Abilene Reporter-News
by: Greg Jaklewicz
Stony LaRue and other artists proved to be accurate weathermen Saturday.
What a wonderful day for an outdoor musical festival, he said during his early evening set.
As West Texas spring days go, it was darn near perfect.
Well, except for a bit of wind taking hold of a large orange sun umbrella and sending it spinning into the crowd. No one was hurt but made a quick check to make their umbrellas wasn’t going anywhere.
And when the sun set, it got better as, without fanfare, Willie Nelson ambled on stage. With help from his band, he unholstered Trigger – his one-of-a-kind guitar – from its stand and to raucous cheers took a seat on the Back Porch of Texas. Smiling, he said thanked fans for coming and launched into “Whiskey River.”
Three years of waiting was over.
Willie, scheduled to play in 2020, came to the Outlaws & Legends Music Festival at last.
The iconic Texas singer, who will be 90 later this month, still has game. He cannot sing like he once did, often letting the audience help him. But he played the heck out of Trigger, and when he smiled, the appreciative audience knew Willie was doing what Willie loves to do.
Guitars in tune still is one of the only two things in life that make it worth living.
Willie started the show wearing a cowboy hat, but he took it off to reveal his long, braided hair wrapped by a bandanna saying “Willie Nelson.”
He whisked through the songs fans knew by heart, stopping now and then to thank the crowd for its applause.
“I hear you,” he said, smiling. “Thank you.”
“Mamas,” he led, before the crowd sang, “don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.”
Soon enough, he got to “On the Road Again,” which he recently has been singing on the Capital One commercial during coverage of March Madness.
Oh, did you know that also was going on Saturday?
Not many at the 12th annual event, which seemed to draw its largest crowd ever Saturday, cared too much. No scores were announced.
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The post Wild and Willie: Texas Icon Brings the outlaw and legend to music festival first appeared on www.stillisstillmoving.com.
