Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic

America’s birthday has a way of bringing out the best traditions in us. There are barbecue cookouts, watermelons, hot dog eating contests, parades, community celebrations and of course fireworks. If you live in a place like Gonzales, you are also treated to a good day’s worth of live music.

Come to think about it, it’s been like that for a while here in town.

If you were to look in the Inquirer’s archives, one could probably find an Independence Day hoe-down anywhere from the 1880s to the 1950s. From grinnin’ and pickin’ parties to doo-wop sock hops. Something about beating the Redcoats just makes us want to dance.

There was even a time when Texas’ most patriotic cowboy, the captain of the Honeysuckle Rose, the Red-Headed Stranger himself came to town to serenade the masses. And he brought along a few of his friends.

Now, before folks of a certain vintage get their hearts racing and stomachs wrapped up in knots — don’t worry. Willie is spending July 4th up in the Fort Worth Stockyards next to Billy Bob’s Texas Honky Tonk. Instead of Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker and Leon Russell out in a country cow pasture, you have Dierks Bentley, Josh Abbott Band, Ryan Bingham and Jamey Johnson at an outdoor amphitheater in the city with available VIP air-conditioned tents and toilet service.

Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic is a sometimes-annual affair now in its 41st year. A quick Internet search can walk you through the Picnic heydays of the 1970s to the more laid-back family atmospheres of the 1990s and 2000s.

Let’s focus on the time when Willie brought 85,000 people to the Kelley Ranch, about 7 miles east of town on FM 532. And Gonzales almost went nuts.

It was definitely the largest Independence Day commemoration in this nation’s history, with 1976 being the bicentennial year of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Willie Nelson wanted to throw the biggest picnic yet.

A few months prior, local District Attorney Houston Munson had written Mr. Nelson, asking him to play his birthday party in the fall of 1975. The date came and passed, with no response. Then, reportedly, one day in walks the troubadour, asking Mr. Munson for his help in holding the concert.

Plans were made to host the three-day festival near town, but many residents wanted nothing of it. The “cosmic cowboy” image of long-haired rednecks with their hippie pals — holdovers from the Woodstock era — invading town like a new regiment of Santa Anna’s army didn’t set well with Gonzales’ moral majority.

In one corner stood CLOD: the Citizens for Law, Order and Decency and their attorney Alan Wells of Killeen. They, along with local Rev. Jimmy Darnell, presented 2,150 names in opposition to the event.

In the other, the “Friends of Willie” with spokesman Ed Scheske at the helm. This group tended to look at the economic benefits that the picnic would bring in addition to publicity and exposure.

Both sides met in the District Courtroom in the Gonzales County Courthouse. While this was a hearing and not a trial, newspaper reports paint the proceedings as nothing less than a spectacle straight from “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

An Inquirer report states that the opposition presented testimony from a farmer that his “chickens might quit laying. One hog farmer contended that his animals might get sick and traffic conditions would prevent a veterinarian from getting there to help them.”

Additionally, Deacon Tom Lee of the St. James Baptist Church wondered what would happen if his 100 year-old father needed medical attention on the day the roads were clogged with fest-goers.

The motion to hold a multi-day picnic was denied by County Judge Henry Vollentine. With the prospect of defeat, the “Friends of Willie” regrouped with a plan. On June 4, Houston Munson hosted a benefit at his ranch for a hospital clinic in Moulton, the musical guest was none other than Willie Nelson himself. To reach a compromise, it was decided to host a one-day picnic only. This time, Judge Vollentine agreed and the picnic was back on.

Said Rev. Darnell upon the reversal of the decision, “Though we are still opposed to this evil coming into this community…we will respect the office of County Judge and his decision.”

The lineup was impressive with classic country acts appearing alongside the new era of outlaw stars: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Leon Russell, Jerry Jeff Walker, Roger Miller, George Jones, Bobby Bare, Ray Wylie Hubbard, David Allan Coe and more.

Fans arrived as early as Thursday, with estimates of 75,000 people on the ranch by Saturday. Promoters announced that 135,000 tickets had been collected at the gate. Not everyone paid the $10 ticket fee though, with some patrons finding their way under the fence that cordoned off the concert area.

Getting there, it turned out, was a bit of a challenge says Picnic veteran John Liford. “It took us about an hour and-a-half to get to Moulton, and I live on Moulton Road.” It was “just bumper to bumper” he recalled.

“I went to several picnics… it was kind of cool,” recalls Gary Anderson. “I had my station wagon and a tent and a couple of coolers. Man, I was set.”

One attendee was Laurie Kelley Taylor, who is the daughter of the site’s owner, Sterling Kelley.

“Locals came out in droves just to gawk and see what was going on,” she recalled.

As a 20 year-old college student at the time, Taylor made an investment in a concession stand in which she hoped to benefit from the masses. She and her then-boyfriend bought lumber to make a stand selling popcorn and sandwiches. When patrons began bringing their own food, her entrepreneurial dreams were dashed when that hard work, as well as a $1,000 booth fee, went down the drain.

“It was deemed a success for Gonzales. It was a huge financial boost for Gonzales,” Taylor said. “But it was a huge financial disaster” for her concession stand. She eventually got over it, and Willie Nelson was allowed on her radio again.

Backstage was professional photographer Scott Newton, who has made a career out of shooting concerts and special events. He has photographed the Austin City Limits television show since 1979. By 1976, he had already attended a couple of picnics.

It was as “wild as anything I’ve ever seen,” Newton said. “The “heat was brutal, the crowd was brutal… I’ve never seen one worse.” He ended that by stating that he’s been to a lot of festivals over his career.

Not that the whole ordeal was a lawless, drug-fueled hippie mess, that’s not his point. But, there were elements that were. It was “one of my most vivid experiences as a concert photographer,” he continued.

For whatever reason, the front part of the crowd thought it was a good idea to shoot Roman candles at each other, Newton said. The women in the front area also high-tailed it out of there, because of groping, which is unacceptable in any setting.

Backstage was interesting as well, he described. David Allen Coe was photographed with a pistol in his back pocket, and a fight broke out one night between three “karate guys” and a bunch of cowboys. Add in the rain, and it was quite the experience.

“The music was great,” Newton continues. He “didn’t know why it got that wild. All the rest of the picnics were fascinating and peaceful.” It was anarchy up front, but no one was killed.

Amongst all of the excitement he encountered, he was able to snap a photo that still hangs in his house. It is “one of my favorite all-time images,” he concludes.  

Suspiciously enough, the Inquirer was mainly absent on reporting on any of the entertainment that is now lost to fuzzy memories and sepia-tinged photographs. Whatever reporting that could have been accomplished on this legendary event, it simply did not happen save for a few quotes and a wrap-up of the weekend’s arrests.

“The show ended Monday morning when the rain brought down the roof, or at least the canvas cover of the stage, where Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were due to wind up a full 24 hours of the official picnic,” states a short article from this newspaper. As the exodus departed Monday morning, “This was a fine concert,” one person said, and added that the only bad part was the loss of a “$90 cowboy hat.”

Out of 85,000 or-so people, just 147 were arrested by the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office and DPS. The only death was of Paul Lenden Boatright, 26, of Pasadena, who drowned while swimming in the stock tank.

As Willie Nelson creeps through his 80s, he appears to not have lost a beat, though his shows may have mellowed out a bit in scope. One can only imagine what he has to say about his Gonzales stay, but he’s not able to slow down long enough to comment, as he prepares for his latest Picnic in Fort Worth. Plenty of Gonzaleans have their memories though, and most comments have been positive.

While the wild, outlaw days of picnics past may be behind us, some artist may come along that revives the spirit of a grand outdoor concert on one of our most special holidays. While it is impossible to imagine the bro-country crowd of Luke Bryan or Blake Shelton having the vision to pull something like this off, perhaps a reunited Cross Canadian Ragweed or a dedicated Pat Green could carry the mantle of 4th of July Picnics far into the future.

Maybe those of us who want to experience a little rain and mud with our country music and 85,000 of our closest friends have something to look forward to. But for the collective peace of all, maybe it shouldn’t be held in Gonzales County next time.