Willie Nelson was the very essence of “chill” ahead of his spotlight performance Saturday night, despite the fact that he’d soon be taking the stage at the world’s biggest country music festival, in front of a few thousand rabid fans, a new album just released and on his 84th birthday no less.
Even without aroma of any relaxation-enhancing smoke in evidence, Nelson took it all in stride as he sat in his fabled touring bus, where he spends more time year in and year out than any stationary properties he owns.
Another birthday? No big deal. “Whenever it turns up,” he said from his bench at a small table where business or meals are carried out, “there it is again.”
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Headliner Kenny Chesney performs on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Headliner Kenny Chesney performs on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Headliner Kenny Chesney greets fans as guitarist Kenny Greenberg, second from left, and guitarist Jon Conley, right, perform.
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Kenny Chesney
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Guitarist Kenny Greenberg performs with headliner Kenny Chesney.
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Two men sleep on hay bales in the empty Mustang Stage as Stagecoach draws to an end on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Kendra Ullman and Jordan Bohine embrace at dusk as Travis Tritt plays a love song on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer at dusk as Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer as they listen to Tyler Farr.
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Tyler Farr
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Fans cheer as Tyler Farr performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans cheer as Tyler Farr performs at sunset on the Mane Stage.
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Tyler Farr, left, and drummer Mark Poiesz perform on the Mane Stage.
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Christopher Garmer poses with his son wearing a John Deere hat, Sean Garmer, 2, of Lakeside, on a John Deere 520 vintage tractor, which is one of 18 on display.
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Los Lobos performs on the Palomino Stage on the final day of Stagecoach.
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Cowboy Junkies lead singer vocalist Margo Timmins performs on the Mustang Stage.
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A view from the La Grande XL ferris wheel of the RV resort.
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Rusty Wink of Leucadia, left, and Kyle Evans of Long Beach sport country-western outfits while riding a two-person bicycle in the RV Resort on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., on April 29, 2017.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Partiers hang out in a portable hot tub in the RV Resort on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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Kiefer Sutherland performs on the Palomino Stage on the third day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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The Hillbenders present the Who’s “Tommyy: A Bluegrass Opry” on the Mustang Stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Luke Combs performs on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Dancers from the Cal Poly Country Line Dancers Club and Cal Poly Square Dancers perform at the HonkyTonk at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Wynonna & the Big Noise performs on the Palomino Stage at Stagecoach.
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Qunicy Jones and Lauren Anderson of Los Angeles dance while the Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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The Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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Jordan Horrillo and Kait Gruber of Sunnyvale dance while the Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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The crowd cheers as Wynonna & the Big Noise performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer Saturday’s headlining act, Shania Twain, on the Mane Stage on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio.
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Saturday headliner Shania Twain performs on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer Shania Twain, performing on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Shania Twain, performs on the Mane Stage.
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Shania Twain on the Mane Stage.
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Country legend Willie Nelson tips his hat to the crowd as he takes the Palomino Stage on his 84th birthday, which he spent playing at Stagecoach.
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Willie Nelson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Neil Young makes a surprise appearance as he plays harmonica with Mickey Raphael, second from left, during Willie Nelson’s finale. At left is Jamey Johnson, from right are Margo Price and John Doe.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Neil Young makes a surprise appearance as he plays harmonica with Mickey Raphael in an exchange, third from left, during Willie Nelson’s finale. From left are Lucas Nelson and Jamey Johnson; from right are Margo Price and John Doe.
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Stagecoach performers join Willie Nelson’s finale on his 84th birthday.
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Willie Nelson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Margo Price performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Robert Ellis performs on the Mustang Stage on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Maren Morris performs on the Mane Stage.
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Tommy James and the Shondells perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Tommy James and the Shondells at Stagecoach.
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Fans sing along to Tommy James and the Shondells.
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Nikki Lane performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Nikki Lane performs on the Mustang Stage.
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“Cowboy” Eddie Long plays the steel guitar during Jamey Johnson’s performance on the Palomino Stage.
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Jamey Johnson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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A fan watches Jamey Johnson’s performance from another’s shoulders at the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer as Willie Nelson and Family perform during the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser takes the Mane Stage on the first day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach.
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The bassist of the Randy Houser band, Tripper Ryder, greets fans at dusk on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs at dusk on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs at dusk on the first day at Stagecoach.
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Drummer Kevin Murphy performs with Randy Houser at Stagecoach.
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38 Special vocalist and guitarist Don Barnes, left, and guitarist Danny Chauncey perform on the Palomino Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as 38 Special performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Randy Houser performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans sing along as Dierks Bentley performs on the Mane Stage.
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Friday’s headlining performer, Dierks Bentley, performs “Different for Girls” featuring Elle King on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley sings “Different for Girls” with Elle King on the Mane Stage.
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Dierks Bentley encourages the crowd to sing along during his performance at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley, center, performs on the first day of Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley lets the audience in on his Stagecoach performance.
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Dierks Bentley performs on the Mane Stage.
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Cole Swindell encouarges the crowd during his performance on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach 2017.
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Cole Swindell performs on the Mane Stage.
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The Blasters guitarist Keith Wyatt, left, and vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin perform on the Palomino Stage.
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The Blasters vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer in the front row as Dylan Scott performs during Day One at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley flips a bottle at his bar while hanging out in his trailer before headlining Friday night at Stagecoach.
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The Zombies perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Maddie Marlow of Maddie & Tae performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans cheer as the Zombies perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Son Volt members, from left, Jay Farrar (vocal, guitar, harmonica), Chris Frame (guitar), Mark Spencer (keyboard, steel guitar) and Andrew Duplantis (bass, backing vocal) perform on the Mustang Stage.
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Bob and Bernadette Kennedy, of Valley Center, dance as Son Volt performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Jerry Lee Lewis, 81, performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Jerry Lee Lewis, 81, performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Rhiannon Giddens performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Jeff Riback of San Diego listens to the music while kicking back in a lawn chair near the Mane Stage.
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Elle King performs on the Palomino Stage on Friday.
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Dylan Scott performs on the Mane Stage on Friday.
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The three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, on April 28, 2017, as fans run to stake out spots on the lawn.
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A woman falls as crowds rush past the gates to secure the best seats as the first day of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins. She recovered quickly and headed to find a good seat.
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Crowds rush past the gates to secure the best seats as the first of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio on April 28, 2017.
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Dancers crowd the Go Country 105 stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Allison Batteate, left, and Sharon Castello, both of Livermore, crochet as they camp lakeside in a 1960 Corvette trailer at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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The sun sets behind the mountains as a group of friends play a drinking game outside their trailer in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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The sun sets behind the mountains as a camper climbs onto his RV roof for a better view in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Caitlyn Kelley, left, and Ashlee Herr, both of Huntington Beach, pose with a cowboy silhouette in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Ian Ray of Anaheim Hills and Allison Kingsley of Newport Beach dance on a makeshift dance floor made of plywood in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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A couple parade around the RV Resort at sunset at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Trevor Johnson of San Diego throws a lasso around beer boxes made into the shape of a bull atop a pickup in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Travis Miller of Pedicab people movers of Orlando, Fla., gives Donelle Nubia of Long Beach a ride to her RV with her belongings.
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Line dancers crowd the Go Country 105 stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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A swarm of bees focus on a lemonade stand on the first day of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival.
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The new album, “God’s Problem Child,” is a noteworthy one for the Red-Headed Stranger, who has kept up an imposing recording pace in recent years, averaging two albums a year.
In recent times, they’ve mostly been devoted to songs written by others, such as his collections saluting his mentor and former boss Ray Price (“For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price”), the Great American Songbook (“Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin” and “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” the latter featuring his sister, pianist Bobbie Nelson) and duets with female partners (“To All the Girls...”).
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On “God’s Problem Child,” however, Nelson and longtime songwriter collaborator Buddy Cannon, who also produced this one, have written seven new songs, the most bountiful batch of Nelson songs on one of his albums since 2014’s “Band of Brothers.”
“Buddy and I write pretty spontaneously,” Nelson said. “I’ll write a verse, he’ll write another and then send it back, and next thing you know we’ll need a melody, then we’ll cut it. That’s how it often happens. He and I work well together. We think a lot alike and so it’s easy to write with him.”
“We have other stuff we’ve recorded, tracks that we stacked up through the years that we haven’t put out,” he said, “so there’s probably another album or two back there like that.”
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The one new track he included in his Stagecoach set Saturday is “Still Not Dead,” which he has been performing live for some time. It’s a humorous take on Internet rumors that dog many celebrities. “I woke up still not dead again today,” he sings. “The gardener did not find me that way.”
But there’s a nugget of sincerity in another of the song’s lines: “Please don’t bury me, I’ve got a show to play,” which rings true of the guiding principle of his nonstop touring life over the last half a century.
“Delete and Fast Forward” also brings a light touch to a serious subject: the current turbulent political climate in this country and around the world.
“Delete and fast forward my son/The elections are over and nobody won/You think it’s all ending but it’s just settin’ in/So delete and fast forward my friend”
“It’s a circus out there,” Nelson said with a smile. “So it’s appropriate. It kind of fits where we are right now.”
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Jenn Nguyen and Amahl Harris, both of Santa Barbara, pose in front of a giant covered wagon and La Grande XL Ferris wheel on the third day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., on April 30, 2017.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Maureen Albrecht of Ventura sits on her 1955 International Lo-Boy tractor amid her and her husband’s collection of 18 vintage tractors on display on the third day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Wesley Harris, a rider from the Rickshaw Squad of San Diego, in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Danya Lynd and her daughter Lillian Lynd, 6, of Beaumont arrive at the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Andre Batistich of Dana Point shows his country spirit in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Caitlyn Kelley, left, and Ashlee Herr of Huntington Beach at the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Nick Dodd of Mission Viejo shows his country attitude in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Hopp Dodd of Mission Viejo hangs out in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Sharon Lee of Costa Mesa poses in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Lindsey Dalporto of Reno shows off her cap on her friend’s trailer-rooftop dance floor in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Travis Hearn of Long Beach is all smiles with his beers and big-wheel trike at the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Brittany Roderick of Hermosa Beach shows off her hat on a trailer-rooftop dance floor in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Rusty Wink of Leucadia shows off his hand-made copper and brass belt buckle.
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Lindsey Von Kaenel of Los Angeles raises a cup on her friend’s trailer-rooftop dance floor.
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Kyle Evans of Long Beach shows off his hat and American flag bow tie at Stagecoach.
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With country music blasting from speakers, Tim Dodd of Visalia does a wheelie in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A visitor referenced a segment on CNN earlier in the day focusing on the tense situation playing out in North Korea, during which a political commentator stated, “You’ve got a guy who’s volatile, he’s unpredictable; is he sane, is he insane?”
To which Nelson interjected with a laugh, “Which one are you talking about? You can’t tell the difference?” That echoed CNN host Wolf Blitzer’s own interruption, asking the speaker “You’re talking about Kim Jong Un?”
But Nelson took the longer view, remarking to another guest on the bus, “You had eight years of one thing, you might have eight years of this, then we’ll get something else. It’s like they say about the weather: If you don’t like it, wait a bit and it’ll change.”
One aspect of life Nelson is upbeat about is the crop of independent-minded young singers and songwriters such as Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Brandy Clark, Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell and Margo Price, (who also played Saturday and popped on board the bus to deliver Nelson a birthday gift).
“I see some of them coming up,” he said. “They used to call us outlaws, I guess we can call them outlaws. They’re coming along doing what they want to do their own way and people are liking it, so end of story.”
