BRISTOL, Tenn. – Willie Nelson launched a stellar show with “Whiskey River” at Bristol’s Viking Hall Civic Center on Tuesday.
And it was clear this native Texan knew the crowd had come to let their hair down – if not, like him, tie it up in a bandana.
After playing “Still is Still Moving to Me,” Nelson played a more recent hit, “Beer for My Horses.” And, for a bit, it might have sounded like he would stick to a strict set of drinking songs.
But the voice behind “Night Life” (also made famous by B.B. King) and “Crazy” (made immortal by Patsy Cline) did not stop with putting on a party.
Nelson actually hit his peak, musically, with renditions of gospel standards “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “I’ll Fly Away” and “Amazing Grace.” And that mix came thanks to his backing band, including his sister – pianist Bobbie Lee Nelson – and the backup vocals of Ron Blackwood and the Blackwood Quartet.
Picture little flash and no glam.
Willie Nelson, 76, rolled through blues and country tunes, singing “It’s Flooding Down in Texas,” as if Viking Hall’s 2,200-person crowd had assembled inside a giant Tennessee honky-tonk.
One standout on stage: Lukas Nelson.
A son of the living legend, Lukas Nelson, 21, played electric guitar fluidly, sounding like a southern rock master – Allen Collins or Stevie Ray Vaughan or even Eric Clapton.
Leading a four-piece combo, Lukas opened Tuesday’s show performing a mix of electric and acoustic tunes, mostly bent on the blues. Lukas, like his father, strummed the strings on his guitar so passionately that it seemed one would break.
Vocally, the younger Nelson sounds faintly like his father. Yet it’s clear that his guitar makes the most magic.
In turn, Bristol’s mostly middle-aged crowd went as wild for one of Lukas Nelson’s soaring guitar solos as they did for Willie Nelson’s soothing, inspired vocals.
Throughout the night, Willie Nelson did not stick to original arrangements. He seemed to play songs – even his standard “Always On My Mind” – just as he felt them, not a note-for-note recitation of records.
Still, nothing strayed too far.
Soulful renditions of “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” provided crowd-pleasing moments.
Another winner was “On the Road Again,” a 1980 hit made famous – again – by the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump.” Nelson put this ditty at mid-set, and played it like a party anthem.
The crowd clapped.
Nelson hollered, “Like a band of gypsies, we go down the highway.”
And a good time was had by all.
jtennis@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0704
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