Originally published in Motorcycles On The Road Again, October 2005.
“Honey, it’s a party!” Every year there’s a party pulled together by a man who is amazing to everyone and qualifies as a legend to most. It isn’t just any party; this is a magical concert event. In the true Texas tradition of July 4th, it’s a picnic of friends and family. Thirty-Two artists were at the picnic this year including Texas legends such as Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, Ray Price, Asleep at the Wheel, Ray Wylie Hubbard, David Allan Coe, James Hand and Billy Joe Shaver— to name just a few.
Willie’s Picnic has been a Texas institution since its humble beginnings in 1973 in Dripping Springs. During those 34 years the event has moved about, to Luckenbach, College Station and even Willie’s own property outside Austin. There have only been a few years when there was no picnic, due to permit problems and scheduling conflicts, but those breaks seem to have had little effect on the Picnic’s momentum. This year’s sales of 24,000 tickets made it a sold out event.
Willie’s Picnic has a rich history of combining artists who attract fans from all walks of life and presenting the rare opportunities to see them sharing the stage with each other in a 13-hour long jam session. Of course the biggest attraction of all might be the possibility of Willie coming onstage to add his voice and guitar to any one of them, be it the legendary Johnny Bush, the young Hawaiian band Los Maui Boys or even Texas rodeo sweetheart Pauline Reese.
Johnny Bush said “These 4th of July picnics are really a high point. When you get to meet and see people you would never ever have the chance to — like 2 years ago when the Grateful Dead was part of the show. This was Willie’s idea – the Grateful Dead people got to hear Merle Haggard and Ray Price and me and Willie for the first time, and our people got to hear the Grateful Dead and that fit. I understand Bob Dylan is a Johnny Bush fan, and we’ll find out tomorrow. This brings the Willie fans and the traditional country fans together with the rock and roll fans and they have a party”
Beautiful music alone doesn’t get all the credit for the uplifting vibe that abounds at Willie’s Picnic. The artists who played are all great in their own right, but when it comes right down to it, they probably sound so good and please the crowd so well because they are all just plain happy to be there. This is more than just a gig on a schedule to them; it’s a holiday celebration, a family gathering, and a reunion of friends old and new.
The Picnic’s bill this year included many Texas legends such as Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, Ray Price, Asleep at the Wheel, Ray Wylie Hubbard, David Allan Coe, James Hand and Billy Joe Shaver to name a few. A few young upstarts also rattled the stages, such as Cross Canadian Ragweed, Randy Rogers Band, Django Walker and Los Lonely Boys.
But Mr. Nelson also did what he is famous for doing at these Picnics, and what no other probably could do, which is mixing it up and pulling in cross-genre greats such as The Doobie Brothers, Leon Russell and amazingly, Bob Dylan. His talent for pulling this diverse talent together, and the respect he garners in the industry which makes doing so possible, creates a setting wherein people from all different backgrounds and musical preferences can share a whole day and evening together and everyone has the time of their life. The Picnic is a Texas institution to be sure, but also a worldwide anomaly. In speaking with some of the Texas artists who played this year, it became clear that there is nothing that any one of them wouldn’t do for Willie Nelson. As Johnny Bush told us, “I’ve never ever heard anybody say, ‘I just don’t like that S.O.B. I’ve never heard that in my life. Anything he does people love and so do I.”
Bush has good reason for loving what Willie does. “Whiskey River” – Willie’s biggest hit of his recording career, was written by Bush. When Bush was struggling in the 70’s with a vocal cord problem, the royalty checks from that song were coming in just when he needed them most. His voice problem went undiagnosed for 20 years, during which time he learned to play guitar and fiddle, and learned to be “a better listener”, all the while turning out records and performing as much as his voice would allow. Treatment after treatment proved fruitless until he was finally diagnosed correctly with Spasmodic Dysphonia in 2002, and underwent Botox injection treatment. Bush also found a new passion in helping others with the same disorder, and to this day encourages anyone exhibiting symptoms to contact him from his website for more information. Bush is now as strong as ever as his performance at the Picnic proved. It was little surprise that the Red-headed Stranger made one of his many guest appearances on Bush’s stage during “Whiskey River”. Johnny even changed up the lyrics a bit for the occasion, singing “Willie, please don’t stop singing Whiskey River… “
Nobody wants Willie to stop singing anything. As Ray Wylie Hubbard told us, “Every time you hear a Willie Nelson song, you become a better person”. Nelson’s teaching by example is not lost on his fans or his friends or apparently anyone who happens near the man. Everybody wants to be just like him, though no one feels quite worthy of the task. There is a sense that Willie is simply made of better stuff than most. Bill McDavid said, “He’s got inner peace. Everybody talks about it, but he’s got it.” And Ray Wylie Hubbard also went so far as to call Nelson a “Bodhisattva…. someone who’s been enlightened but then they don’t ascend to heaven or anything, they stay around to enlighten other people. He’s been enlightened, but he doesn’t use it to build castles in the sky, he stays around to enlighten other people, and I think that’s what he does with his music.” And perhaps he also does it by putting his music together with the music of others.
Not only does Willie pull together this slightly magical concert event, but you are likely to hear him singing or playing guitar on a CD by another artist, country or otherwise. Johnny Bush says, “Anybody can walk up to him and say ‘I’m doing a record, do you want to sing on it?’ and he’ll say ‘Sure!’ He will sing with anybody. Doesn’t matter who it is, what it is, where it is, he’ll sing with them. Back in my day that was called overexposure, but he proved there’s no such thing. “
If there were such a thing, there would be plenty of it at Willie’s picnic. During any artists’ set you are likely to see another performer from the bill onstage with them. This reporter did not see one single show wherein somebody else didn’t get onstage and join in.
Such combinations are rare treats; Willie and Johnny Bush, Willie and Pauline Reese, Los Lonely Boys and Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Cody Canada and the Lost Trailers, Cross Canadian Ragweed and Randy Rogers and Jason Boland…
These impromptu performances are a huge reason for the family gathering atmosphere that abounds not only onstage but among attendees as well. Despite dust, heat and crowds you will find a lot of happy campers at Willie’s Picnic.
Family and friends; that’s what it’s all about. When speaking to true Texas gentleman James Hand about Willie, he said “First and foremost he’s a friend of mine. Willie is Mr. Nelson to me. The songs he’s written, the succinctness of his words. You ask Willie what time it is and he tells you. You ask him, ‘Willie can I sing and play?’ and he might say, ‘No you can’t, but have you thought about taking up gardening?’ He’s a very kind, generous man and he’s been very precious to me. Very precious.”
You are just as likely to find friends of Willie in the crowd as you are to find them backstage – there are the surprise appearances onstage by family members such as Lucas Hubbard, Ray Wylie’s 12 year old son, shredding a crowd-pleasing guitar solo. Willie’s own son, Luke Nelson of Los Maui Boys, jamming along with the Garza brothers, Los Lonely Boys. And of course the scheduled set of Willie’s daughter, Paula Nelson-Hines with Lightnin’ Willie & the Poorboys.
Texas music has a community of support that is like no other on the planet. Ask a few of these artists what Texas music is and you’ll get answers such as “…it has no boundaries” from James Hand; “Important” from Ray Wylie Hubbard; “From the heart” from Django Walker (son of Texas legend Jerry Jeff Walker) or “…it’s about working together” from Johnny Bush.
Pauline Reese recounts a story of a show she once played in Victoria where she had the opening spot at 4:00 in the afternoon. Her audience consisted of the “guy selling the beer and the guy selling the BBQ. That’s it.” Then, as she and her band started to play, Willie’s band began filing off Willie’s bus one by one and came over and watched and jammed out to her entire show. When she was done with her set, they helped her band load up all their equipment as well. She can’t speak highly enough of Willie’s “Family”.
Bill McDavid, one half of Rogers & Hammerhead, a.k.a. Freddy Powers & Bill McDavid, told us his best 4th of July memory was “the first year I got to play the picnic, about ’99…. That was a thrill to me to be up there with my friends. Texas is the only state that has its own style of music. We have created a style of music in our state that is unique to our state. You’ve never heard anybody sing, Deep in the heart of South Dakota.
The Texas music community has a spirit that is parallel to the Texas biker community. In fact, they have several overlapping members including Powers & McDavid, Pauline Reese, Billy Joe Shaver and formerly Ray Wylie Hubbard. Hubbard compares both lifestyles by saying, “Texans really treasure their freedom. The gypsy traveling lifestyle, the freedom that a bike will give you, the freedom that music gives you. So that’s the idea, Rock and Roll Gypsies, you know you’re riding tonight and that’s something you really can’t describe, but it’s something you can feel”.
Reese, a tiny Texas cowgirl with a huge heart and more than just blonde hair under her Stetson, proudly claims a large biker following in Texas due to playing Poodie’s Hilltop in Spicewood and Cindy’s Gone Hog Wild in Cedar Creek, as well as an annual B.A.C.A. benefit. She even gets out and rides herself with the likes of Rogers & Hammerhead on their Harleys and with her brother, Russell. Billy Joe Shaver also is a former rider, he used to own several Hondas. Then he says “I did a little trick ridin’, I didn’t mean to”. So he hung up the hobby, but he’s “fixin’ to get another one.” And if they aren’t bikers because “I’m afraid I’ll lose an arm, or my head…I guess I’m a coward” like Johnny Bush, or “If it’s got 4 legs I can handle it pretty good, but 2 wheels, I’m scared to death of” like James Hand or “I’m just kind of a sissy” like Randy Rogers or “I’m just so accident prone” like Jason Boland — then they look forward to the day when they will be like Django Walker who “will own a Harley some day in my life. I love bikes.” But all embrace bikers as a community. As Hubbard puts it, “To have a bike you have to be a caring person because you have to care for that bike and your safety and others so I do embrace that whole biker lifestyle. You enjoy your freedom and the outlaw part of it is the freedom to enjoy what you’re doing without hurting anybody else.”
Freedom is what the 4th of July is all about after all. We celebrate it every year and create special memories because we treasure our freedom so dearly. Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic in Texas, couldn’t be more apropos. The picnic is a reunion of free souls uniting for one big day and doing what they love without hurting anyone. Doing it and spreading their joy around for the rest of us to share. Your Lone Star Biker reporter heard many stories on July 4, 2005. Stories of the old days, the Outlaw Days with Willie and the gang, and the Houseboat Days of Freddy Powers with Merle Haggard. Stories of the days of recent times wherein the “old” generation shares their knowledge, mistakes and opportunities with the new generation, stories that can’t be retold, stories that maybe shouldn’t be retold. Story after story, they are the backbone of Texas music. To hear them told in person by the real storytellers is a rare treat, a gift in fact. A gift shared openly and willingly by Willie’s Friends. That’s the way he’s taught them.
“If Bob Wills is the king, Willie Nelson would have to be the Emperor. He’s the sh** is what he is. He’s an American icon, he’s the biggest living icon in the United States of America. He has to be. His pigtails are probably as recognizable as Coca-Cola. It’s an unbelievable phenomenon, the coolest thing ever.” – Randy Rogers
A Sidenote
To learn more about the Texas legends mentioned in this article, please visit the following websites, check their tour schedules and treat yourself to the joy of seeing their shows whenever you can: www.johnnybush.com www.jamesslimhand.com www.raywylie.com www.randyrogersband.com www.paulinereese.com www.freddypowers.com www.djangowalker.com www.billyjoeshaver.com www.thestragglers.com www.billybobstexas.com and of course www.willienelson.com or www.williespicnic.com
