The Pains of Being Willie

A Willie Nelson show in North Carolina was called off Jan. 28 because of “hand pain.” Or maybe it was putting hand to joint.

North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement spokesman Ernie Seneca said that shortly before Nelson was set to take the stage, officers at the Duplin County Events Center in Kenansville thought they smelled marijuana aboard a tour bus and were given permission to search it.

Six members of the singer’s band and crew, including longtime bass player Dan Edward “Bee” Spears and five others, were charged with “possession of non-tax-paid alcohol.”

Two of the six were also charged with possession of marijuana. The show was immediately called off.

Nelson’s son on WillieNelson.com said, “Dad’s hand (the one he had the carpel [sic] tunnel operation on) was in pain, too much to play his guitar Trigger. Doctors say to just give it a rest.”

Nelson was expected to play the Jan. 29 show in Rome, Ga.