Willie Nelson
Photo: Pamela Springsteen
As we noted near the top of the year, Willie Nelson, 91 years young, is entering 2024 as prolific as ever.
Nelson just announced what is, incredibly, his 152nd album: The Border, produced by Buddy Cannon, and due out May 31.
The 10-song collection features four new Nelson/Cannon tracks (“Once Upon a Yesterday,” “What If I’m Out of My Mind,” “Kiss Me When You’re Through” and “How Much Does It Cost”), alongside covers of works by other singer-songwriters, including Larry Cordle, Erin Enderlin, Rodney Crowell, Will Jennings, Shawn Camp, Monty Holmes and Mike Reid.
The first single from Nelson’s next studio LP is its title track, co-written by Crowell and Allen Shamblin, and you can hear it below.
Nelson is joined on the record by long-time collaborator Mickey Raphael, as well as guitarists Bobby Terry and James Mitchell, as well as pianist Jim “Moose” Brown, drummer Fred Eltringham and bassist Barry Bales.
The Red-Headed Stranger is making his annual appearance at this year’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, hosting his “Luck Reunion” event.
Following that, he’ll hit the road for the 2024 edition of his Outlaw Music Festival, which will feature a line-up this year including Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Billy Strings and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, among others. The festival, as of now, has no Texas dates scheduled.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
