LONDON, Tuesday, February 17th , 2009 — Legendary, GRAMMY award winning, country music star Willie Nelson is set to return to the road. Nelson will be joined onstage by special guest Ray Price. If ever the words “living legend” were more than just public relations bluster, the application would be to Willie Hugh Nelson.
The iconic Texan is the creative genius behind historic recordings like “Crazy”, “Hello Walls”, “Red-Headed Stranger” and “Stardust”. Nelsonʼs career has spanned six decades. His catalog boasts more than 200 albums. Heʼs earned every conceivable award and honor to be bestowed a person in his profession. He has also amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor and activist. As ever, Nelson tours tirelessly, climbing aboard Honeysuckle Rose III (he rode his first two buses into the ground) and takes his music and fans on a seemingly endless journey to places that were well worth the ride. Most importantly, Nelsonʼs music is as adventurous as ever-mixing sounds and styles, bending genre boundaries and engendering the talents of todayʼs most vibrant artists. Nelsonʼs first album with Atlantic Records, 1973ʼs Shotgun Willie got the attention of music critics if not the masses, and the 1974 follow-up Phases & Stages helped build a loyal following. The breakthrough heʼd been seeking for the better part of two decades came in 1975 when he parted ways with Atlantic Records and signed with Columbia Records. Red Headed Stranger became one of countryʼs most unlikely hits. The acoustic concept album vaulted Nelson to country musicʼs top ranks, much to the surprise of Music Row. Nelsonʼs convention-busting stardom, combined with the concurrent popularity of maverick Waylon Jennings, prompted journalist Hazel Smith to dub the trend “Outlaw Music” and a movement was underway.