The star-studded special, recorded live earlier this year across two nights before a sold-out crowd at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, celebrates Nelson’s milestone 90th birthday and the 12-time GRAMMY® Award winner’s contributions to popular culture and music. This historic concert event of the year features unforgettable collaborations and once-in-a-lifetime performances by Willie Nelson, Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert, Dave Matthews, Nelson’s sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson, Keith Richards, George Strait, and Chris Stapleton. The special is hosted by stars Jennifer Garner, Chelsea Handler, Woody Harrelson, Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson.
.@WillieNelson celebrated his 90th birthday and now you can too!
Join the party on December 17th as @cbs presents “Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration” with special appearances by @ChrisStapleton, @SherylCrow, @OfficialKeef, @TheChicks, @SnoopDogg and many more.#Colbert pic.twitter.com/orZ4FeXxTU
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 3, 2023
“It is the sincere privilege of our lives to have produced these shows celebrating our beloved Willie, and to partner with CBS to bring this special to fans around the world,” said Mark Rothbaum and Keith Wortman, creators and executive producers of WILLIE NELSON’S 90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. “Viewers will now have the chance to sing, laugh, and cry and experience the joy of this celebration like never before.”
WILLIE NELSON’S 90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION is a production of Blackbird Presents.
*Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service, as well as on demand. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will not have the option to steam live but will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs. Get the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan for $11.99 a month. Try it FREE!
About Willie Nelson
With a seven-decade career, Willie Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor, and activist. He continues to thrive as a relevant and progressive musical and cultural force. In recent years, he has delivered more than a dozen new albums, released a Top 10 New York Times bestsellers book, again headlined Farm Aid (an event he co-founded in 1985)and his annual Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic, been honored by the Library of Congress with their Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, received his fifth-degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul, headlined the annual Luck Reunion food and music festival during SXSW, launched his cannabis companies Willie’s Reserve and Willie’s Remedy, and graced the covers of Rolling Stone and AARP The Magazine. Nelson started this decade by releasing four albums of newly recorded music – First Rose of Spring (2020), That’s Life (2021), The Willie Nelson Family (2021), and A Beautiful Time (2022, GRAMMY Award winner for Best Country Album) – and three books – Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of The Family Band (2020), Willie Nelson’s Letters to America (2021), and Me and Paul: Untold Tale of a Fabled Friendship (2022). Throughout 2023, Willie celebrates his 90th birthday with multiple projects and events including a two-night star-studded concert, Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, that took place in April at the famed Hollywood Bowl, and released as a feature film in June. The year began with the debut of “Wille Nelson & Family,” a new five-part film documentary series directed by Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival as well as the release of a new album, I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, which features 10 performances that pay tribute to American songwriter Harlan Howard. From June to October, Nelson headlines the annual Outlaw Music Festival Tour. In the fall, two new releases debuted: an album, Bluegrass (with newly recorded studio performances of 12 Willie Nelson-penned classics showcasing Willie with a bluegrass ensemble released September 15), and a book, Energy Follows Thought (with stories behind the lyrics of 160 of his favorite songs, along with never-before-seen photos and ephemera arrived on October 31). On November 3, Nelson will be inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. These creative endeavors as well as new songs and performances that add to his classic catalog, find Willie Nelson rolling at an artistic peak, writing singing, and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road.