Joplin, and I totally want to hear more from her!

Seeing Willie Nelson was A big check off of my bucket list! Getting to hear Cassidy Daniels for the first time was icing on my cupcake!

Theres no doubt Willie Nelson is a true country legend. I was in awe of him as he took the stage at the age of 79. Thats right 79 years old, quite a feat. He certainly didn't show his age as he entertained the audience for the best part of 2 hours.
The venue was large and had an equally large stage, it was in no way intimate. It was, however a largely a laid back affair, he sang numerous country and blues tracks, many of them I wasn't overly familiar with but Willie and his band performed them flawlessly. The audience largely watched in a silent admiration as he lead the band throughout and sang old tails of loss and sorrow that are cliche of the genre that made him a superstar. There were shouts of approval and cheers as the band kicked things up a couple of gears and started jamming and improvising at various point though out the show. Between tracks he told stories of his childhood in his naive Texas and was comical and charming performer. It was a very bluesy set but of course his greatest hits were all played. Leaving “You Were Always On My Mind” as the grand finale. A wonderful show by one of the greats of country music.

Willie Nelson, an icon on the country music scene is still touring almost 60 years since he first began as an artist. It is a credit to his musicianship and showmanship that he is able to still delight crowds all over the States with his melodic, classic sounds.

Willie has been releasing music solidly and consistenly since his very first album 'And Then I Wrote' in 1962 and with a discography that now stands at 62 albums and 110 singles, it may seem like an impossible feat to choose a setlist. However Nelson's enthusiasm and charm as a musician means the crowd are submissive to anything he plays as to see this icon perform live is a treat in itself.

After all these years though, Nelson knows the likes of 'Rainy Day Blues' and 'Bloody Mary Morning' still get his audience clapping and singing along as his slick band perform renditions of these much loved tracks. A sincere performance of his most international hit 'Always On My Mind' makes the audience realise that despite his age of 81, there is no place Nelson would rather be than onstage entertaining his crowd.

Still rocks it on stage. He walked out as cool as you like, picked up trigger and launched into whiskey river. Did all the favorites including my favorite Angel Flying too close to the ground. Ends up signing photos and pictures and albums for 15 minutes at rue end of the show. A true gent.
Here's his set list
Whiskey river
Still is still moving
Whiskey for my men
Good hearted women
Time just slips away
Crazy
Night life ain't good life
Me and Paul
You got the money I got the time
Mama don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys
Angels flying too close
On the road again
Always on my mind.
Sweet baby's arms
Georgia on my mind
Instrumental with Willie and bobby
Jambalaya
Hey good looking
Move it on over
Show shiner man
Roll me up and smoke me
I'll fly away

What a disappointment... I'm still a Willie fan, but he spoke through the songs more than he sang them, and the arrangements on all of the songs was such that he sounded like he was rushing through the lyrics. Also, the arrangement for almost every song was such that, other than the lyrics, they all sounded pretty much the same. I'm sure I'll draw flames from the die hard Willie fans, but I would have been better off staying home and letting a true, die hard fan take my seat. Kudos to Willie for still kicking it out, but maybe its time to consider doing more recording than touring.

The Outlaw Music fedtival 2017 was a fabulous show!! The whole line up was fantastic. I didn't know a few artists with Willie but of course all were above average and so great to listen to! We had a great time - Eric Church surprised everyone by an awesome solo acoustic performance, Sheryl Crow amazing - and Willie never ever disappoints. The song choices were all I could have hoped for, singing with his family- just loved the night!!! Only wish I could have been done front to have a shot at Gettjng Willies hat as he threw it to the audience!

Arrived in South Carolina to the arena to a sign saying the show was cancelled. I called the ticket vender to ask about the tickets. They said the could not confirm that the show was cancelled at that would attempt to find ot in 72 hours and the "might" email me.
So I can't review the show. I may have to litigate. They said they may not be able to refund. So I may make a criminal complaint. Or more simply..
Got my lawyers number saved in my phone.

We had an excellent time. It was great to see Willie so energetic and he played non stop. I hadn't seen him in quite a few years. The show seemed to end a little earlier than expected and I was a little disappointed that Lucas wasn't there but overall it was great! The crowd was great and everyone was happy to sing along. My mother has been a fan for years and this was her 1st time seeing him live, I'm so glad I got her the tickets for her birthday.