Chris Stapleton & Orville Peck Each Bring Out Willie Nelson At ACL Fest
Watch Nelson guest with Stapleton on “Whiskey River” and “Bloody Mary Morning” and Peck on “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other.”
By Scott Bernstein Oct 14, 2024 • 9:50 am PDT
Willie Nelson popped up at Austin’s Zilker Park for two surprise guest appearances during the just-concluded weekend two of this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival. The Red-Headed Stranger first joined headliner Chris Stapleton for two songs on Friday and then performed a duet with Orville Peck on Sunday.
The 91-year-old Willie Nelson’s Luck Ranch is located approximately 30 miles from Austin. Nelson will perform this Thursday, October 17 at Austin’s Long Center at a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of his performance on the debut episode of Austin City Limits on October 17, 1974.
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Chris Stapleton brought out Willie Nelson at the start of his set on Friday night. Nelson and Stapleton performed “Whiskey River,” a song they last played together in November when Willie was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Stapleton and Nelson also sang “Bloody Mary Morning” before Willie left the stage. “Y’all have no idea how much that moment meant to me,” Stapleton told the crowd as Willie Nelson and his longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael departed to rapturous applause.
Watch fan-captured video of Willie Nelson’s guest appearance with Chris Stapleton below:
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Chris Stapleton (See 50 videos) and Willie Nelson (See 319 videos) |
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Orville Peck welcomed Willie Nelson to the stage on Sunday to duet on the gay cowboy anthem “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other.” The cover of the song originally released in 1981 by Ned Sublette inspired Peck’s 2024 duets album Stampede.
“Someone asked me if I wanted to do a duet with him, and he’s from right here in Texas,” Peck told the crowd. While Peck performed “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other” during a celebration of Willie’s 90th birthday at the Hollywood Bowl, he’d never sang the song live with Nelson before Sunday.
Orville Peck sang lead to start while Willie Nelson held his famed Trigger acoustic guitar. Nelson helmed the second verse and the pair joined voices for the choruses.
Check out the “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other” duet via fan-shot video below:
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