Nelson on return of annual Independence Day concert: 'Come on down. We missed you'

Culture
Willienelson800
Country legend Willie Nelson during a performance. | Wikimedia Commons

The home of Austin FC will host its first-ever concert in Willie Nelson's annual 4th of July Picnic and Fireworks, according to a report from Austin ABC affiliate KVUE.

Austin FC President Andy Loughnane made the announcement regarding Q2 Stadium earlier this month, the station reported.

The 88-year-old country music legend's signature summertime event will welcome concertgoers for the first time in two years after COVID-19 cancelled it in 2020 and prompted it to be held virtually last year, according to KVUE.

Nelson is highly anticipating the celebration.

“I’m so happy to be bringing back my annual 4th of July Picnic for the first time in two years,” Nelson, who was born in the Central Texas city of Abbott in 1933, said in a statement obtained by KVUE. “Come on down. We missed you.”

Aside from Nelson, the station reported, other acts slated to perform include, but aren't limited to: Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Tyler Childers and Asleep at the Wheel. 

Actor Matthew McConaughey, who serves as Austin FC's minister of culture, expressed his excitement in a statement of his own.

"There’s no one better to kick off our first-ever concert than with the one and only living legend, and a local to Austinites, Willie Nelson,” McConaughey said, according to KVUE.

Tickets can be purchased at q2stadium.com/event/willie-nelsons-4th-of-july-picnic-and-fireworks/.

Concert tickets have been on sale since April 15. Loughnane told KVUE that the lowest price for tickets is $55.

According to Loughnane, Q2, which is soccer-specific, can expand from its usual 20,738-seat capacity to 25,000 for concerts such as Nelson's.

KVUE reported that setup will begin following Austin FC's match against I-35 rival Dallas FC on June 25.