Due to “not feeling well,” Willie Nelson was unable to perform on Friday, June 21 in Georgia.
The 2024 Outlaw Music Festival’s opening night at the Ameris Bank Amphitheater in Alpharetta, Georgia, scheduled the 91-year-old country music icon to perform alongside other headliners Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, and Celisse. In Nelson’s place, his son Lukas Nelson and the Family Band covered his hits and other legendary songs.
A message posted on Willie Nelson’s X (formerly Twitter) profile said, “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.” We anticipate that he will resume his Outlaw Music Festival tour next week after a full recovery.
— Willie Nelson (@WillieNelson) June 21, 2024
On Saturday, June 22, the 2024 Outlaw Music Festival tour will play at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina. Nelson also scheduled a performance at Coastal Credit Union Music Park in Raleigh, North Carolina on Sunday, June 23. He might return to the stage for the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach on Wednesday, June 26.
The festival tour is expected to last through September, having been announced in February. John Mellencamp will replace Plant and Krauss in late July.
With this lineup of outstanding artists, the Outlaw Music Festival Tour of this year promises to be the biggest and best ever. Nelson released a statement in February that read, “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.”
When Nelson turned 90 years old in April 2023, he told people he had no intention of slowing down.
In May 2023, Nelson stated, “I’m not going to push myself too hard. There are likely other activities that I will pursue and excel at. “I know one day it all ends, but I’m not rushing it.”
He went on to say that performing in front of people is “what keeps me going.”
In May, Nelson also released The Border, his 75th studio album. Rodney Crowell recorded and co-wrote “Title,” the album’s lead single, in 2019.