WILMINGTON — It’s been almost a decade since country music icon Willie Nelson has performed on a local stage. He will return to the area next month to Live Oak Bank Pavilion.
Nelson is slated to perform Tuesday, April 28, with special guest Drayton Farley opening the show. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 20, 10 a.m. A Live Nation presale takes place Thursday, March 19, 10 a.m.
A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress, Nelson’s music spans a seven-decade career. Aside from solo hits like “Always on My Mind,” “On the Road Again” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” Nelson has performed with musicians across all aisles, from Ray Charles to Bob Dylan, Beck to Norah Jones, and has joined supergroups like The Highwaymen, also comprising Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristopherson.
With Neil Young and John Mellencamp, he co-founded Farm Aid in 1985 and continues touring in its support, bringing in a range of musicians annually to raise awareness and funds for small farmers nationwide. His Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic and Outlaw Music Festival Tour also have become standard events on his annual touring schedule.
Nelson last came to Wilmington in May 2016, performing at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater. His son, Lukas Nelson, has become a staple on the Wilmington scene, hosting a Hurricane Florence fundraiser for the area in 2018 and returning to both GLA and LOBP solo and with his band, Promise of the Real.
92-year-old Nelson has won 12 Grammy Awards during his career, and continues to produce records. Just in the fall of 2025, he dropped “Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle,” highlighting songs written by Merle Haggard. This marked his 78th studio album, though he’s released 155 overall.
Opening Nelson’s Wilmington show is rising singer-songwriter Drayton Farley from Alabama, who has toured with Dwight Yoakam, The Mavericks, Charley Crockett and others.
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