Margo Price at the 2026 Outlaw Music Festival: Setlist, Dates, & More
Margo Price at Outlaw Music Festival 2026
- Margo Price performs the Texas opening run in Irving, Austin and The Woodlands from July 3 to July 5.
- She has toured with Willie Nelson’s festival since 2016 and joined the Farm Aid board in 2021.
- The set highlights songs from Hard Headed Woman plus fan favorites like “Hands of Time” and “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)”.
- Tickets go on sale March 27, 2026 at 10 AM local time via Ticketmaster.
Who Is Margo Price?
Margo Price is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter from Aledo, Illinois, who has spent a decade building one of the most credible outlaw country catalogues in American music. She does not play Nashville’s game. She never has.
Her debut album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, came out in 2016 on Jack White’s Third Man Records. Every major Nashville label had already passed on her.
She funded that record by selling her car and pawning her wedding ring to book time at Sun Studio in Memphis. That is not mythology; it is a documented fact that tells you everything about how she operates.
The Backstory Behind the Booking
Price moved to Nashville in 2003 with $57 in her pocket, dropped out of Northern Illinois University at 20, and spent the next decade waiting tables, installing residential siding, and teaching children to dance while writing songs nobody in Music Row wanted to hear.
Her family lost their farm when she was young. That experience lives in her lyrics permanently.
In 2010, she gave birth to twin boys, Ezra and Judah. Ezra died two weeks later from a heart condition. That loss, and the depression and alcohol struggle that followed, runs through her memoir Maybe We’ll Make It, published in 2022. It also lives inside the song “Hands of Time”, one of the most emotionally direct tracks in her catalogue.
None of that backstory is decoration. It is why her music carries weight that most Nashville products do not.
Margo Price and Willie Nelson: Ten Years of Shared Stages
Price has performed at Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival since 2016, the tour’s founding year. That decade of appearances makes her one of the festival’s most consistent and trusted supporting artists.
The relationship runs deeper than festival billing. Nelson appeared on her 2017 track “Learning to Lose” from All American Made. That duet remains one of the most natural artist pairings in recent Americana history, two plainspoken truth-tellers who trust each other’s instincts in the studio.
Price joined the Farm Aid Board of Directors in 2021, serving alongside Nelson, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews. Farm Aid is not a networking vehicle. It is a cause Nelson has led since 1985. Board membership signals a level of mutual respect that goes well beyond a shared festival bill.
She has performed at Nelson’s Luck Reunion at his private ranch in Luck, Texas, including a raw 2016 session in the Luck Chapel. She covered his classic “Hands on the Wheel” for his 90th birthday and performed it at the star-studded Willie Nelson 90th birthday concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
On stage, she regularly joins Nelson for the ensemble finale “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.” That closing number is not assigned; it is extended to the artists Nelson wants beside him. Price has earned that spot repeatedly.
Margo Price 2026 Outlaw Music Festival Dates
The 2026 Outlaw Music Festival runs as a scaled-back 12-city tour, the tightest edition since the festival’s early years. Price appears on the opening Texas run.
| Date | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|
| July 3 | The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory | Irving, TX |
| July 4 | Germania Insurance Amphitheatre | Austin, TX |
| July 5 | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | The Woodlands, TX |
The July 4 Austin date is Willie Nelson’s 4th of July picnic. Price has appeared at the Picnic since 2016. That show carries a different energy than a standard festival date; it is Nelson’s personal holiday celebration, and the audience treats it accordingly.
General on-sale for all three dates begins Friday, March 27, 2026, at 10:00 AM local time. Ticketmaster handles primary sales across all 2026 Outlaw Music Festival dates.
What to Expect From Margo Price’s Festival Set
Price’s Outlaw Music Festival sets run 60 to 75 minutes. She opens hard and builds toward chaos by the end.
Recent Wild at Heart Tour setlists from March 2026 open with “Hands of Time,” a deliberate choice that leads with emotional weight before the energy climbs. “Wild at Heart,” “Red Eye Flight,” and “Don’t Wake Me Up” follow in the first half.
The mid-set stretch typically pulls from her deeper catalog. “Four Years of Chances,” “Tennessee Song,” and “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)” anchor that run.
Expected 2026 Setlist Based on Recent Tour Data
| Set Position | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| Opener | Hands of Time | Midwest Farmer’s Daughter |
| Early set | Wild at Heart | Hard Headed Woman |
| Early set | Red Eye Flight | Hard Headed Woman |
| Early set | Don’t Wake Me Up | Hard Headed Woman |
| Mid-set | Tennessee Song | Midwest Farmer’s Daughter |
| Mid-set | Four Years of Chances | Midwest Farmer’s Daughter |
| Mid-set | Love Me Like You Used To Do | Hard Headed Woman |
| Late set | Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down | Hard Headed Woman |
| Late set | Maggie’s Farm (Dylan cover) | — |
| Closer | Hurtin’ (On the Bottle) | Midwest Farmer’s Daughter |
| Festival finale | Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die | With Willie Nelson |
Setlists shift nightly. The drum kit closer and the Willie Nelson ensemble finale are the two constants.
Margo Discography Ranked by Critical Standing
Midwest Farmer’s Daughter (2016) The debut that started everything. Recorded at Sun Studio, released on Third Man Records. Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and No Depression all noticed immediately. “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)” and “Hands of Time” remain her two most-played live songs a decade later.
All American Made (201.7). Her political album. Features the Willie Nelson duet “Learning to Lose”, still the most-streamed track in the catalogue by critical consensus. “All American Made” ranks as her No. 1 song across professional critic rankings.
That’s How Rumours Get Started (2020) Produced by Sturgill Simpson. A sonic pivot toward classic rock territory that expanded her audience without compromising her identity.
Strays (2023) is her most psychedelic record. Produced by Jonathan Wilson. Pitchfork reviewed it favourably. The album pushed her live show toward longer instrumental passages that now define her festival sets.
Hard Headed Woman (2025) Her latest and most direct statement. “Losing Streak,” “Wild at Heart,” and “Don’t Wake Me Up” all appear in current setlists. Pitchfork’s Will Hermes reviewed it in September 2025.
Margo Price by the Numbers
| Category | Figure |
|---|---|
| Spotify monthly listeners | ~620,000 |
| Last.fm total scrobbles | 1.7 million |
| Studio albums | 5 |
| Outlaw Music Festival appearances | Since 2016 (10 years) |
| Farm Aid Board tenure | Since 2021 |
| Grammy nominations | Multiple |
| Memoir published | 2022 Maybe We’ll Make It |
| Signature guitar | Gibson J-45 (custom 2026 model) |
| Most-performed live song | “Tennessee Song” |
| Top-ranked album (critics) | Hard Headed Woman (2025) |
Three Songs to Hear Before the Festival
“Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)” is the track that introduced most new listeners to Price in 2016. Still, the emotional and sonic peak of her live show. The drum kit finale version hits at a completely different level than the recorded version.
“Learning to Lose” (feat. Willie Nelson:) The duet that defines her relationship with the festival’s headliner. Hearing it live, possibly with Nelson on stage beside him, is one of the more singular experiences on the 2026 Outlaw Music Festival bill.
“Hands of Time” is the song that carries the full weight of her personal history. She opens most 2026 sets with it. Understanding why requires knowing the backstory. Now you do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Margo Price?
Margo Price is a Grammy-nominated outlaw country singer-songwriter from Illinois, based in Nashville, and a Farm Aid board member since 2021.
What dates is Margo Price playing at the 2026 Outlaw Music Festival?
She plays Irving, T, on July 3, Austin, TX, on July 4, and The Woodlands, TX, on July 5.
Has Margo Price performed with Willie Nelson before?
Yes. She has shared the Outlaw Music Festival stage with Nelson since 2016, recorded a duet with him on “Learning to Lose,” and performed at his Luck Ranch and Hollywood Bowl birthday concert.
What is Margo Price’s newest album?
Hard Headed Woman, released August 29, 2025. Current setlists draw heavily from it.
What is the dual drum kit moment?
Price transitions from lead vocals to a second drum kit on stage during her set closer typically “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)” or “Maggie’s Farm.” It is the defining moment of her live show.
When do tickets go on sale for the 2026 Outlaw Music Festival?
General on-sale begins Friday, March 27, 2,026 at 10:00 AM local time via Ticketmaster.
What is Margo Price’s connection to Farm Aid?
She joined the Farm Aid Board of Directors in 2021, serving alongside Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews. She headlined Farm Aid 40 in Minneapolis in September 2025.
What is Margo Price’s signature guitar?
She plays a Gibson modelled after the 1960s Gibson she has used throughout her career. Gibson released a custom signature model in 2026.
Why did Margo Price sell her wedding ring?
She and her husband sold their car and pawned her wedding ring to fund the recording of her debut album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, at Sun Studio in Memphis in 2016.
What is Maybe We’ll Make It? Price’s 2022 memoir is a firsthand account of her decade-long struggle to break through in Nashville, her personal losses, and her experiences with sexism in the music industry.