'Stay a Little Longer': 91-year-old Willie Nelson's sold-out return to Bluestem a memorable one (2024)

Editor's note: Tuesday's Willie Nelson & Family concert has been postponed to Wednesday, May 22 .

MOORHEAD — Tuesday’s forecast calls for rain throughout the day, so if you have tickets for that night’s Willie Nelson concert at Bluestem Amphitheater, plan accordingly, because if Monday night’s show was any indication, it’s one you don’t want to miss.

The 91-year-old packed 20 classics into a tight one-hour set that thrilled a sold-out crowd of 3,498.

It’s totally understandable that at 91, he doesn’t have the vocal capacity he used to. What’s hard to fathom is just how good he still sounds and plays.

Fans cheered as his bus pulled up all the way to the stage stairs. A few minutes later he walked onto the stage with his signature braided pigtails hanging to his waist, waved to the crowd and launched right into his opening number of 50 years, “Whiskey River.” At this point in his career, the tune is less raucous as he can’t project his voice like he used to. Instead, the quieter version now comes across as less of a reaction to a broken heart and more of a reflection on a heart once broken. He left the broken hearts behind on the bouncy "Stay a Little Longer."

Nelson didn’t become a star until he was in his 30s, so he’s always seemed old compared to other musicians and aging is something he’s done pretty well. His playing wasn’t as sharp as it's been in the past, but by the time he got to the third song of the night, “Still is Still Moving,” he was showing that he still had plenty of guitar licks left in him. He also entertained the crowd by pointing around the concert bowl while playing.

Contributed / Bill Lempe

Perhaps it was his age that prompted his camp to not allow press photographers or any pro cameras at the show. (Oh well, they didn’t say I couldn’t use a friend's cell phone shots.)

When his voice couldn't muster the full force it needed for a song, Nelson wisely turned it over to the crowd, which was all too eager to sing the chorus on “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” and “Good Hearted Woman.”

Nelson never had a traditional singing voice or country guitar-playing style. Instead, he’s always used his vocal phrasing and finger-picking to form his own sound and with age, his style has become more profound. Playing his workhorse guitar of 50-some years — the battered and often autographed Trigger — Nelson got into his inimitable fingerwork on the Spanish-influenced “I Never Cared For You” from 1964. On his 1980 hit, “On the Road Again,” his bright, colorful plucking and airy phrasing called to mind one of his six string influences, gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Like the shows almost a year ago to the date at Bluestem, Nelson had his stylized singing and picking in top gear for “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” and again it was a highlight of the show.

Unlike last year’s shows, his son Lukas wasn’t accompanying him, which changed the dynamic some. Like his father, the son is a talented guitarist and a more traditional singer, so they played off each other well and Lukas took the lead on “Texas Flood” and his own “Forget About Georgia” and “Just Outside of Austin.”

Contributed / Bill Lempe

In Lukas’ place Monday was Waylon Payne, son of Jody Payne who played guitar with Willie’s band, the Family, from 1973 to 2008. While the younger Payne took the lead on “Workin’ Man Blues,” “Help Me Make it Through the Night” and “Me and Bobby McGee,” he’s more of a side man and not as compelling a player as Lukas Nelson. The latter’s absence also meant that the father and son wouldn’t duet on Pearl Jam’s “Breathe,” recreating another highlight from last year’s show.

Fans looking to hear a trio of early Willie Nelson hits, “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Crazy” and “Nightlife” may have been disappointed that they didn’t make the cut this time, but instead they got his biggest hit, 1982’s “Always on My Mind.”

Younger fans were more impressed with his revision of his 2012 single with Snoop Dogg, Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson, “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.” That served as a one-two comedic punch with the buried gem, “Write Your Own Songs,” a wonderful dig at the laziness and greed of entertainment company executives that has as much punch now as it did when he released it in 1982.

Nelson had two impressive acts open. Wild Horses, a husband and wife duo from Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Jed and Ariana LaPlant delivered a five-song set of brooding Americana. That contrasted with Brooke Lee, whose powerhouse voice and hippie vibes made for a winning combination of sassy country, backed by singer Meg Combs and guitarist Mark McCarthy. Lee showed that she’s a star on the rise with tunes “Head in the Clouds” and “I’ve Been Thinking.”

Contributed / Bill Lempe

Nelson invited all of the performers back to sing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken/I’ll Fly Away” and even pitched a solo to fiddler Ariana LaPlant, but unfortunately her mic wasn’t on. He kept everyone on stage to join in on the Mac Davis classic, “It’s Hard to Be Humble,” to close out the night.

After thanking the crowd one last time, Willie Nelson got up, picked up his cowboy hat and a handful of his signature red bandanas and flung them into the audience as he’s done for years.

Nelson’s performances have always been about finding character and emotion rather than just repeating the notes. Seeing him in concert now is like visiting an older relative. They may tell you the same stories time and again and you know how each one goes, but the way they tell it and the warmth in how they relate to you is so rewarding that you’d never think of skipping a visit just because it’s raining.

For almost 30 years John Lamb has been covering arts and entertainment in the Red River Valley. He started writing for the High Plains Reader in 1997 and moved to The Forum in 2002. He is an Annenberg fellow, an occasional judge for talent shows and food contestants and co-hosts the weekly “Gardening Together: The Podcast.” He's rubbed shoulders with Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, drank with National Book Award winner Colm McCann, had coffee with Grammy-winning classical musician Peter Schickele and interviewed countless other artists, actors, musicians, writers and assorted interesting people. Contact John at jlamb@forumcomm.com.