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Kacey Musgraves has a lot of stories to tell due to her career in country music. Arguably, some of the most interesting stories she can tell are about touring with the legendary Willie Nelson. Even though that tour is long over, the “Three Little Birds” singer has just started revealing the secrets she and the “Red Headed Stranger” share.

Kacey Musgraves Smoked With Willie Nelson

It is unknown just how many country music singers have gone on tour with Willie Nelson and gotten high with him. The “Always On My Mind” singer is famous for use of marijuana and his generous nature when it comes to sharing it. Kacey Musgraves is just one of who-knows-how-many singers have gotten high with Willie Nelson.

Kacey Musgraves has opened up about her time with Willie Nelson. She admits she was part of the antics on the Willie Nelson tour bus after a concert.

"Any song that Willie has written, he's lived it." Paramount+ has debuted their new biopic doc series called Willie Nelson & Family, available for streaming this week on their Paramount+ service. This originally premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier in the year, playing in their new Series section. The first authorized work exploring the extraordinary life of Willie Nelson traverses the personal and career ups, downs, and in-betweens of one of the world's most beloved musicians, by turns spiritual, dramatic, and playful. Willie Nelson is now 90 years old and still going! This seems less of a "reality" series and more of a comprehensive look at his life and family, spanning four episodes and over four hours. "Award-winning filmmakers Thom Zimny & Oren Moverman fuse their own unique styles to construct an intimate, cinematic memoir of the Red Headed Stranger, traversing the highs, lows, and in-betweens of Willie’s personal life and professional career.

Willie Nelson & Family, a documentary series about the country music icon from filmmakers Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman, is set to bow on Paramount+ on Dec. 21.

The career retrospective is creatively driven by directors Zimny and Moverman, both recent Emmy winners — Zimny for directing the variety special Springsteen on Broadway and Moverman for the TV movie Bad Education, starring Hugh Jackman.

Paramount+ acquired the documentary series, which recalls Nelson’s life and long career as an iconic country music singer-songwriter, after its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Nelson participated in the production and allowed Zimny — a frequent Bruce Springsteen collaborator — and Moverman access to his archives.

The four-parter is executive produced by Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan and is a production of MTV Entertainment Studios, in association with 101 Studios, Blackbird Presents Films and Sight Unseen. “Willie’s music formed the soundtrack of my youth. His songwriting helped shape me as a storyteller…...

Jerry Bradley, a towering Nashville music executive who helped guide the genre into the modern era and bring about its first ever platinum-selling album — Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser’s Wanted! The Outlaws — has died, The Tennessean reports. He was 83.

Bradley’s family confirmed his death, but did not provide a cause.

Bradley was born into country music, the son of Owen Bradley, a prominent producer who helped create and shape the “Nashville Sound” during the Fifties and Sixties. Jerry began his career shadowing his father in the early 1960s,...

Willie Nelson put his mark on country music forever. He’s finally been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at 90 years old, which is long overdue for the influential star. Nelson began making “outlaw country” music at a pivotal time in the ’70s, which was also at the tail end of when The Beatles made their splash and changed music forever. So, was Nelson friends with The Beatles? Here’s what’s known about their relationship, including Nelson’s collaboration with one Beatle member.

Willie Nelson | Peter Pakvis/Redferns Was Willie Nelson friends with The Beatles? He collaborated with George Harrison

Willie Nelson rose to fame in the ’60s and ’70s thanks to his country music. Born during the Great Depression, the joined the Air Force after high school and found his music career after he was discharged. Nelson recorded his first album in 1962 and started gaining success...

Billy Strings was seemingly all over the stage this weekend at the Willie Nelson 90th birthday concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. On Saturday, the bluegrass picker opened the show with “Whiskey River” and later joined Bob Weir for “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” On Sunday, he played “I Gotta Get Drunk” and reunited with Weir, along with Margo Price, for “Stay All Night.” But the literal and figurative high point was Strings’ live debut of “California Sober” with Nelson.

The pair released the song, an ode to choosing weed over booze,...

“Are there any more real cowboys?” Neil Young sang Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl on a rare evening when he was neither the headliner nor, at age 77, even close to the oldest artist on the bill.

Providing an instant answer, Willie Nelson, wearing a cowboy hat and red-white-and-blue guitar strap, slowly strolled on to the stage on his 90th birthday, bringing the crowd of more than 17,000 to its feet.

Nelson sat in a chair — one of the few onstage concessions he’s made to age — and joined Young for the rest of their 1985 duet, “Are There Any More Real Cowboys?”

Read More: Willie Nelson Opens Up About Attempting Suicide Early In His Career

“I want to thank all the artists who came out tonight to help celebrate whatever it is we’re celebrating,” said Nelson, feigning senility and getting a laugh.

The moment came three hours into the first...

Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration gathered an eclectic group of well-wishers including Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, and The Chicks for the first of two performances at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on Saturday. Watch fan-captured footage from the event below.

“Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday” kicked off with perhaps the roster’s youngest performer, Billy Strings, who played two Shotgun Willie staples, “Whiskey River” and “Stay a Little Longer.” He later returned to back Bob Weir on a rendition of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” from Nelson’s classic 1975 LP, Red Headed Stranger, which received further looks from the likes of Norah Jones, Beck, and Tyler Childers.

Country as a genre was well represented between The Chicks, Margo Price, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, and more, but the set also spanned Nelson’s many musical phases and stages with covers from Tom Jones,...

Caught somewhere between a movie and a series, “Willie Nelson & Family” doubles down on the history and mythology of its namesake to stretch the latter into what would have been better served as the former. Honest, introspective, yet rarely revelatory, the anthology often mistakes the comprehensive for the essential, and while it succeeds in explaining Willie Nelson to its audience, that’s about all it does. For fans of the Red Headed Stranger, that might be enough, but anyone looking to explore Willie’s place in the intersection of country music, pop culture, and the sociopolitical fabric of 20th America might be disappointed.

Continue reading ‘Willie Nelson & Family’ Review: Docuseries Mistakes The Comprehensive For the Essential In Well-Meaning Slog [Sundance] at The Playlist.

These days everything and everyone is “iconic.” But here, at the center of five rich and unrushed episodes, is the real deal. As he approaches his 90th birthday, the composer of such immortal numbers as “Crazy,” “Night Life” and “On the Road Again” is still writing songs, still playing to concert crowds. Delving into the incomparable songbook, directors Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman show how Willie Nelson broke the country mold and transcended genre boxes, again and again. Their authorized biography — the musician’s wife and his manager are executive producers — is a love letter, to be sure, and like Nelson himself it doesn’t dwell on negativity, but there’s nothing simplistic or naive about it. Willie Nelson & Family is a portrait of a man who has made music and lived life on his own terms, in good times and bad.

The series is a reminder to the casual...

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When Willie Nelson turns 90 years old on April 29, he’ll naturally do so on the road (again). The country music legend is the guest of honor at two nights of tribute concerts — April 29 and 30 — at the Hollywood Bowl in L.A. Dubbed “Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90,” the events are stacked with Willie collaborators, those he’s influenced, and members of his family and Family Band.

As it stands now,...

A new vinyl box set will celebrate Willie Nelson’s 60 years as a recording artist with a career-spanning collection that gathers seven of the country legend’s essential albums.

Vinyl Me, Please’s Vmp Anthology: The Story of Willie Nelson spans from 1965’s Country Willie (His Own Songs) to a quartet of masterpieces — 1971’s Yesterday’s Wine, 1975’s Red Headed Stranger, 1978’s Stardust and 1982’s Always on My Mind — and a pair of late-career triumphs, 1993’s Across the Borderline and the all-star 2012 album Heroes.

The limited-edition Story of Willie Nelson...

Bobbie Lee Nelson, the pianist, singer and older sister of Willie Nelson, has died at the age of 91.

The news was confirmed by a family statement shared on Willie Nelson’s Instagram, scroll down to read in full.

“Bobbie Nelson passed away this morning, peacefully and surrounded by family. Her elegance, grace, beauty and talent made this world a better place. She was the first member of Willie’s band, as his pianist and singer. Our hearts are broken and she will be deeply missed. But we are so lucky to have had her in our lives. Please keep her family in your thoughts and give them the privacy they need at this time,” said the statement.

Bobbie Nelson first got into music via school acts and church performances alongside her brother. In 1972, Willie Nelson brought her into his band after he’d signed with Atlantic Records, and the pair...

Bobbie Nelson, an original member of her younger brother Willie Nelson’s Family Band, has died. She was 91.

Nelson, whose traditional yet graceful piano playing was a key component of Nelson’s live show, died Thursday morning surrounded by family, according to a statement from the Nelson family. “Her elegance, grace, beauty and talent made this world a better place. She was the first member of Willie’s band, as his pianist and singer. Our hearts are broken and she will be deeply missed. But we are so lucky to...

Since becoming one of Red Dirt and Texas country’s flagship acts in the late Nineties and early 2000s, Jason Boland & the Stragglers have been a steady, reliable source of smart, gritty songwriting and hearty country-rock albums. But after 20-plus years, it’s not always easy for Boland to continue generating new ideas at the same pace.

“We’re nine studio albums in and I’m starting to get to that point of, ‘What do you say to people?’” he says, sipping coffee in the lobby of Nashville’s boutique...

If the world goes to shit, Lukas Nelson wants to make sure he has a way to listen to his record collection. The country-rock scion is so invested in the physical product that he and his band Promise of the Real were adamant about recording their new album with producer Dave Cobb, A Few Stars Apart, on analog tape. Because as Nelson tells it — and hacker attacks against beef plants and pipelines prove — technology is anything but reliable.

“If technology were to take a dive, how would you listen to recorded music?...

Willie Nelson’s latest album is a tribute to songs recorded by Frank Sinatra. That’s Life, released last month, includes well-known staples like the title track and “Luck Be a Lady,” along with hidden gems like “A Cottage for Sale.” Nelson and his sons Lukas and Micah, backed by Lukas’ band Promise of the Real, deliver a poignant performance of the song in a new video.

Written back in 1929 — Sinatra would record it 30 years later for his No One Cares album — “A Cottage for Sale” imagines a home devoid of...

In 1984, Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias teamed up for a duet that bridged country music with Latin balladry: “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” recorded for Iglesias’ album 1100 Bel Air Place became a hit on the country, Spanish, and all-genre charts, and a milestone in Nelson’s long list of collaborations.

For the latest edition of his Quarantunes series, the Mavericks’ singer Raul Malo revisits “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” with Jamey Johnson, a frequent collaborator of Nelson’s, handling the Red Headed Stranger’s parts.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the immense pleasure of attending a Rolling Roadshow screening of Red Headed Stranger at Willie Nelson’s ranch in Luck, Texas. If you’ve never experienced a Rolling Roadshow event, you’re missing out. It’s a one-of-a-kind outdoor cinematic experience that’s a hell of a lot of fun. This time, Alamo Drafthouse’s […]

The post Rolling Roadshow Screenings of ‘Tombstone’ and ‘Top Gun’ Will Feature Val Kilmer in Person appeared first on /Film.

Driving up a winding dirt road, horses grazing as the summer sun sets, an abundance of friendly smiles are there to greet you upon entering Luck, Texas. Nestled in the hill country just outside of Austin, Texas on Willie Nelson’s property, Luck is home to seventy-five rescue horses and the set from Red Headed Stranger, […]

The post What It’s Like to Watch ‘Red Headed Stranger’ Under the Texas Stars With Willie Nelson in Attendance appeared first on /Film.

Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic was back in Austin, Texas, on Thursday to celebrate Independence Day. Alison Krauss returned for the first time since 2016, joining Jamey Johnson, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Earle & the Dukes, and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, who made their Picnic debut. Luke Combs also performed at his first Picnic, delivering a powerful set of hits like “Beautiful Crazy,” “Hurricane” and his new single, “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”

Of course, it’s the Red Headed Stranger who ties it all together. The outlaw country legend offered his customary staples,...

The Alamo Drafthouse’s Rolling Roadshow and Luck Productions are teaming up for a screening of Willie Nelson’s 1986 western drama Red Headed Stranger. The screening will take place on Saturday, July 6 on the original film set in Luck, Texas aka “Willieville”. The Austin Genre Film Archive remastered the movie digitally for the first time […]

The post Long-Lost Willie Nelson Western ‘Red Headed Stranger’ Has Been Restored and is Getting a Special Screening Next Month appeared first on /Film.

Writer, director and photographer Bill Wittliff, who penned the script for iconic 1980s television miniseries Lonesome Dove, died Sunday of a heart attack. He was 79.

Wittliff’s numerous credits included screenplays for the 1994 film Legends of the Fall starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Aidan Quinn; The Perfect Storm starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and John C. Reilly in 2000; and the 1982 film Barbarosa starring Willie Nelson. He also wrote and directed the 1986 Western, Red Headed Stranger, which featured Nelson, Morgan Fairchild and R.G. Armstrong.

One of Wittliff’s other achievements was co-founding Texas State University’s archive of Southwestern writers.

His longtime friend, author and journalist Stephen Harrigan, said the filmmaker proved you didn’t have to move to Hollywood to be successful in the industry.

“It’s impossible to overstate the influence Bill had on writers, photographers and filmmakers, all throughout Austin, Texas and the United States,” Harrigan told the Austin American-Statesman Monday.

Willie Nelson is sitting on a couch at his home, a modest cabin that overlooks his 700 acres of gorgeous Texas Hill Country, when he reaches into his sweatshirt and produces a small, square vaporizer, takes a hit and exhales slowly. “Wanna puff?” he asks.

Nelson’s wife, Annie, setting down a cup of coffee on a DVD case working as a coaster in front of him, speaks up. “Careful with that, babe,” she says. “You have to sing tonight.”

Nelson nods and puts it away. He turns 86 this spring and has a history of emphysema,...

The singularly idiosyncratic casting of Charlotte Rampling and Willie Nelson as long-married ex-vaudevillians who operate a combination trailer park, horse ranch, and performance venue could be enough of a novelty factor to attract some curiosity seekers to “Waiting for the Miracle to Come.” But the movie itself, a deliberately paced fantasia of remembrance and reconciliation, is likely to divide viewers into disparate camps of the enchanted and the enervated in a modest digital release from Spotlight Pictures.

Filmed four years earlier on locations in and around Nelson’s ranch in Spicewood, Texas — including the preserved set for a fictional Western town constructed for “Red Headed Stranger,” the 1986 film based on Nelson’s platinum-selling album — “Waiting for the Miracle to Come” is the first dramatic feature written and directed by Lian Lunson, previously best known for such musical documentaries as “Willie Nelson: Down Home,” “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man,...

Willie Nelson turns 86 on Monday and his curated SiriusXM channel Willie’s Roadhouse is celebrating with four days of special programming this weekend.

Dubbed “Willie Nelson’s 4-Day Birthday Weekend,” the one-hour block kicks off April 27th at 7:00 p.m./Et and airs at various times through Tuesday night. The special consists of a conversation between Nelson and his daughter Paula, recorded at his kitchen counter during March’s Luck Reunion, the annual music fest held at Nelson’s ranch outside Austin, Texas. Nelson’s full 45-minute Luck Reunion performance follows the interview,...

“I’ve been chasing you around for three years to do this show,” Sammy Hagar tells Willie Nelson in a preview for the fourth-season premiere of the Red Rocker’s music, food and travel series, Rock & Roll Road Trip. Hagar finally catches his quarry in Texas, where he joins the Country Music Hall of Fame member on his bus for a candid conversation.

“I’ve been arrested in everything I’ve owned,” Nelson quips to Hagar when asked if he’s ever had a run-in with the law on his bus.

Willie Nelson’s annual 4th of July Picnic is headed back to Austin, Texas, for its 46th installment this summer, with the soon-to-be 86-year-old joined by a lineup of artists that includes Luke Combs, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and Alison Krauss.

With roots dating back to Nelson’s first Independence Day bash in nearby Dripping Springs in 1973, the Picnic celebrates its fifth year in its current home at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack outside Austin. Both Combs and Rateliff — who, as a solo act, was a headliner at...

By the early 1970s, Willie Nelson was both an acclaimed songwriter and a frustrated artist. Having recorded for Liberty and then RCA Records, the Texan notched just one Top Ten solo hit with “Touch Me,” in 1962. He wouldn’t have another until 1975, by which time he was recording for Columbia Records, a move that afforded him more creative control over his material and the production of his albums.

But between his seven-year stretch at RCA, and the golden — and platinum — years at Columbia, Nelson was living in Austin and entertaining...

The Luck Reunion at Willie Nelson’s Texas ranch has become an annual tradition, as well as something of an escape for a lucky few from the crowded South by Southwest conference in nearby Austin. Set for March 14th, the 2019 Luck Reunion will feature performances by Nelson, Steve Earle & the Dukes, Mavis Staples, Low Cut Connie and Nathaniel Rateliff, among numerous others.

With performances happening on five different stages, the 2019 Luck Reunion offers a wide array of sounds, from country to soul, rock to blues. Other performers at the event...

Nashville-based performers Drew and Ellie Holcomb have released the intimate video for “Electricity,” the title track from their new Ep.

The husband-and-wife team, who have released music separately as well as toured together as part of live favorites Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, huddle around a single microphone and face one another in the simple clip. “It’s not a statue on the boulevard/It’s not a war or a dream or a shooting star,” Drew sings, his voice accented by Ellie’s soft harmonies as they describe the type...

TV tapings can be a drag. But amid the set changes and staged introductions from host Ed Helms at Saturday night’s all-star tribute to Willie Nelson in Nashville, there were some true moments of musical spontaneity — particularly from the guest of honor.

Titled Willie: Life & Songs of an American Outlaw and produced by Blackbird Presents, the concert, which will air sometime this year on A&E, assembled a powerful cast of guest artists to pay tribute to the 85-year-old. George Strait, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffett, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson...

This year brought its share of spirited (to put it mildly) discussion in country music, with multiple genre-crossing collaborations reaching the charts. Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line ruled for 50 weeks straight with “Meant to Be,” while Maren Morris lent her soulful pipes to Zedd and Grey’s ebullient dance track “The Middle,” now nominated for a Record of the Year Grammy. Additionally, 2018 saw winning collaborations in the country mainstream, like Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne’s “Burning Man,” as well as in Americana, with Robbie Fulks and Linda Gail Lewis’ “Wild!

The Lumineers take on the holiday season in the name of a good cause with a brittle new cover of Willie Nelson’s Christmas classic “Pretty Paper.”

Written by Nelson in 1963, “Pretty Paper” became a hit the following year in the hands of Roy Orbison, whose version coupled the tale of a forlorn street vendor with lush strings and backup singers. Nelson did his own typically minimalist recording 15 years later for the Pretty Paper LP, and the Lumineers’ new rendition follows very much in the Red Headed Stranger’s vein.

In the 44-year history of Austin City Limits, no artist has personified the music series’ eclectic, freewheeling spirit more fully than Willie Nelson. Having launched the pilot episode of the long-running PBS show with a performance in the Klrn (now Klru) studio on the University of Texas campus in 1974, Nelson has since appeared on the series 17 times.

On November 19th, the Texas-born legend returns to Austin City Limits for an 18th time. Set to air in January, during the second half of Acl‘s current season, the appearance will mark...

Willie Nelson may have been the marquee name at the “Rally With Willie & Beto” in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, but the rock star of the night was the candidate himself, Beto O’Rourke. The onetime punk musician and Democratic Texas Senate candidate had just given a stirring speech to the nearly 60,000 people gathered at Auditorium Shores, and it was all but inevitable that Nelson would call him back out during his headlining set.

“Beto, come help me do this one,” the 85-year-old country legend said from the small, uncovered stage along the Colorado River,...

After 48 years of making music, Asleep at the Wheel will be the first to admit there’s nothing new under the sun — and when it comes to country songs, you can probably thank Willie Nelson for those. So says the veteran Texas swing act on their latest track, “Willie Got There First,” featuring Seth and Scott Avett of the Avett Brothers.

Written by Seth Avett, “Willie Got There First” is a playful ode to the Red Headed Stranger and his omnipresent influence on the genre. “I had such a good idea for a song,...

A cover of an Eighties classic by a promising new trio, the latest nautical-themed entry from a country superstar and a gorgeous message of being in the moment are among the 10 tracks you must hear this week.

Nobody’s Girl, “Call Me”

Blondie’s 1980 chart-topper gets a millennial makeover. Caught halfway between arena-country and modern rock, the revamped “Call Me” finds Nobody’s Girl layering their three-part harmonies over electric guitars, fiddle and driving drums. Bandmates Betty Soo, Grace Pettis and Rebecca Loebe are all seasoned songwriters in their own right,...

‘Waiting For The Miracle To Come’ will star Willie Nelson, and feature an original song by Bono and Nelson.

Los Angeles-based Spotlight Pictures has launched international sales on the modern fairytale Waiting For The Miracle To Come starring Willie Nelson, with Bono and Wim Wenders on board as executive producer.

Charlotte Rampling and Sophie Lowe also star in the story of a young girl who embarks on a journey of discovery who along the way encounters faith, love, and fulfilment.

Joining Bono and Wenders on the executive producer roster are Dale Brown, Mark Rodgers and Tyler Zacharia. Lian Lunson, Gaston Pavlovich,...

With a six-decade career and 200 plus albums, this iconic Texan is the creative genius behind the historic recordings of Crazy, Red Headed Stranger and Stardust. Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor and activist. In 2010, he released"Willie Nelson’s Country Music," produced by award winning T Bone Burnett, and it received a Grammy Nomination for Best Americana Album. In 2011, Willie’s album releases included, “Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles,” a 12-tune cycle about the ups and downs of love with Wynton Marsalis and Norah Jones as well as “Remember Me Vol. 1,” his hand-picked 14-song collection of country music’s most definitive songs. Coming May of 2012 is “Heroes,” his first album for Legacy Recordings, which will showcase new songs and deep country classics with guest artists including Merle Haggard, Snoop Dogg, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver,...

It will likely come as no surprise that, 40 years after the release of his classic album of standards “Stardust,” Willie Nelson will be releasing another standards-filled new collection, this one devoted to the repertoire of Frank Sinatra.

“Sinatra and I were very good friends,” Nelson says by way of explanation. “He was my favorite singer, and he had written one time in an article that I was his favorite singer, so we kinda kicked it off good together, and we worked a few shows together, did a couple of albums together, and a video. He was just a buddy.”

Nelson expects that the Sinatra project, titled “My Way,” will be released on the heels of “Last Man Standing,” his new Legacy Recordings album, out today (April 27), just ahead of his 85th birthday. Buddy Cannon, who has produced most of the singer-songwriter’s recent records, recorded the horn- and string-laden backing...

Breathe easy, Willie Nelson fans; the Red Headed Stranger is still with us — no matter what your Twitter feed might have told you Thursday. Amid social-media speculation that 84-year-old country-music legend Nelson had gone off to the Great Honky-Tonk in the Sky, Nelson’s spokesman told TheWrap on Thursday that the “Always on My Mind” singer is alive and well, and is in fact on the road. Again. “Willie is fine and on tour,” the singer’s publicist told TheWrap. Also Read: From Snoop to Roseanne: What Drives Hollywood's Budding Marijuana Moguls Twitter rippled with worried messages on Thursday, amid reports that Nelson might.

The Red Headed Stranger is getting ready to do his best Blue Steel.

Willie Nelson is set to make a cameo in the sequel to Ben Stiller's 2001 cult classic, Zoolander. The 82-year-old legend revealed in an interview with Access Hollywood that Owen Wilson, who plays dimwitted male model Hansel McDonald in the two movies, personally invited him to film a scene on location in Italy. The actor and country star are longtime friends and neighbors in Maui, Hawaii, where they hang out playing chess, poker and dominoes in Nelson's clubhouse.

Willie Nelson's "Luck, Texas" — the Old West film set that sits on a corner of his sprawling Hill Country ranch — is opening its saloon doors to Hollywood once again. Waiting for the Miracle to Come, a fantasy adventure flick starring the country icon in one of its lead roles, will be filmed in the same Lone Star spot built for 1986's Red Headed Stranger, with production set to begin in March.

Written and directed by Australian filmmaker Lian Lunson, Waiting for the Miracle to Come is about a young girl,...

Whether playing a vengeful preacher in Red Headed Stranger or a killer version of himself on USA's Monk, Willie Nelson is as at home in front of a camera as he is onstage. With a natural charisma and a drawling way with dialogue (his phrasing is as unique as the way he sings), Nelson has been casting bait for directors since Sydney Pollack first placed him opposite Robert Redford in 1979's The Electric Horseman. We count down a dozen of his most memorable roles, including his epic 1986 Miami Vice appearance and — run for the border!

The feature-film selections for the 2013 SXSW Film Festival were announced last week and boy, are there a lot of movies with Austin connections on the program -- so many that we had to split this article in two! We'll start with the narrative feature films, and the second half will highlight the documentaries and "festival favorites." These lists don't include the short films or the midnight movies, which will be announced later today.

Headliners:

When Angels Sing -- Austin director Tim McCanlies' new film is based on a novel by Turk Pipkin (who also appears in the movie), wherein the main character has a troubled relationship with Christmas. Sometimes-Austinite Connie Britton stars as the wife, and the cast also includes Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Heather Kafka (who appears in four SXSW feature films this year), and the Red Headed Stranger himself! Elizabeth Avellan of Troublemaker Studios is one of the producers on this film,...

Willie Nelson may be able to resolve an outstanding marijuana charge by paying a small fine and performing one of his most well-known songs in a Texas courtroom. Last November, the 'On The Road Again' singer was arrested in the Lonestar State when local police found six ounces of marijuana on his tour bus. Despite reports that the musician could face two years in jail if convicted, Hudspeth County Attorney Cr 'Kit' Bramblett has now suggested that he is open to a plea deal as long as Nelson agrees to pay $$100 (£62), cover court costs and perform the song 'Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain' at the town's courthouse. 'Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain' reached the number one spot on the Us country charts upon its release on the Red Headed Stranger (more)...

Attention Austin Rejects: If you're at all in the loop, you obviously can't wait for In The Loop. This political satire (a redundant term, to say the least), opens in Austin on August 14th, and is receiving high doses of early critical spooge. It's a great little film about Britain/Us relations and involvement in the Iraq war. Here's what you don't know: In The Loop is based on this fantastic (and also highly critically, and personally, acclaimed) few episodes of a BBC series called "In the Thick of It". So get hungry, thirsty, and ready to politically rumble. They're screening these mothers, for freakin' free, on August 10th and 13th at the Alamo Drafthouse at The Village. 10 Pm. Look, I realize it's no Wag the Dog starring Willie Nelson, but the Shawshank Redemption is no Red Headed Stranger, either. And don't act like you're too busy for the Brits. We're...