Willie Nelson‘s annual 4th of July Picnic is coming to the Germania Insurance Arena in Austin, Texas, this year with a lineup that includes Bob Dylan, the Avett Brothers, the Mavericks, Asleep at the Wheel, and Tami Neilson, in addition to Nelson and his Family Band. Ticket go on sale March 7.
“I’m 92 years old and I’ll be there so you have no excuse,” Nelson said in a statement. “I look forward to bringing back my annual 4th of July Picnic to the city I love and sharing this special event with all my Austin fans.” (Last year’s Picnic was staged across the Delaware River from Philadelphia in Camden, New Jersey.)
Nelson has been holding 4th of July Picnic concerts since 1973. The inaugural lineup featured Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, Doug Sahm, Sammi Smith, and Tom T. Hall. Over the decades, everyone from Jimmy Buffett and Lynyrd Skynyrd to Toby Keith, Jason Isbell, Dierks Bentley, and Neil Young and Crazy Horse have taken part in the show.
This year’s event comes in the middle of an extremely busy summer for Nelson where he’ll once again headline the Outlaw tour with Dylan. They’ll be joined throughout the tour by Lucinda Williams, Sheryl Crow, Waxahatchee, Wilco, and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.
Last year, Nelson was forced to miss several early Outlaw dates due to health problems. His son Lukas took his place at those shows and played a set packed with his father’s classics. Dylan, meanwhile, made every single gig and surprised fans with eclectic covers like Stanford Clark’s “The Fool,” the Fleetwoods’ “Mr. Blue,” and the Grateful Dead’s “Stella Blue.”
Dylan and Nelson have been friends since the early Seventies. In 1993, they co-wrote the song “Heartland” on Nelson’s LP Across the Borderline. That same year, they performed the Townes Van Zandt classic “Pancho and Lefty” at Nelson’s 60th birthday concert. They occasionally played together in the early 2000s when they toured minor league ballparks, but didn’t share the stage a single time on the 2024 Outlaw Tour. This summer, however, they have many opportunities to do that once again.
