Country music legend Willie Nelson recently had to cancel a performance at the Outlaw Music Festival on Friday due to unspecified health reasons. A statement was released on Willie Nelson’s official Instagram page, explaining the situation.
Reportedly, the 91-year-old musician was feeling under the weather, and his doctor ordered him to seek rest over the next few days. The statement noted that Willie’s son, Lukas Nelson, and his father’s longtime band would perform along with other guests in his place.
“We regret to inform you that Willie Nelson is not feeling well and, per doctor’s orders, has been advised to rest for the next four days. He is expected to make a quick recovery and join the Outlaw Music Festival tour next week. In the meantime, Lukas Nelson and the Family Band, along with a few guests, will perform a special set to include Willie’s classics and other songs,” the statement read. The message added, “Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, and Celisse will continue to perform as scheduled.”
Lukas and the Family Band covered a number of his father’s classic hits in a memorable performance, playing tunes such as “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” and “On the Road Again.”
The nonagenarian outlaw musician is amazing still on the road performing shows just as he was decades ago. Nelson was scheduled to perform on Friday in Georgia as a part of his headline tour, the Outlaw Music Festival Tour. He was also scheduled to perform back-to-back shows on Friday and Saturday in North Carolina before his illness.
“This year’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour promises to be the biggest and best yet with this lineup of legendary artists,” Nelson said earlier this year. “I am thrilled to get back on the road again with my family and friends playing the music we love for the fans we love.”
Last year, The American Tribune reported on Willie Nelson’s advice for a happy, successful marriage. At the time, Nelson was celebrating his 90th birthday and had successfully completed 31 years of marriage to his wife, Annie D’Angelo.
The singer said, “I call her my pet rattler. She’s my lover, my wife, nurse, doctor, bodyguard.” He then went on to explain how her humor has a therapeutic quality in his life, “As they say, laughter’s the best medicine. I’ve always enjoyed a good joke.”
He continued, “We’ve got a couple of great kids. I am proud of them and all they’re doing on their own. It’s great to have your kids with you at any time, but if they’re on the stage singing with you and they’re good, that makes it even better.”
Discussing how he raised his two sons to be upstanding men, Nelson stated, “It’s better to show them rather than tell them. If they see your work ethic every day, then they realize, ‘Hey, maybe he knows what he’s doing.’”
As demonstrated by his hit song “On the Road Again” Nelson explained that he can’t get away from the traveling lifestyle of touring. “I quit after every tour, then two days later, I’m ready to go back. Billy Joe Shaver wrote in a song, ‘Moving is the closest thing to being free,’ and that’s the way I look at it. I enjoy riding up and down the highway,” he said.
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