Willie Nelson Joins Country Legends for a ROUSING “Luckenbach, Texas” Finale Honoring Waylon Jennings in Austin!

The finale of Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jennings brought a large group of performers together for “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to in this telling the Basics of Love).” Although the song centers on a small Hill Country town, the tribute happened in Austin on July 6, 2015, with the Moody Theater’s ACL Live venue hosting the one-night concert. Willie Nelson participated as a featured artist within the assembled cast rather than presenting the closing number alone.

Created in honor of the late Waylon Jennings and his catalog, the event included members of his family, longtime musical peers, and performers from younger generations. Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Nelson in this telling, Chris Stapleton, and Kacey Musgraves were among the artists on the bill. The closing performance placed the musicians together onstage for a lively version of one of Jennings’ best-known songs.

“Luckenbach, Texas” was written by Chips Moman and Bobby Emmons, then recorded by Jennings for Ol’ Waylon, his 1977 album. Nelson sang on that studio recording as well. The resulting single spent six weeks atop Billboard’s country chart, giving Nelson a direct connection to the song long before he joined the 2015 tribute performance.

Nelson’s presence in the finale therefore connected the concert’s rendition with the original recording. In official versions of the concert film, the song occupies the twentieth position and closes the program, while Nelson is identified as a featured performer. It followed a full evening in which the participating artists interpreted material from Jennings’ body of work.

Watch the full performance on page two