Via BooneWeb, the High Country News has it. I love me some Willie Nelson.
On Thursday, February 19, American musical icon and country music legend Willie Nelson, along with Texas institution and Western swing masters Asleep at the Wheel, will perform at ASU’s Holmes Center. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
The rich musical histories of Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel are forever intertwined thanks to their Texas roots. According to Asleep at the Wheel founder member, guitarist and vocalist Ray Benson, the band originally met Willie in North Carolina more than 38 years ago. Since then, the two parties have crossed paths and shared stages dozens of times during their long friendship, and it comes as no surprise that the Willie, Benson and company finally decided to make it official by cutting a record together.
“[Willie]’s always been a good friend,” said Benson. “He’s put us on shows and joined us on stage and had us play at his picnics.”
What is surprising however, is that the idea for Willie and The Wheel, the pair’s smoking new disc of Texas swing, dates all the way back to the early 1970s. At the time, Willie’s star was on the rise courtesy of the outlaw country movement and Asleep at the Wheel was a hot young band reinterpreting the music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys for a new generation.