Have a Willie nice 4th

Willie Nelson is an American legend.  His voice is one that you can immediately conjure up in your mind if you have ever heard it before.  He is all at once nasal-sounding and able to sing with perfect pitch.  He has been making music for longer than most folks I know have been breathing in and out.  His beat up guitar has a name (Trigger), and has seen more life than most of us ever will.  

Last year, Cas and I saw his show in Dallas on July 3rd.  This year, we tuned into his virtual Fourth of July picnic.  I styled my hair appropriately: 

To try and get the pinnacle American holiday correct, we got some barbecue to eat while watching the music.  I have to admit, the show didn't really get good until around 8pm.  That's when Asleep at the Wheel went on.  After that, it was a parade of different people- most of them legendary in their own right- who sang Willie Nelson's songs, songs about Willie or songs that felt otherwise appropriate for the occasion.  

Finally, when it was time for Willie himself to get in on the show, the feed for the live stream got all kinds of glitchy.  I would call it a hitch in the giddy-up, so as to stick with the theme of the evening.  I suspect that lots of folks skipped the opening acts and the banter between Lukas and Micah Nelson (the banter was very skippable, by the way) and popped in to overload the system just in time to crash Willie's performance.  The folks broadcasting it even went so far as to back up the stream and start from Sheryl Crow's song a couple of times.  

I was frustrated and ready to give up, and just as we were about to, the whole thing cleared, and we watched Willie Nelson's family band regale us in the safety of our own home.  

His older sister played the piano- she was born in 1931, two years before Willie, but for some reason, he calls her "little sister."  Go figure.  The band was incredibly talented.  And Willie was exactly the same as we remembered.  He looks all of his 87 years.  His craggy hands match his aging guitar when the camera zooms in.  Still, he has that spark of a great performer.  He clearly loves playing music, and it comes through.  

Hopefully, next year, we can spend the 4th out watching fireworks or sitting at a baseball game- the plan was to be in Boston yesterday, which seemed like a very patriotic idea.  Still, I don't think we could have conjured up a more American stay-at-home activity than the Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic.  We even put out a blanket and ate, picnic-style.  Happy birthday, America.  

Some photos for you: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2XJ3mX7a61qq3KRj7