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Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival Returns To The Road
Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival will be rambling once again this summer, with a whole gaggle of artists joining the red-headed stranger.
The traveling festival’s billing varies from show to show, but a few big names on multiple stops are Phil Lesh & Friends, Alison Krauss, The Avett Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Dawes, Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real [Willie’s son Lukas’ band], and Particle Kid [Willie’s son Micah’s band].
A presale for Citi cardholders is ongoing now and the general onsale begins March 8.
The Outlaw Festival is a production of Blackbird Presents, and this is the third year of the event. Last year featured multiple legs through North America, enlisting Van Morrison, Sturgill Simpson, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Lukas Nelson + Promise Of The Real, and many more.
The numbers on that tour varied widely, grossing $951,644 on 15,356 reported tickets at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Sept. 23, but grossed a much smaller $262,461 on 5,318 tickets at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Mass., just two days earlier, granted there were many fewer tickets available at the smaller venue.
Blackbird Presents has been putting on special events for years, and company CEO Keith Wortman told Pollstar in 2017: “We’re not so much a promoter as we are a creator and producer. Blackbird Presents is considered a leader in creation and production of large scale, all-star, concert celebrations. It’s a company that started doing shows honoring our favoring music artists and doing it by bringing out a who’s who of today’s best artists to perform that music.”
Pollstar wrote about Willie Nelson’s All-Star Tribute earlier this year. That event was also put on by Blackbird Presents.
The routing and lineups for Outlaw Music Festival are listed below.
JUNE 14 @ DARLING’S WATERFRONT PAVILION – BANGOR, ME
Willie Nelson & Family
Phil Lesh & Friends
Alison Krauss
The Revivalists
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Particle Kid
JUNE 15 @ MOUNTAIN JAM – BETHEL, NY
Willie Nelson & Family
Phil Lesh & Friends
The Revivalists
Alison Krauss
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Particle Kid
JUNE 16 @ XFINITY THEATRE – HARTFORD, CT
Willie Nelson & Family
Phil Lesh & Friends
Alison Krauss
The Revivalists
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Particle Kid
JUNE 21 @ BUDWEISER STAGE – TORONTO, ON
Willie Nelson & Family
The Avett Brothers
Alison Krauss
Matt Mays
Opener TBD
JUNE 22 @ KEYBANK PAVILION – BURGETTSTOWN, PA
Willie Nelson & Family
The Avett Brothers
Alison Krauss
Old Crow Medicine Show
Dawes
Opener TBD
JUNE 23 @ NATIONWIDE ARENA – COLUMBUS, OH
Willie Nelson & Family
The Avett Brothers
Alison Krauss
Old Crow Medicine Show
Dawes
Opener TBD
JUNE 27 @ SUMMERFEST – MILWAUKEE, WI
Willie Nelson & Family
Phil Lesh & Friends
The Avett Brothers
Counting Crows
Alison Krauss
Dawes
Opener TBD
JUNE 28 @ HOLLYWOOD CASINO AMPHITHEATRE – CHICAGO, IL
Willie Nelson & Family
Phil Lesh & Friends
The Avett Brothers
Alison Krauss
Old Crow Medicine Show
Dawes
Opener TBD
JUNE 29 @ HOLLYWOOD CASINO AMPHITHEATRE – ST LOUIS, MO
Willie Nelson & Family
Phil Lesh & Friends
Alison Krauss
Old Crow Medicine Show
Dawes
Opener TBD
JULY 3 @ DOS EQUIS PAVILION – DALLAS, TX
Willie Nelson & Family
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Alison Krauss
Casey Donahew
Steve Earle & The Dukes
Hayes Carll
Colter Wall