Outlaw Music Festival: History and 2026 Updates

Willie Nelson & Family headline 12 amphitheatre dates this summer, a tighter, more deliberate run than any tour since the festival’s founding in 2016.

Blackbird Presents, Live Nation, and Willie’s longtime manager Mark Rothbaum announced the full 2026 Outlaw Music Festival schedule on March 24. The tour opens July 3 in Irving, Texas and closes August 30 in Saratoga Springs, New York. General public tickets went on sale March 27 via Ticketmaster.

What Is the Outlaw Music Festival?

The Outlaw Music Festival is a traveling summer amphitheater tour curated by Willie Nelson. It celebrates the spirit of the outlaw country movement Nelson helped build alongside Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson in the 1970s, music made on the artist’s terms, outside Nashville’s system.

Every stop runs as a full-day festival. Willie Nelson & Family close each night. A rotating bill of supporting acts fills the afternoon and evening. The Outlaw Village market local food, craft beer, and artisan vendors operate on site on every date.

How Did the Festival Start?

The first Outlaw Music Festival took place on September 18, 2016. One show. One venue. Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Willie Nelson, his manager Mark Rothbaum, and Blackbird Presents CEO Keith Wortman launched it at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain. The sold-out debut featured Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne alongside Willie & Family.

The show sold out and the reviews were strong. Neil Young’s 95-minute set drew some of the most effusive notices. Willie sounded, by multiple accounts, stronger than he had in years. Within months, the partners confirmed the festival would return as a national tour.

It has run every summer since, except 2020, when the pandemic canceled live music across the country.

Festival Growth: From One Date to 35 Shows

The 2017 expansion turned a single Scranton concert into a multi-city amphitheater tour. Early stops included Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Syracuse. The Outlaw Village became a permanent fixture that same year, part of a deliberate push to make each stop feel like a genuine festival, not just a concert with an opening act.

The lineup grew with the ambition. Bob Dylan joined for full-tour runs in 2024 and 2025. Robert Plant, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, ZZ Top, and John Fogerty have all appeared on past bills. On the other end of the generational spectrum, Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson, and Zach Bryan brought younger audiences into the tent.

The 2025 edition was the largest in festival history 36 dates across 22 states. Rolling Stone called it “undoubtedly the most exciting and eclectic multi-artist festival of the 2025 summer amphitheater season.”

The 2026 run pulls back to 12 dates by design.

Why Only 12 Shows in 2026?

The tour announcement described 2026 as “a special limited run,” acknowledging the scaling back directly. Willie Nelson turns 93 on April 29. The official Blackbird Presents announcement frames it plainly: “With fewer appearances on the road this year, each night carries added significance, a rare chance to experience a living legend alongside a powerhouse lineup of iconic voices and next-generation trailblazers.”

That framing is honest, not promotional. Twelve shows means fewer chances to catch this tour. It also means each date carries more weight than a stop on a 36-show run ever could.

Bob Dylan, who anchored the 2024 and 2025 tours, is not on the 2026 bill. He announced an expansion of his own summer tour separately, with stops in Woodinville, Washington, Thackerville, Oklahoma, and Vienna, Virginia.

2026 Full Tour Dates and Lineups

Friday, July 3 — The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, Irving, TX Willie Nelson & Family · Wilco · Sheryl Crow · Lukas Nelson · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Margo Price · Lily Meola

Saturday, July 4 (Willie’s 4th of July Picnic) Germania Insurance Amphitheater, Austin, TX Willie Nelson & Family · Billy Strings · Wilco · Sheryl Crow · Lukas Nelson · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Margo Price · Rodney Crowell · Lily Meola

Sunday, July 5 — The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands, TX Willie Nelson & Family · Wilco · Sheryl Crow · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Margo Price · Lily Meola

Tuesday, August 18 — Hollywood Casino Amphitheater, Maryland Heights, MO Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Lukas Nelson · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Sierra Hull · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Wednesday, August 19 — Mystic Lake Amphitheater, Shakopee, MN Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Lukas Nelson · Sierra Hull · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Friday, August 21 — Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Lukas Nelson · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Sierra Hull · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Saturday, August 22 — Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Lukas Nelson · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Sierra Hull · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Sunday, August 23 — Ruoff Music Center, Noblesville, IN Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Lukas Nelson · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Sierra Hull · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Tuesday, August 25 — Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Lukas Nelson · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Sierra Hull · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Friday, August 28 — Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Sheryl Crow · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Robert Randolph · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Saturday, August 29 — Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Sheryl Crow · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Robert Randolph · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Sunday, August 30 — Albany Med Health System at SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY Willie Nelson & Family · The Avett Brothers · Sheryl Crow · Stephen Wilson Jr. · Robert Randolph · Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Who Plays the Most Dates?

Stephen Wilson Jr. appears on 11 of the 12 dates. The Avett Brothers join for 9. Lukas Nelson is booked for 8. Sheryl Crow plays 6. Wilco handles 3 the full Texas opening weekend.

Billy Strings plays only Austin on July 4. That show doubles as Willie’s annual Fourth of July Picnic, and it carries the biggest single-date lineup of the tour. Rodney Crowell also appears for that Austin date only.

Who Are the 2026 Artists?

Willie Nelson & Family — The core band closes every show. Willie plays lead vocals and guitar. His sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson play on select dates. Mickey Raphael, Willie’s harmonica player since the 1970s, remains a fixture.

The Avett Brothers — The North Carolina folk-rock band brings some of the most physical energy on the circuit. Nine appearances on this tour.

Wilco — Jeff Tweedy’s Chicago band plays the three Texas dates. Nels Cline’s guitar work has consistently drawn the highest per-set praise from critics covering this festival.

Sheryl Crow — An original 2016 Scranton participant, now back for six dates. Her festival history with this tour runs as long as the tour itself.

Billy Strings — The Michigan-born flatpicker plays Austin only. His presence on July 4 makes that the single most musically dense date of the 2026 run.

Stephen Wilson Jr. — The rising Virginia roots artist joins 11 of 12 dates the most consistent presence on the bill outside Willie & Family.

Margo Price — The Nashville-based country artist plays the Texas run. Her blend of classic country and social commentary fits the festival’s outlaw lineage directly.

Sierra Hull — The mandolinist and Americana singer plays the August Midwest and Northeast dates. Hull’s technical precision and compositional range make her one of the most rewarding second stage finds on any roots festival bill.

Robert Randolph — The pedal steel guitarist and Robert Randolph & the Family Band leader joins the final three Northeast dates.

Don Was, and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble — The legendary producer and bassist leads this ensemble across the August run. Their presence adds a jazz-inflected roots dimension to the late summer leg.

Lily Meola — The Hawaiian-born singer-songwriter joins the Texas opening weekend.

Rodney Crowell — The Texas country songwriter plays Austin only.

The July 4th Picnic

Willie Nelson has hosted a Fourth of July Picnic almost every year since 1973. This year it lands at Germania Insurance Amphitheater in Austin his home territory and absorbs into the Outlaw Music Festival tour as the July 4 date.

Billy Strings and Rodney Crowell appear as special one-time guests for the Picnic. No other date on the 2026 tour features both of those artists. Combined with Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Margo Price, and Lukas Nelson on the same bill, July 4 in Austin is the most stacked single date of the summer.

What Is the Outlaw Village?

The Outlaw Village is a permanent feature of every festival stop. It operates as an on-site market local food vendors, craft beer, artisan goods, and merchandise specific to each market. It opened with the tour’s national expansion in 2017 and has run at every date since.

The Village typically opens when the gates do, well before the first musical act. It gives attendees a reason to arrive early rather than walk in for the headliner. That structure matters on a festival bill where the supporting acts are often the discovery.

Willie Nelson’s New Album: Dream Chaser

Nelson announced his 79th solo studio album, Dream Chaser, on March 18, 2026. Legacy Recordings releases it on May 29, a month after his 93rd birthday.

The album continues his long creative partnership with producer Buddy Cannon, a collaboration that has produced nearly 20 records over the past 13 years. One track, “I Can’t Read Your Mind,” marks the first Nelson-Dylan songwriting collaboration since Across the Borderline in 1993.

The title track is out now. It finds Nelson reflecting on time a meditation on memory and persistence that lands differently coming from a 92-year-old man who still plays shows.

Dream Chaser gives the 2026 Outlaw tour an additional layer of context. Fans attending any of the 12 stops will hear a band supporting a new record for the first time in their live set. That changes the energy of a Willie Nelson show.

How to Buy Tickets

Ticketmaster handles primary ticket sales for all 12 dates. General public on-sale began March 27 at 10 a.m. local time at each venue.

Citi card members had presale access starting March 25 through the Citi Entertainment program. VIP packages are available for each date; the exact contents vary by venue but typically include premium seating and exclusive tour merchandise.

All 2026 venues are outdoor amphitheaters. Most shows start in the late afternoon or early evening and run three to four hours. Arrive early. The supporting acts are not warm-up bands they are the reason many of the most devoted Outlaw Festival fans buy tickets in the first place.

What to Expect at the Show

Gates open well before showtime at every venue. The Outlaw Village market runs from gate open through the end of the night. Arrive an hour early to browse vendors and find your spot before the first act.

Willie Nelson & Family close the show at every date. His sets typically run 90 minutes or longer. His touring band built around Mickey Raphael’s harmonica and the Nelson family’s interlocking guitar work plays a catalog that spans seven decades.

Venue bag policies, parking, and gate times vary by location. Check your specific venue’s website the morning of the show. Weather holds no authority over the schedule: the Outlaw Music Festival runs rain or shine.

FAQs

Who headlines the 2026 Outlaw Music Festival?
Willie Nelson & Family headline all 12 dates.

Is Bob Dylan on the 2026 tour?
No. Dylan participated in 2024 and 2025 but is not part of the 2026 lineup.

When do tickets go on sale?
General public tickets went on sale March 27, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.

Where does the tour start and end?
The tour opens July 3 in Irving, Texas and closes August 30 in Saratoga Springs, New York.

How many cities does the 2026 tour cover?
Twelve cities across Texas, the Midwest, and the Northeast.

Is the Outlaw Village at every show?
Yes, the on-site market with local food, beer, and vendors operates on every date.

What time does the show start?
Shows typically begin in the late afternoon or early evening and run three to four hours.

Does Willie Nelson really play every date?
Yes. Willie Nelson & Family headline all 12 stops.

Who plays the most dates besides Willie?
Stephen Wilson Jr. plays 11 of 12. The Avett Brothers play 9.

Is there a new Willie Nelson album in 2026?
Yes. Dream Chaser, his 79th solo studio album, will be released on May 29, 2026, via Legacy Recordings.

What was the first Outlaw Music Festival?
The first show took place on September 18, 2016, at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Does the July 4th date have a different lineup?
Yes, the Austin July 4 show is Willie’s annual Picnic and adds Billy Strings and Rodney Crowell to the bill.