Willie Nelson Preps 90th Birthday Celebration Concert Special

The iconic artist, author, actor, and activist broke the news of the televised concert special Thursday night (Nov. 2) when he appeared as a guest on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show. “I’m ready for it,” he tells Colbert.

Many stars on the lineup for next month’s special were on hand when Nelson blew out 90 candles back in April of this year.

The likes of Beck, George Strait, Snoop Dogg, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Tom Jones, The Chicks, and Chris Stapleton performed at the Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday, spread across two-dates at the Hollywood Bowl. 

“It was great,” he tells Colbert of that earlier love-in, “a little surreal of course. I loved every minute of it.”

Like a fine wine, Nelson seems to be improving with age. He was nominated for four Grammys earlier this year and a multi-part documentary on Nelson, titled Willie Nelson & Family, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. On March 3, he released his latest album, I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, which highlighted songs written by Harlan Howard, on Sony’s Legacy Recordings. On Friday, Nov. 3, Nelson is inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

The party doesn’t end there. “It is the sincere privilege of our lives to have produced these shows celebrating our beloved Willie, and to partner with CBS to bring this special to fans around the world,” comment Mark Rothbaum and Keith Wortman, creators and executive producers of Willie Nelson’s 90^th Birthday Celebration. “Viewers will now have the chance to sing, and laugh, and cry and experience the joy of this celebration like never before.” 

For his latest late-night stint, Nelson performed “I Never Cared For You,” and “Whiskey River,” both of which appear on his Greatest Hits, released today to coincide with his Rock Hall elevation.