Willie Nelson covers Beck, Flaming Lips & more on new LP, shares rendition of Tom Waits’ “Last Leaf”

At 91 years old, Willie Nelson keeps heading out on the road again (his Outlaw Music Festival tour resumes in September) and also he keeps releasing new albums. He’s just announced his 153rd album overall (and his 76th solo studio album), Last Leaf on The Tree, due out on November 1 via Legacy Recordings. His son Micah Nelson produced it, his first time producing his father’s music, and he says he took a “sculptor’s approach” to it. “It’s an approach that I really love and have used a lot over the years — just throwing the clay down and stepping back, then maybe adding a little more, and then maybe shaving down here, and kind of building the tracks that way,” Micah, who played more than two dozen instruments on the album, said.

Last Leaf on the Tree includes renditions of songs by Neil Young, Keith Richards, Nina Simone, Warren Zevon and Jorge Calderón, Beck, The Flaming Lips, and more. Willie’s version of Tom Waits‘ “Last Leaf” is out now, and you can hear it below.

Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, and Southern Avenue join Willie on the next leg of his Outlaw Music Festival tour, and he’s also playing the 2024 Farm Aid festival. See all dates below.

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WILLIE NELSON – LAST LEAF ON THE TREE TRACKLIST
1. Last Leaf (written by Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan)
2. If It Wasn’t Broken (written by Sydney Lyndella Ward)
3. Lost Cause (written by Beck David Hansen)
4. Come Ye (written by Nina Simone)
5. Keep Me In Your Heart (written by Warren Zevon & Jorge Calderon)
6. Robbed Blind (written by Keith Richards)
7. House Where Nobody Lives (written by Tom Waits)
8. Are You Ready For The Country? (written by Neil Young)
9. Do You Realize?? (written by Wayne Coyne/Steven Drozd/Michael Ivins/David Fridmann)
10. Wheels (written by Micah Nelson)
11. Broken Arrow (written by Neil Young)
12. Color Of Sound (written by Willie Nelson & Micah Nelson)
13. The Ghost (written by Willie Nelson)

OUTLAW MUSIC FESTIVAL: 2024 TOUR DATES
Friday, September 6, 2024
Somerset Amphitheater, Somerset, WI
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue

Saturday, September 7, 2024
Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue

Sunday, September 8, 2024
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, St. Louis, MO
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue

Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue

Thursday, September 12, 2024
Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue

Saturday, September 14, 2024
The Pavilion at Star Lake, Burgettstown, PA
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue

Sunday, September 15, 2024
Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue

Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Darien Lake Amphitheater, Buffalo, NY
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue

Friday, September 20, 2024
BankNH Pavilion
Willie Nelson & Family
Bob Dylan
John Mellencamp
Southern Avenue