Willie Neplson &family

Willie Nelson started calling his backing band the Family way back in 1973, right around the time he split from RCA, grew out his hair, and headed back to Texas. The Family also are featured on Willie Nelson Family, but this 2021 album is designed to feature his kin, including his sister Bobbie, his sons Lukas and Micah –the linchpins of Promise of the Real, sometimes backing band of Neil Young – and daughters Paula and Amy. Everybody has played on one of Willie's records at one point or another – Bobbie has been by his side for years – but the mingling of voices is notable, especially when one of his children takes the lead.

Recorded at Lake Tahoe in 1978, WILLIE AND FAMILY LIVE effectively documents the laid-back, freewheeling approach Nelson and his band take to live performances. Unlike many country acts that strive to play the same set with the same note-for-note precision every night, Nelson's band prefers to live on the edge, wringing surprises out of every note and beat. This "free jam" aesthetic explains why Nelson is popular among Grateful Dead fans, and aficionados of this musical approach will be most likely to enjoy WILLIE AND FAMILY LIVE.

Willie Nelson started calling his backing band the Family way back in 1973, right around the time he split from RCA, grew out his hair, and headed back to Texas. The Family also are featured on Willie Nelson Family, but this 2021 album is designed to feature his kin, including his sister Bobbie, his sons Lukas and Micah –the linchpins of Promise of the Real, sometimes backing band of Neil Young – and daughters Paula and Amy. Everybody has played on one of Willie's records at one point or another – Bobbie has been by his side for years – but the mingling of voices is notable, especially when one of his children takes the lead.

Willie Nelson started calling his backing band the Family way back in 1973, right around the time he split from RCA, grew out his hair, and headed back to Texas. The Family also are featured on Willie Nelson Family, but this 2021 album is designed to feature his kin, including his sister Bobbie, his sons Lukas and Micah –the linchpins of Promise of the Real, sometimes backing band of Neil Young – and daughters Paula and Amy. Everybody has played on one of Willie's records at one point or another – Bobbie has been by his side for years – but the mingling of voices is notable, especially when one of his children takes the lead.

The Willie Nelson Family finds Willie joined in his Pedernales Studios by a host of his family members and extended family of long-time band members, performing songs that they have performed for much of their lives. Sister Bobbie, sons Lukas and Micah, and daughters Amy and Paula all contribute plus band members Mickey Raphael, Kevin Smith and Billy and Paul English. Produced by Willie and Steve Chadie and shaped around a setlist of 12 favourite spirit-driven songs from the Nelson Family repertoire which took on special significance during the lockdown when the album was finished.