Country music legend Willie Nelson and bluegrass star Alison Krauss and Union Station with Jerry Douglas are set to perform at the Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor, with special guest Kacey Musgraves, on Thursday, June 19. Tickets, priced at $21.75 to $81.75, go on sale this Friday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. on Ticketmaster.
Willie Nelson hardly needs an introduction — with a six-decade career as the writer and performer of such classic songs as “Crazy,” “Stardust” and “Red Headed Stranger,” he’s one of the most beloved and recognizable faces in American music having released over 200 albums. With his trademark long hair and laid-back personality, Nelson, now 81, has been a favorite for nearly half a century, and he last visited Bangor in 2006, at the Bangor Auditorium. His most recent album is “To All The Girls…” which features 18 duets with music’s top female singers including Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Sheryl Crow, Loretta Lynn, Wynonna Judd, Rosanne Cash, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones and Shelby Lynne.
Alison Krauss is a bluegrass virtuoso who bridges the gap between roots music and country, rock and pop. Since signing with Rounder Records at the age of 14, Krauss has sold over 12 million albums and won 27 Grammy Awards, the most for any female, and the second most of any recording artist in Grammy history. “Paper Airplane” came out in April 2011; it debuted at number one on the Billboard Country, Bluegrass and Folk Album Charts upon its release. Union Station – Jerry Douglas (dobro, lap steel, vocals), Dan Tyminski (guitar, mandolin, lead vocal), Ron Block (banjo, guitar) and Barry Bales (bass, vocals), with Krauss on lead vocal and fiddle — has been her backing band for decades.
Performing with Nelson and Krauss on part of the tour including the pair’s Bangor show will be critically acclaimed country upstart and singer-songwriter, Kacey Musgraves. Her first major label album “Same Trailer, Different Park,” debuted at number one on the country charts, and won her two 2013 Grammys last month for Best Country Artist and Best Country Song, making her the first solo female to have an album debut at number one in five years. Prior to “Same Trailer, Different Park” she’d self-released three albums that she’d written and produced herself.
The Nelson, Krauss and Musgraves concert joins country heavy hitters at the Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion including Brad Paisley on June 15, Lady Antebellum on Aug. 30 and Jason Aldean on Aug. 31, as well as pop shows including Dave Matthews Band on June 6 and the Arcade Fire on Aug. 20. As always, tickets are available via waterfrontconcerts.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or locally at Mark’s Music in Brewer.