Willie Nelson celebrates his 91st birthday at the end of April, but age has not slowed him down one bit. In fact, this year is shaping out to be as busy as ever, as Nelson has announced his new, upcoming album, The Border, along with a track from the album that’s a Rodney Cowell.
Then, following in the footsteps of the spring release of The Border, Nelson will be embarking on his annual Outlaw Music Festival Tour, featuring some very special accomplices. Here’s the latest on Nelson’s big plans this spring and summer.
Willie Nelson shares details on his upcoming album, ‘The Border,’ and the titular Rodney Crowell cover
Willie Nelson to release new album "The Border" on May 31st. pic.twitter.com/qintHLewtv
— Country Central (@_CountryCentral) March 14, 2024
On Thursday, Nelson took to social media to announce the impending release of his upcoming album, The Border. “New Album, #TheBorder, will be available on May 31!” he shared. “This album will include 10 newly recorded Willie Nelson studio performances including four new Willie & Buddy Cannon compositions… Pre-order now and listen to the title track at the link in bio!”
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The Border already has cover art, which features the Big Bend border area between Texas and Mexico, the sun hitting it at just the right time for a dusty sunset amber look. The Border follows Nelson’s 2023 Bluegrass, which was released last fall.
His cover of “The Border” by Rodney Crowell has gone through a long journey
Crowell released “The Border” as part of his 2019 collaborative album, TEXAS. It follows the story of a Texas border guard and has been a subject of contemplation by Crowell all these years. “We were writing the song to be sympathetic to the actual border guards,” explained Crowell to Rolling Stone, “and I’m still sympathetic to them. They’re trying to do a job down there. It’s not their policy.”
He went on, “I think if we were writing that song today it would be more about the atrocities. [But] I’m glad we wrote it when we did. To me it has a more epic quality now.”
The same year Crowell released TEXAS, he also received the Poet’s Award from the Academy of Country Music, honoring his achievements in songwriting.