Willie Nelson celebrates 92
Why it matters: Nelson, a cultural icon in his own right, has become a living symbol of Austin. He helped define the city's weirdness and progressive identity, and his influence was instrumental in shaping Austin's reputation as a hub for live music.
Not to mention, his face is all over town.
Earlier this month, a mural of Nelson returned to an East Seventh Street building after the original was torn down after a fire.
A bronze sculpture of Nelson greets patrons of ACL Live and a portion of Second Street downtown was renamed in his honor 15 years ago.
The big picture: As an original crossover star, Nelson "held the door open for the sorts of folks who had traditionally had a hard time breaking into country music," Jason Mellard, director of the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University, wrote in 2023 on the occasion of Nelson's 90th birthday.
Nelson supported Black artists, recorded the gay-themed " Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other" in 2006, and championed female musicians, Mellard wrote.
Catch up quick: Nelson was born and raised in Abbott, north of Waco, and has lived in the Austin area since 1972. He also has a home on Maui, Hawai'i.
He appeared in the pilot episode of Austin City Limits in 1974 and he's played on the show that broadcasts Austin's musical identity out to the world more than any other artist.
Zoom in: His 154th album and 77th solo studio album, "Oh What a Beautiful World," came out on Friday, focusing on the songs of Rodney Crowell.
"He has long sounded ageless, but more than ever, Nelson sings like a sage. His reedy tenor can be a little whispery, but he displays surprising vocal range," Steven Wine wrote in an album review for the Associated Press.
What's next: He has outlived some members of the Family Band, including sister Bobbie, but the music legend continues to perform.
Nelson and his family band are set to play at the Outlaw Music Festival, which makes stops in Dallas and Houston, alongside Bob Dylan, Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow and others.
And he'll bring his annual Fourth of July Picnic back to Texas this year at Austin's Circuit of the Americas. Tickets are on sale now.
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On the weekend of August 9, the Okmulgee Roy LeBlanc Invitational Rodeo marks its 70th year, the legacy of two dozen Black businessmen, farmers and ranchers frustrated with the second-class treatment accorded to Black rodeo competitors and their fans in the 1950s. Tipton has been attending the Okmulgee rodeo ever since he was a kid riding along with his family's roundup club, the Oklahoma City Paraders. The equestrian-minded community organization held weekend parades to precede Black rodeo competitions in rural outposts around the state, in places like Tatums, Clearview and Drumright. 'Okmulgee was always the last rodeo of the year,' he said. 'It was like our Super Bowl.' Situated 40 miles south of Tulsa, the Okmulgee Roy LeBlanc Invitational Rodeo is among the country's largest Black sporting events, according to event producer Kenneth LeBlanc. In 1956, LeBlanc's father Roy and grandfather Charles were among the founders of what was then called the Okmulgee County Roundup Club. 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'There's so many Black cowboys who should be making tons of money,' Tipton said. 'A lot don't know the business side. So when they come back to Black rodeo, there's a home for them.' When he found success as a rookie and hit the pro circuit, Tipton said, he didn't return to the Black rodeo circuit for several years. But he always made sure to return for Okmulgee. 'The Jackie Robinson of rodeo' He wasn't the only one. Many of the Black rodeo greats throughout the years have frequented Okmulgee, among them Myrtis Dightman, often referred to as 'the Jackie Robinson of rodeo.' Dightman was among those featured during Beyoncé's Christmas Day halftime show during the Houston Texans' game against the Baltimore Ravens in December. 'He was the first African American to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo,' said Friday, the event announcer. 'He never won a world title, but he's the one who actually opened the doors for African American cowboys in rodeo today.' Dightman grew up on a ranch in Crockett, Texas, two hours north of Houston, where his father was a ranch hand and his mother helped work the fields, Cartwright said. He went to school when ranch work allowed, never learning to read. As a young man, Dightman found work as a rodeo clown and bullfighter but knew he had the skills to be an accomplished bull rider, Cartwright said. Like other Black rodeo hopefuls, he often wouldn't be allowed to ride until events were over. 'He quickly established himself not as a great Black bull rider but as a great bull rider,' Cartwright said. Eventually, the humble and well-liked Dightman would earn his way onto the circuit with other cowboys eager to compete against him. In the 1960s, Cartwright said, standards called for only two event judges, and all it took was one to poison a competitor's chances for success. 'It wasn't so egregious as to make them finish last,' he said. 'All they had to do was rob them of a point here or there.' But spread over the course of a season, Cartwright said, these sprinklings of bias had their effect, depriving certain competitors of prize money and dropping them several places in the standings. He believes that happened to Dightman and others. Dightman realized that despite whatever slights he might face, he could still claw his way to the finals if he competed in enough events to earn sufficient prize money. He avoided Southern rodeos and instead hit events in Texas, Oklahoma, on the West Coast and throughout the Midwest and Rust Belt. 'He thought, there's always going to be a judge that isn't going to let me win an event, but if over the course of a season I go to more events than anyone else, all my 2nd places and 4th places will get me there,' Cartwright said. 'He hustled and was very methodical.' In 1967 and 1968, Dightman finished among the three or four top-ranked bull riders in the world. While he never won the sport's gold buckle, Dightman knew he had accomplished something special, Cartwright said. 'I can't stress enough how good he had to be to finish third at a time when our country was facing the racial animus it did,' he said. 'He said to me, 'I wanted to be a world champion but I never were a world champion, but I was a world champion as a man.' He wasn't bragging on himself. What he was saying was that he saw something that hadn't been done and he wanted to do it and did everything he could to do it. I just find him to be heroic.' Legends of the sport In February, Tipton and Friday teamed up to produce their second annual National Black Cowboy Rodeo Awards and Gala in Oklahoma City. 'We've honored all the old cowboys the last two years,' Tipton said. Dightman, now 90, was among them; so was Charles Sampson, the former kid from Watts, California, who with Dightman's mentorship became the first Black bull rider to win a rodeo world title, in 1982. Both have been among the luminaries who polished their craft at Okmulgee. 'Myrtis and Charlie are legends,' Cartwright said. 'Not just among Black cowboys. They're legendary rodeo cowboys, period.' Before a bull rider's bucking chute opens, there is someone there to tighten the rope he'll use to hold on to for the duration of the ride, and riders are notoriously picky about who gets to do it, Cartwright said. 'When Charlie won the world title in the 10th round, Myrtis was there and Charlie had him pull his bull rope for him,' he said. 'For him to wave off the guy who would normally pull his rope and let Myrtis do it goes to show that Charlie understood the significance of his moment and that the road to that moment was paved by Myrtis.' It's on that foundation that today's young Black cowboys will build on when they compete this weekend in Okmulgee. 'Okmulgee originated at a time when it was needed,' Cartwright said. 'There was nowhere else for them to go. It's a historic event.'
