With a seven-decade career, Willie Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor and activist. He continues to thrive as a relevant and progressive musical and cultural force. In recent years, he has delivered more than a dozen new albums, released a Top 10 New York Times‘ bestsellers book, again headlined Farm Aid (an event he co-founded in 1985) and his annual Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic, been honored by the Library of Congress with their Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, received his 5th degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul, headlined the annual Luck Reunion food and music festival during SXSW as well as the annual Outlaw Music Festival Tour, launched his cannabis companies Willie’s Reserve and Willie’s Remedy, and graced the covers of Rolling Stone and AARP The Magazine.
Nelson started this decade by releasing four albums of newly recorded music—First Rose of Spring (2020), That’s Life (2021), The Willie Nelson Family (2021) and A Beautiful Time (2022, GRAMMY Award winner for Best Country Album)—and three books—Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of The Family Band (2020), Willie Nelson’s Letters to America (2021) and Me and Paul: Untold Tale of a Fabled Friendship (2022).
Throughout 2023, Willie celebrated his 90th birthday with multiple projects and events including a two-night star-studded concert at the famed Hollywood Bowl, Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, which was released as a feature film and a televised broadcast special. The year began with the debut of “Wille Nelson & Family,” a five-part film documentary series directed by Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival as well as the release of a new album, I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, which features 10 performances that pay tribute to American songwriter Harlan Howard. 2023 also welcomed two new releases: the GRAMMY nominated album, Bluegrass (with newly recorded studio performances of 12 Willie Nelson-penned classics showcasing Willie with a bluegrass ensemble), and a new book, Energy Follows Thought (with stories behind the lyrics of 160 of his favorite songs, along with never-before-seen photos and ephemera). To cap the momentous year, Nelson was inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2024, Nelson expanded his depth of work with the release of two new albums and a new book. The month of May saw the arrival of the studio album The Border, which includes Willie’s versions of 10 contemporary country songs, and four new compositions with Buddy Cannon. And in November he released a cookbook co-authored with his wife, Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook: Mouthwatering Recipes and the High-Flying Stories Behind Them as well as another studio album, Last Leaf on the Tree, which features close collaborations with Nelson’s son Micah. For 2025, Nelson released a new studio album, Oh What A Beautiful World, on April 25. The 12-song collection features new Nelson performances of classic Rodney Crowell compositions. The first single, the album’s title track, features special guest Crowell in a duet with Nelson and is available HERE. These creative endeavors as well as new songs and performances that add to his classic catalog, find Willie Nelson rolling at an artistic peak, writing and singing and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road.
