Kacey Musgraves shared a cover of Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” while Nelson himself performed the country standard “Beautiful Texas,” during Matthew McConaughey’s “We’re Texas” fundraiser on Sunday, March 21st.
Musgraves’ performance begins at the 1:26:23 mark, with the musician explaining how she got involved in the fundraiser: “The other night I got a phone call when it was kind of getting late, and I don’t answer unknown numbers but, for some reason, I did. And it was Matthew, and he was like, ‘Hey Kacey, want to be part of this thing I’m doing? It’s gonna be really cool!’ Obviously it was a, ‘Hell yes,’ from me.” She added, “Anything I can do to support and lend a hand to my wonderful fellow Texans, I’m there for it and I’m all about it.”
Musgraves then slid a capo on her guitar and, with a nod to Nelson, whom she called the “patron saint,” jumped into “On the Road Again.” The performance had a breezy ease, though there was still a bit of wistful poignancy as live music and touring remain just out of reach due to the pandemic.
As for Nelson himself, he appeared at the 24:57 mark of the show, performing “Beautiful Texas” on guitar with just a bit of piano accompaniment. Nelson first recorded “Beautiful Texas” for his 1968 tribute album to the Lone Star state, Texas in My Soul; the song itself was notably written by W. Lee O’Daniel, who served as Texas’ Governor and Senator from the late-1930s through the 1940s.
The “We’re Texas” benefit is available to watch in full, and also featured performances from Texas artists like Post Malone (who covered Sturgill Simpson’s “You Can Have the Crown” with Dwight Yokam’s band), Don Henley, Gary Clark Jr., Khalid, Kirk Franklin, and more. The benefit raised money for McConaughey’s Just Keep Livin’ Foundation and its Texas Relief Fund, which is aiding organizations around the state helping those still in need after the recent winter storms in Texas.
From Rolling Stone US
