Willie Nelson returns to the stage at the 4th of July picnic

He’s on the move again.

Nearly two weeks after cutting his Outlaw Music Festival tour short due to an unspecified illness, missing eight shows, Willie Nelson was back on stage making music with his friends (and family) just in time for his annual Fourth of July picnic.

“How’s it going?” asked the singer, who celebrated his 91st birthday in April, on Thursday evening amid the joyful noise and shrill cheers of his fans at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey. Trigger hung from the familiar red, white and blue guitar strap, Willie sat down on a padded stool and got down to business: Whiskey River, take my thoughts. His voice sounded a bit rough at the beginning, his phrasing rather cautious and talkative, but his guitar fingers were running at full speed.

A few songs later, a tentatively gorgeous “I Never Cared For You” followed. It was like watching a baseball pitcher take a few innings to get his bearings, fight through with skill and nerve, and then remind everyone what makes him an ace.

“Are you all OK?” Willie asked the crowd. “I’ve been away for a while, but it’s good to be back. I’m really happy to be here and thanks for coming.” He also thanked everyone for the “fan mail,” in case you’re wondering if Willie reads Instagram comments. (He probably got real mail, too.)

It had already been, in the words of Robert Plant, a “great day” at the Pavilion, with performances by Bob Dylan, Plant and Alison Krauss, Maren Morris, Mavis Staples, Celisse and Bowen Young. If you’re Willie Nelson, this is the caliber of your opening acts, with the Picnic basically being an extra tour stop for the Outlaw Music Festival Tour (Staples, Morris and Bowen Young played only that day).

It was the first Fourth of July Independence Day picnic outside of Texas since 2009, and at a site meant to be symbolic—right across the street from where the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia—but nonetheless in New Jersey, in a run-of-the-mill outdoor amphitheater. Of course, the event hasn’t been held on a field in Dripping Springs (the very first site) or Luckenbach or even Austin’s Zilker Park in a long time. More recently, it was held at Circuit of the Americas from 2015 to 2019, then spent the last two years at Q2 Stadium, both in the Capital City area.

Willie’s fans are everywhere, though, and people clearly traveled to see him play on Independence Day. Some wore bandanas in both Willie red and red, white and blue (the latter were handed out at the show), as well as classic “Shotgun Willie” t-shirts, apparel from his CBD brand Willie’s Remedy, and vintage souvenirs from past concerts in Pedernales and Fort Worth. The man of the hour wore his “LEGALIZE” shirt.

The family is as important a part of any Willie Nelson show as the man himself, and they were happy to have their patriarch back. “My boy here, Lukas,” the singer said before his son, who had also filled in for his father on the previous eight nights, performed “Texas Flood” on both vocals and electric guitar. Father and son also played their cover of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe.” Later, during one of the younger Nelson’s guitar solos, the crowd cheered at Willie’s admiring grin as much as the solo itself.

Second guitarist Waylon Payne – Jody’s boy and a solo artist in his own right – took over for “Help Me Make It Through The Night,” with Lukas taking the first guitar solo and Willie then stringing Trigger in his own unique way. And as a band, The Family – drummer Billy English, bassist Kevin Smith, percussionist Anthony LoGerfo and trusty harmonica player Mickey Raphael – swung and shuffled as hard and authentically as ever, turning Camden into Luck, Texas for sixty minutes.

During “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” Willie took a break by letting the audience sing the song (some of whom, in their Philadelphia Eagles gear, may have thought they were singing about the football team). The evening also brought us the very first performance of the title song from the new album The border, a haunting song by Rodney Crowell and Allen Shamblin, featuring Raphael on accordion, that couldn’t be a more fitting choice for this day in the United States in 2024.

The show closed with “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” in a traditional group sing-along with Bowen Young, Morris and Celisse (but not Staples, Plant, Krauss or—can you imagine?—Dylan). But before that, there was the humor of “Roll Me Up and Smoke When I Die” and an even more resonant and metaphysical “Still Not Dead.”

“I woke up again today and I wasn’t dead,” sang Willie. “To my horror, the news said I died. Don’t bury me, I’ve got a show to play.” He’ll do just that again this weekend in Bethel, New York, and Hershey, Pennsylvania.