Willie Nelson & Family
Newport Yachting Center
Newport, RI
June 15

It was a pleasant Saturday evening on the waterfront in Newport, the packed house positively overjoyed to welcome Willie Nelson and the Family for a night of old time, outlaw country. But while Willie may be more old time than outlaw nowadays, his mere presence is one that demands attention, and his playing continues to be spiritual and very much a force to be reckoned with.

Opening with the familiar chords of “Whiskey River,” the Family launched into a thirty-plus song set that saw nary a pause. Folks hooted and hollered and rushed up front for a picture opportunity, and all was right with things.

The cantina-chorded “Still is Still Moving To Me” came next, and with it the first hints of the brilliant, offbeat phrasing of Willie and the Family. Mickey Raphael’s bursts of melody on harmonica provided some extra punch to carry things home, here and throughout the evening.

Thematic twins “Beer for My Horses” and “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys” were up next, the former a nod to friend Toby Keith; on the latter, Willie gave the crowd the opportunity to carry the chorus.

It is mesmerizing to watch Nelson constantly bend and shift the shape of his own songs, and the way he playfully attacks his trusted old guitar, Trigger – scarred and worn like its player, but similarly, very much on its game. The jazzy trio and rhythmic sway of his familiar “Funny How Time Slips Away” > “Crazy” > “Nightlife” medley served to enlighten those who mistakenly identify Nelson as a country guitarist.

Pianist and older sister Bobbi Nelson is a graceful, matronly presence onstage and younger brother offered her a chance to shine on L. Wolfe Gilbert’s ‘Down Yonder’ from 1921. Her static playing reflects Willie’s jazz tendencies, and had the band completely locked into deep Texas boogie.

The classic “Me and Paul” followed, the song a tale of youthful adventures of Nelson and his longtime drummer and once bodyguard, Paul English, whose stroke from a couple of years ago has him relegated to percussion. For this one, however, he switched with his own brother Billy to take a turn on the snare as Willie recalled the good old and dangerous days.

There are certain folks who, while appreciative of what Willie Nelson has given to music, identify his act nowadays as nostalgic. While that may have some merit, his dexterity is still very much there, and furthermore, Nelson employs the weariness in his voice as a strength, and that rough-around-the-edges approach and the relentlessness of his touring gives things a traveled, honest elegance.

The hits followed ( “Georgia on My Mind,” “City of New Orleans,” “You Were Always on My Mind” ); the quintet alternating between reflex and reflection. There were nods of old friends, most notably Waylon Jennings’ celebrated “Good Hearted Woman” (on his birthday) and a pair of Hank Williams’ ditties: “Jambalaya” and “Hey Good Lookin’.”

Then there was the new, the Eastern-tinged zen of “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” and a cover of Django Reinhardt’s “Nuages” which highlighted both Nelson’s jazz chops and a spacial sensitivity. A rockabilly ode to the great Carl Perkins came quick on the heels with ‘Matchbox’, before the gospel of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and Hank’s “I Saw the Light” were sandwiched around the wry autobiographic rattle of Nelson’s “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.”

It was a succinct ninety minutes, but absolutely packed in satisfaction and significance. They may be getting older, but Willie and his crew remain masterful players, and torchbearers of a musical tradition. This is no nostalgia act; this is a grind, and it’s sincere and pure. And on this evening indeed, there was nothing like Newport on a Saturday night.