When I was in Indio covering Stagecoach, I was acutely aware that another big (and arguably more compelling) musical event was happening not so far away at the Hollywood Bowl: the two-night, 90th birthday celebration concert for the venerable Willie Nelson.
When in my life had Willie’s music not been in the air? Nelson has released dozens of records over his long career, and 17 of those were released when I was growing up in the 1970s. My best friend Sally’s mom Donna always seemed to be listening to KFAT, the local station that always seemed to be broadcasting “Willie and Waylon” (the record Waylon and Willie came out in 1978). I didn’t think of myself as an actual fan, but I still absorbed a trove of Nelson songs a la ‘Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys’ and ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’ and ‘Crazy,’ without giving them much conscious thought.
In 2003, when I finally saw Nelson perform live for the first time at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, I was struck both by the familiarity of his songs and the force of his sheer magnetism. When he raised his arms and greeted the crowd, it felt like a big dose of pure heart-to-heart shaktipat. About a decade later, we saw him at the Greek Theater and I was again deeply impressed by his presense and his absolute musicality.
So in April, even as I was being saturated in live music at Stagecoach, I had a bit of FoMO about his big birthday show.
My consolation prize came this week, when the concert film Long Story Short, filmed at Nelson’s 90th celebration, opened in area theaters this past weekend. While a lot of footage can already be found online, I appreciated the polished stage view footage and excellent mix offered up by the filmmakers and audio engineers (I also realized once I took a seat that it was the first time I’d been to an actual movie theater since early 2020).
What wasn’t to like about watching an all-star cast and band— among them Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings, Rosanne Cash and Booker T. Jones — offering up their takes on classic Willie Nelson and Nelson-adjacent songs? I especially enjoyed Jamey Johnson’s show-stopping version of ‘Georgia on My Mind,’ the inspired pairing of Allison Russel and Norah Jones for ‘Seven Spanish Angels,’ and seeing Nelson flanked by his musician sons. What I didn’t bargain for when I bought my ticket was spending a couple of hours contemplating my own mortality.
An alternate title might well have been ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ (sung at the show by Dave Matthews). Given the occasion being a 90th birthday, we shouldn’t have been surprised at the wizened cast, but at times we were squirming in our seats at the vivid sight of seeing how favorite artists had become, well, elders.
“It’s bittersweet,” a viewer in the row behind me commented as we all got up to stretch during the five-minute ‘420 break’ (the movie runs more than two hours), both of us both still digesting the sight of Nelson himself, all heart and spirit, but looking as time worn as his trusty guitar Trigger. It was clear the artists on stage felt it, too. When Rodney Crowel and Emmylou Harris sang ‘It Ain’t Over Yet,’ there were a lot of feelings both on screen and in the movie theater.
There’s nothing like seeing seasoned artists flex the mastery they’ve accrued through a lifetime of practicing their craft, but a subtext of being entertained by many of the performances was that these may be some of the last artists such as Kris Kristofferson, and Nelson himself, make, and what that said about our own ticking clocks. But as Crowel sang, it ain’t over yet. And if there’s ever a model of wringing every last bit of positivity and potential out of life while you have it, it’s Nelson.
Love this piece Deb.
I saw him for the 1st time in 2019 at Stanford. Such a treat, he was fresh and friendly, taking breaks and letting others shine. I’ll have to check this film out. My Mom curated a playlist she asked to be played as her ashes buried which, of course, included some Willie favorites from ‘Stardust’. He’s such a bright light in our lives. :)