Singers Celebrate Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday During All-Star Concert

Willie Nelson celebrated his 90th birthday on Saturday (April 29). In a celebration fit for a country music legend like Nelson, dozens of country stars gathered at the Hollywood Bowl for a two-day birthday concert in his honor.

To make things even better, Nelson also took to the stage to perform. At one point, he joined fellow icon George Strait to sing not one, but two duets

After welcoming Strait to the stage while the crowd cheered like wild, Nelson said, “Hey George, let’s sing one.” The “one” they started off singing was their collaboration “Sing One With Willie.” Strait featured the track on his 2019 album Honky Tonk Time Machine.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by George Strait (@georgestrait)

George & Willie Revive An Old Merle Haggard Duet

From there, Nelson and Strait performed “Pancho and Lefty.” The song was written and originally recorded by Townes Van Zandt. Nelson released a duet version with his good friend, Merle Haggard, in 1983.

The duo’s recording reached the #1 spot on the Hot Country Songs chart. It later ranked at the sixth spot on the year-end chart for 1983. To this day, it is considered to be one of the greatest collaborations in all of country music history.

The Austin American-Statesman described Strait and Nelson’s live rendition of “Pancho and Lefty” at Nelson’s birthday concert. The publication said:

“Strait’s voice was golden and strong while Willie’s rose, fell and caught like the dusty dry wind that rustles the scrubby brush along the Texas border — reminding listeners that his tone is the perfect vehicle for capturing the poetry of the American West.”

Head below to watch the video of Strait and Nelson singing “Pancho and Lefty” at Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration! As the clip continues, it showcases Nelson’s duet with another one of his good pals, Snoop Dogg.

We hope Nelson had the happiest 90th birthday!