GoDometer: Willie Nelsons 4th of July Picnic 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 Will’s 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 were 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 Will’s 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...

We hope that you enjoyed reading this excerpt from "Willie Nelsons 4th of July Picnic 2005". If you would like to read the entire article and more, you can order a back issue of Sep / Oct 2005 where this article was originally published.

availabilty: sold out