Willie Nelson Takes the Outlaw Music Festival on the Road
Willie Nelson celebrated his 90th birthday last year with an unforgettable two-day extravaganza at Hollywood Bowl and took his Outlaw Music Festival on tour as part of an ongoing franchise owned by Blackbird Presents and featuring Bob Weir and String Cheese Incident as well as John Fogerty, Grateful Dead alumni Phil Lesh & Friends among many others.
This summer, the tour will visit Columbus (July 6 at Nationwide Arena), Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (7/6), Syracuse (June 28 at Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview), Darien Lake Amphitheater (9/17) and Darien Lake Amphitheater (9/17). Each show will showcase different lineups – Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss or John Mellencamp with Celisse and Southern Avenue depending on which date; in addition to Portland (8/10), Gorge Amphitheater near Seattle (9/14) as well as more stops throughout this tour.
At Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center earlier this month, the Outlaw tour made a stopover and showcased a diverse mix of genres, generations, and geographies represented on this Outlaw tour. There was plenty of merchandise tents selling everything from Outlaw Music Festival hats and lighters by Willie Nelson to coffee cups from Outlaw Village; concertgoers could even purchase marijuana-related products!
Since its debut in 2016, when it began as a single concert in Scranton, this festival has proven a resounding success. Since then it has expanded into an ongoing tour that often features jam bands like Bobby Weir & the Wolf Bros, String Cheese Incident and Los Lobos as well as up-and-coming artists like Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price and Lukas Nelson of Promise of the Real among many others.
Outlaw Music Festival has quickly become one of the must-attend tours for country music fans and beyond, and 2024 promises to be one of its finest yet. Tickets go on sale Friday via Live Nation and other ticketing outlets. Presale begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time using password ENERGY; general on sale begins Friday at 10 am local time. For complete show information and ticket purchases, visit Outlaw Music Festival website. Notably, unlike some touring festivals and amphitheater concerts, Outlaw Music Festival doesn’t require masks of attendees. Outlaw Music Festival recommends, but does not mandate fans wearing masks – which seems a sensible measure to prevent viruses from spreading among attendees. Although not foolproof, it’s an effective measure in mitigating pandemic risk. Concertgoers attending Outlaw are advised to bring proof-of-vaccination cards; those without one may still attend but will need to purchase masks at the door.