Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic is an annual concert hosted by

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

. Nelson was inspired to create the annual concert after his participation in the 1972 ''Dripping Springs Reunion'', that was hosted at Hurlbut Ranch in

Dripping Springs, Texas Dripping Springs is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,650 at the 2020 census. Dripping Springs is a primarily rural town. Geography Dripping Springs is in northern Hays County at (30.191998, –98.085382). It is ...

. As part of the lineup, Nelson performed on the third day. The event failed to meet the expected attendance due to the concert being poorly promoted. Interested in the concept, Nelson decided to host the inaugural Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic in the same place, as it was already prepared to host a concert. The success of the event led to other concerts. During the late 1970s, the bad reputation of the concert for recurrent problems with safety of the audience made it difficult to find venues. During the 1980s the security improved, and the event recovered the trust of the potential venues.

History

Dripping Springs Reunion

Willie Nelson was inspired to start a yearly festival by the 1972 ''Dripping Springs Reunion'', where he was a part of the lineup. In 1971, four music promoters from

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, decided to create a massive music festival for

audiences. Edward Allen, Michael McFarland, Don Snyder and Peter Smith, chose the Hurlbut Ranch, owned by James Hurlbut in

to be the place for the festival. After working on the grounds for months to prepare the site, the festival was set to last three days, between March 17-19, 1972. The lineup included

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on ...

Sonny James Jimmie Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, " Young Love", topping both of the early versions of today's ''Billboard'' ...

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "the Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more ...

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

, Willie Nelson,

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

. Due to the lack of funds, the event was poorly promoted. The expected total attendance was 180,000 to 225,000 for the three days, but it failed to reach 40,000. Security was provided by 123 men on foot, 40 perimeter horse riders, highway patrolmen and two helicopters. According to Nelson's biographer Joe Nick Patoski, the concert "helped spark the rise of progressive country music and recognition of Austin as a music hub".

The picnic

In 1973, Willie Nelson's first 4th of July picnic took place in the same ranch. Nelson selected the place because it was already prepared to hold a concert. The event attracted an estimated attendance of 40,000, and became an annual festival. Before the concert, the Texas Senate Resolution 687 proclaimed July 4, 1975 as "Willie Nelson Day". The organization provided only few portable toilets, while trash was left around the concert site and the town. The event was qualified as "moral pollution" by the local residents. For the bad organization of the concert, Nelson was fined US$1,000 for violating the Texas Mass Gatherings Act. During the late 1970s the bad reputation of the concert often led to problems finding a venue. In 1976, the planned three-day concert had an estimated attendance of 80,000, the largest in the history of the picnic. The concert ended on July 5 after the rain shorted the

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

. An attendant drowned while four were stabbed. There were 140 arrests, four kidnappings, and three reported rapes. Nelson was sued by the ranch owner, the ambulance service and two attendants. During the 1980s the security was reinforced in the picnics, improving the reputation of the event. The outdoors were fenced and the number of negative incidents reduced. During the 1990s the picnic was often held in

Luckenbach, Texas Luckenbach ( ) is an unincorporated community 13 miles (19 km) from Fredericksburg in southeastern Gillespie County, Texas. Named for German nobleman Jakob Luckenbach, who helped settle the Texas Hill Country in 1845, Luckenbach is known as ...

, while in the 2000s the recurrent location was

Billy Bob's Texas Billy Bob's Texas is a country music nightclub located in the Fort Worth Stockyards, Texas, United States. It promotes itself as "The World's Largest Honky Tonk," at 100,000 square feet of interior space and nearly 20 acres of parking space. Hist ...

, at the

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Stockyards. In 2020 the Picnic was set to return to the Texas hill country on Nelson's "Luck, TX" property, home to the annual Luck Reunion "anti-festival". In lieu of an in-person festival, Luck Productions produced a virtual event that consisted of live-streamed performances and a 90-minute short film commemorating the history of the event. Participants included:

;

Nathaniel Rateliff Nathaniel David Rateliff (born October 7, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter based in Denver, Colorado, whose influences are described as folk, Americana and vintage rhythm & blues. Rateliff has performed with a backing band called the ...

; Steve Earle; Lyle Lovett;

Robert Earl Keen Robert Earl Keen (born January 11, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and entertainer. Debuting with 1984's ''No Kinda Dancer'', the Houston native has recorded 20 full-length albums for both independent and major record labels. His songs ha ...

;

Margo Price Margo Rae Price (born April 15, 1983) is an American country singer-songwriter and producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. ''The Fader'' has called her "country's next star." Her debut solo album '' Midwest Farmer's Daughter'' was released on T ...

;

Edie Brickell Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. ...

; and more. The next year will be virtual once again; participants TBA.

List of concerts

Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic has been hosted on the following occasions:

References

{{Willie Nelson Country music festivals in the United States Music festivals established in 1973 Music festivals in Texas Independence Day (United States) festivals Willie Nelson