Why would Willie Nelson take his Fourth of July Picnic to New Jersey? An expert weighs in

In 2007, Willie Nelson announced his Picnic was going to be held in Washington State, at the Gorge Amphitheatre – about 1,500 miles from the Texas border. The uproar was immediate.

"The first time ever outside of Texas!" publications breathlessly reported. The poster and the Picnic's advertising even proclaimed as much.

“Calm down,” Texas Monthly told us Texans. “It's not the first one outside Texas.” The 1983 Picnic, Texas Monthly said, was held in New Jersey.

Well, here we are again.

It was announced on Tuesday that this year's Fourth Of July Picnic – a somewhat-annual tradition dating back a half-century – was going to be held in Philadelphia. Or, technically, at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey.

Texans are aghast all over again. But for a bunch who still remember the Alamo, Texans can have selectively short memories. Let’s take it from the top.

What is the Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic?

In 1973, Willie Nelson – inspired by the failed 1972 Dripping Springs Reunion – decided to hold his own music festival. He held the first Picnic at the same ranch outside Dripping Springs and despite no small measure of chaos, somehow put together a legendary event. It was huge in the 1970s – up to 80,000 attended the 1976 Picnic in Gonzales. It shrank after that, but never went away. At least not for more than a couple years at a time.

Isn’t it always in the Austin area?

If you’re new to Austin, you might think so. It was held at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack east of town for five years from 2015 through 2019. Then after a COVID virtual Picnic and a year off, it was held at the Q2 soccer stadium the last couple years. But the fact is, it has been all over Texas including College Station in 1974, a five-year stretch in Luckenbach from 1995-1999 and seven years in Fort Worth.

But at least it’s always in Texas, right?

Not so. What Texas Monthly didn’t tell us in 2007 was that the first Picnic outside of Texas was in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1977. In 1978, there were three Picnics between July 1 and July 4th, including one in Kansas City with the Grateful Dead. And 1983? That year also featured a trio of Picnics: In Syracuse on July 2, at Giants Stadium in New Jersey on July 3 and in Atlanta on July 4th. In 2009, Willie was on a ballpark tour with Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp and the July 4th show was in South Bend, Indiana. Dylan gave Willie the closing spot and they advertised it as a Picnic.

Why do they say it’s in Philadelphia when the actual show is in Camden, New Jersey?

I can’t help you here. Everything I know about Philadelphia I could write on my forehead in crayon, so I'm not sure how Camden counts as Philadelphia.

Why are you not surprised by this?

This was pretty predictable. When Willie released the schedule for the Outlaw Music Festival a few weeks ago, there was a "Picnic gap" in the performances — but not much of one. The tour had dates in Mansfield, Massachusetts, on July 2 and Bethel, New York, on July 6. Yes, a 91-year-old Willie could have hopped on a plane, flown to Texas with his aging crew, done a traditional Texas Picnic and flown back, but that was never likely.

Bob Dylan at a Picnic? Is that weird?

Actually, not so much. In addition to the 2009 pseudo-Picnic, Dylan performed at the Picnic in Fort Worth in 2005. It was a really weird moment watching Billy Joe Shaver and Dylan perform back-to-back – two great songwriters from opposite sides of the universe. And the rumor that Bob Dylan was going to perform at the inaugural 1973 Picnic helped fuel hype about that show.

Is this a real Picnic?

That’s up to you to decide. For years, the Picnic was defined by the crew of “regulars” that often joined the event: Ray Price, Johnny Bush, Leon Russell, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Billy Joe Shaver, David Allan Coe, Asleep at the Wheel, the Geezinslaws … the list goes on. Some appeared more frequently than others, but the Picnic was essentially an annual reunion of Willie and his closest friends. The problem, you see, is that Willie has outlived most of them. Willie’s children and his new friends have helped fill that void and the Picnic continues, though this year, like 2007 and 2009, it doesn’t feature any of Willie’s surviving Texas buddies. One thing for sure, is that it might yet return to Texas next year. Just as it has over the decades.

Really? At 92 years old?

Yep. With Willie, it’s never over until it’s over.

Dave Dalton Thomas has researched the Picnic for more than 20 years. His book, “Picnic: Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Tradition,” will be released April 15 by Texas A&M University Press. Preview the book and see book signing dates at davetexas.com

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Has Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic ever left Texas? We explain.