Phosphorescent will be appearing on Willie Nelson’s Sirius Radio show, “Willie’s Place,” tonight as part of Nelson’s 76th birthday celebration. A full press release about the appearance is below this video of Phosphorescent doing “It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way” from their album To Willie, which pays tribute to the country legend:
Earlier this year Phosphorescent released his new album To Willie, a tribute to the music of Willie Nelson. Styled after Willie’s own tribute to Lefty Frizzell, the 1975 album, To Lefty, From Willie, has received glowing praise from sources as far and wide as Country Weekly and Vanity Fair to Mojo and The Fader. Not just a tribute album, Phosphorescent lovingly renders 11 tracks pulled deep from Mr. Nelson’s catalog of song. All along Matthew Houck said that his tribute wasn’t just a good idea he had, but rather something he’d always known he needed to do. When preparing for the album’s release, Matthew shared his thoughts with me about his first memory of Willie Nelson’s music:
“I can remember being in the back seat of my parents’ car in Alabama and hearing “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” sung by Willie Nelson. I must have been three or four years old. That huge-sounding, sad, sad song did something to me. It took something out of me. Or put something into me I don’t know which. There was a gravel driveway and a gate. My father was out of the car, opening the gate and then we were driving over the gravel. Every song I’ve ever sung has something to do with this moment.”
And now a new voice has joined in the choir of high praise for the album – the voice belonging to Willie Nelson himself! Last week Dead Oceans received an invite from Willie Nelson’s Sirius XM Radio Channel, Willie’s Place (located on the dial on Sirius 64, and XM 13,) for Phosphorescent to perform as part of the channel’s festivities celebrating the 76th birthday of the Red Headed Stranger.
Also last week, Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck and his entire band of merry musicians were personally invited by Willie to come to New Brunswick, NJ to attend a Nelson performance. Upon arrival, they were invited onto his tour bus where Mr. Nelson was extremely generous and sweet, and shared some very kind words about To Willie. You can read Matthew’s own telling of the encounter on his myspace page.
The meeting was also blogged about on Willie’s site.
And so it has come to pass – from perhaps Matthew’s first musical memory, to creating a heartfelt homage to Willie Nelson, to finding a new Phosphorescent fan in the man himself. Sometimes amazing things do happen!
You can hear Phosphorescent pay an hour long birthday tribute to Willie Nelson on Willie’s Place (Sirius Radio channel 64, XM 13) on Thursday April 30 at 9pm EST. Phosphorescent will perform with his full band and share stories and insights into the impact that Willie Nelson’s music has had on his own career. Join Phosphorescent in paying tribute to Mr. Nelson’s birthday by tuning in yourselves.
