Picnic : Willie Nelson's Fourth of July tradition / Dave Dalton Thomas ; foreword by Joe Nick Patoski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thomas, Dave Dalton, 1971- author.

Contributor:

Patoski, Joe Nick, 1951- writer of foreword.

Series:

Texas music series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nelson, Willie, 1933---Performances.

Nelson, Willie.

Nelson, Willie, 1933---Friends and associates.

Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic (Festival)--History.

Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic (Festival).

Country music festivals--Texas--History.

Country music festivals.

Fourth of July celebrations--Texas.

Fourth of July celebrations.

Fourth of July--Songs and music--History and criticism.

Fourth of July.

Country musicians--Texas.

Country musicians.

Country musicians--United States.

Physical Description:

x, 284 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Willie Nelson's Fourth of July tradition

Place of Publication:

College Station : Texas A&M University Press, [2024]

Summary:

"In 1973, a forty-year-old country musician named Willie Nelson, inspired by a failed music festival the year before, decided he was going to hold his own party. He would stage it in the same remote and rocky field where the previous festival had withered. And he'd do it in July: not the hottest part of the Central Texas summer, but 'damn sure close enough,' according to music journalist Dave Dalton Thomas. As unlikely as it seemed in 1973, Willie kept the event going, minus a year off here and there, for half a century. Thomas has attended nearly every Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic since 1995, finding joy in an event some music reporters have compared to 'death marches and prison labor.' For the last 20 years, Thomas has researched the history of the Picnic, chronicling the brutal heat and the quirky and sometimes illegal antics of fans, musicians, and others. Thomas has watched the Picnic evolve over the decades, as Willie and his audience have evolved. He has interviewed participants, including artists, organizers, promoters, and even a few colorful hangers-on. While reviewing ten of the Picnics in detail -- each chosen for its significance in the overarching development of the event -- Thomas also includes basic facts about each gathering, from the beginning to the present, with the addition of pertinent information about the 'off years,' when the Picnic was on temporary hiatus for one reason or another. In his introduction, Thomas quotes country musician Johnny Bush as he recalls trying to talk Nelson out of the notion of holding the first Picnic. 'Willie, there ain't no way in hell a bunch of cowboys are going to come out in the one-hundred-degree heat to watch us pick our guitars.' As Thomas records them, Bush's next words were, 'He proved me wrong.' DAVE DALTON THOMAS, formerly a journalist for the Austin American-Statesman, has obsessively researched the history of the Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic for more than 20 years, and has attended nearly every Picnic since 1995. With the American-Statesman from 2002 to 2019, Thomas's reporting and writing have also appeared in the Daily Beast, CNN.com, Texas Highways, the San Angelo Standard-Times, and other outlets"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Foreword / Joe Nick Patoski

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1973: Dripping Springs

1974: College Station

1975: Liberty Hill

1976: Gonzales

1977: Tulsa

1978: Kansas City, Dallas, and Austin

1979: Pedernales

1980: Pedernales

1981 and 1982

1983: Syracuse, New Jersey, and Atlanta

1984: South Park Meadows

1985: South Park Meadows

1986: Farm Aid II at Manor Downs

1987: Carl's Corner

1988 and 1989

1990: Zilker Park, Austin

1991-1994

1995: Luckenbach

1996: Luckenbach

1997-1999: Luckenbach

2000: Southpark Meadows 2001 and 2002

2003: Two River Canyon

2004: Fort Worth Stockyards

2005: Fort Worth Stockyards

2006: Fort Worth Stockyards

2007: Washington State

2008: San Antonio (July 4) and Houston (July 5)

2009: South Bend, Indiana

2010: The (New) Backyard

2011-2012: Fort Worth Stockyards

2013-2014: Fort Worth Stockyards

2015: Austin360 Amphitheater, Circuit of the Americas

2016-2017: Austin360 Amphitheater, Circuit of the Americas

2018: Austin360 Amphitheater, Circuit of the Americas

2019: Austin360 Amphitheater, Circuit of the Americas

2020: The Virtual Picnic

2022: Q2 Stadium, Austin

2023: Q2 Stadium, Austin

Conclusion

Appendix A: Artists Who Played the Fourth of July Picnics

Appendix B: Events Often Confused with Fourth of July Picnics

Appendix C: Suggested Reading

Sources.

Notes:

"Texas music series, sponsored by the Center for Texas Music History, Texas State University."--ECIP title page.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781648431944

1648431941

OCLC:

1411309106