Willie Nelson's Outlaw Festival coming to Northwell at Jones Beach Theater

Willie Nelson will return with his Outlaw Music festival to Northwell at Jones Beach Theater on Aug. 28, as part of a 12-date U.S. tour.

It’s an increasingly rare chance to see Nelson, a pillar of country music who will turn 93 in April.

Nelson will headline the Wantagh arena show with his band, Family. Other top-billed acts include the bluegrassy rockers The Avett Brothers, rising star Margo Price, country-adjacent singer Sheryl Crow and Gen X heroes Wilco. Also on the bill are Nelson’s son Lukas, the pedal-steel guitar prodigy Robert Randolph and "America’s Got Talent" alumna Lily Meola. The Outlaw Festival began as a one-day event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 2016.

Nelson canceled an appearance with the Outlaw Festival at Jones Beach in 2024 due to an undisclosed health issue but returned las year with Bob Dylan and Lucinda Williams. Rolling Stone magazine, which covered that show, called it "the most exciting and eclectic multiartist festival of the 2025 summer amphitheater season."

Nelson is old enough to have worked with some of country music’s early stars: He wrote Patsy Cline’s "Crazy" and played bass for Ray Price. But he also helped lead the so-called outlaw country genre in the 1970s, shocking the conservative Nashville, Tennessee-based establishment with his braided hair and open marijuana use. Nelson and fellow "outlaws" Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson formed The Highwaymen. Their semi-eponymous debut studio recording, "Highwayman," reached No. 1 in the country albums chart in 1985. Nelson has also racked up numerous solo hits, including his original "On the Road Again" and a cover of "Always on My Mind."

Cash and Jennings died more than 20 years ago, with Kristofferson passing in 2024. So have many of Nelson’s generation, including Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn and George Jones. A statement from the Outlaw Festival said of Nelson: "With fewer appearances on the road this year, each night carries added significance."

Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, at 10 a.m. at OutlawMusicFestival.com.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com