Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File
Summer and Willie Nelson go together like swimming pools and barbecue — one without the other is just a little less enjoyable.
Although there was a brief pause last year when it skipped over North Texas, Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival, which grew out of his legendary Fourth of July Picnics in Austin, Fort Worth and elsewhere, will return to Dallas for a day sure to be hot both figuratively and literally.
We’ve pulled together a playlist below to either familiarize you with the stacked line-up of this 10th anniversary edition of the tour, or just get you pumped up for showtime. Tickets for the July 5 showcase at Dos Equis Pavilion are on sale now.
Willie Nelson
At 92 years young, the man from Abbott is still kicking. The acclaimed singer-songwriter dropped his latest studio album, Oh What a Beautiful World, in April. The record, his 77th solo effort, focuses exclusively on the songbook of fellow troubadour Rodney Crowell (who guests on the title track).
Bob Dylan
A titan of American music, 84-year-old Bob Dylan, like the man at the top of the bill, also shows no signs of slowing. While doling out sizzling Bo Diddley covers on the road, Dylan recently sang a duet with none other than Barbra Streisand for the latter’s new album The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume 2, joining her on a rendition of “The Very Thought of You.”
The Avett Brothers
North Carolina folk-rock band the Avett Brothers marks its 25th anniversary this year, and the quartet is keeping its nose to the grindstone. Last year saw the release of its 11th studio album, a self-titled LP produced by Rick Rubin.
The Mavericks
The Miami-formed Mavericks conjure a sound like few other bands. Fusing country, jazz, Latin rhythms, pop and soul, the group, anchored by the peerless pipes of lead singer and songwriter Raul Malo, is never not dazzling. Tireless road warriors, even as Malo battles cancer, the Mavericks released Moon & Stars, its latest LP, last year.
Tami Neilson
Billed as a “country and soul” singer-songwriter, the Canadian-born Tami Neilson, who now calls New Zealand home, has a sturdy relationship with the festival’s head honcho: Her latest studio album, Neilson Sings Nelson, is a collection of Willie tunes she recorded in his Pedernales studio as a 90th birthday gift.
Outlaw Music Festival at Dos Equis Pavilion, Dallas. 4:15 p.m. July 5. Tickets are $55-$369.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social). 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.
