Willie Nelson Concerts – 4th of July picnic
Perhaps the most legendary of all Willie Nelson’s concerts is Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic.
Willie Nelson Concerts at new Moody Theater
2010 4th of Picnic Band Lineup
How Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic got started:
Willie Nelson’s first 4th of July picnic occurred in 1973 when he, along with Rita Coolidge, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Tom T. Hall and Charlie Rich, performed a country music concert for the first time in Dripping Spring, Texas as a celebration of the fourth of July.
The Willie Nelson and friends concert / ‘party’ was actually inspired from a country music festival in the same location, the previous year. Willie’s first 4th of July was a bigger hit than anticipated as about thirty to fifty thousand fans appeared for the concert. The inexperience of the organizers could not provide every kind of support for the concert goers and the whole event became a mess.
But that didn’t stop the organizers the next year; instead they arranged an even bigger concert. This time the stage was much larger and the setup was more efficient to accommodate the huge crowds. Another major change came as the festival was a three days program this time; unlike the one day program of the previous year. The venue was also different and this time, the concert took place in the Texas World Speedway in College Station. The performers were Jimmy Buffett, Michael Martin Murphey, Jerry Jeff Walker, Leon Russell and Waylon Jennings. This was also a great hit and the even got a permanent recognition.
In the next year, about 90,000 audiences participated in the festival; which was a violation of Texas Mass Gathering Act and charged was pressed against Willie Nelson. Over the following years the concert was placed in different locations and almost all famous country singers performed in these concerts.
After the 1980s, the picnic expended its location to places other than Texas.. such as New York, Atlanta and New Jersey. From the year of 1984, it came back to Texas.. specifically Austin, TX. In the 1990s, the picnic became irregular and lost its huge number of audience and in 1993, there were only 3,000 viewers. So the concert was shut down for few years and later restarted in 2003 in the Two Rivers Canyon Amphitheater in Spicewood, TX. BTW, Willie lived just miles from there up until about 2009 when he sold his ranch ‘Luck Texas’ to a land developer. Anyway, this time, newcomers performed along with some of the original singers on the stage and it was a big hit.
In the year of 2007, the concert was held in the state of Washington, but came back to Texas for 2008 to be held at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater near San Antonio.
What about 2010 Willie Nelson 4th of July Picnic?
Willie’s 4th of July Picnic will be held right here at the new ‘Backyard’ in Bee Caves, TX. And remember, AustinConcertTickets.net is holding a contest to win Willie Nelson 4th of July Picnic tickets.
