Willie Nelson keeps living the life he loves at 92. 'I'm not through with it yet'

Willie Nelson's 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl could have been mistaken for a retirement party.

But two years later at 92, he's working as much as ever. Not that retirement would look much different. The life he loves is making music with his friends, even after outliving so many dear ones.

Nelson will be on the road again with Bob Dylan when the Outlaw Music Festival resumes for the second leg of its 10th year starting on June 20 in Clarkston, Michigan

Asked if he’d ever like his life to get the feature film treatment that Dylan did last year with “A Complete Unknown, ” Nelson said, “I’ve heard some talk about it. But I'm not through with it yet.”

Nelson spoke to The Associated Press in a phone interview from Hawaii's Oahu.

“Bob's a good friend,” Nelson said. “And I'll be glad to let him headline.”

The tour is one part of a loaded year. It'll lead right up to the 40th anniversary of Farm Aid in September. This spring, Nelson released his 77th studio album. And he's added a new THC tonic, Willie's Remedy+, to his wide world of weed products.

Nelson has always loved singing the songs of his friends as much as if not more than the ones he writes himself. In 1979, he released “Willie Nelson Sings Kristofferson,” a full album of the work of his friend Kris Kristofferson, who died last year.

He has similar love for the songs of his friend Rodney Crowell. Nelson has long performed Crowell's “Til I Gain Control Again,” which he called “one of the best country songs that I think I've ever heard.” Now he's released a whole album of Crowell tunes, “Oh What a Beautiful World.”

“So far he hasn’t written one that I don’t like,” Nelson said.

The album comes on the 50th anniversary of “Red Headed Stranger,” the album that many consider Nelson's masterpiece. A breakthrough for him at age 42, it took him from respected journeyman to beloved superstar.

Nelson said he's already begun work on album number 78, but declines to share its direction.

As Nelson returns to the road, the only surviving member of the classic lineup of his Family band is Mickey Raphael, 73, whose harmonica has duetted for decades with the Willie warble.

Bassist Bee Spears died in 2011. Guitarist and backup singer Jody Payne died in 2013. Drummer Paul English died in 2020. And Nelson's sister Bobbie Nelson, his only sibling and his piano player, died in 2022.

But the band he takes on the road now is just as familial in its own way. It often includes his sons Lukas and Micah. English's brother Billy plays the drums. The son of Payne and singer Sammi Smith, Waylon Payne, plays guitar.

They collectively keep up with Nelson's wants and whims on stage. One thing the live show never includes is a set list. He refuses to use them. Band members — and sound guys, and lighting guys — have to stay on their toes and be ready for anything.

“I’d rather play it off the top of my head, because I can read the crowd pretty good,” Nelson said. “They jump in there.”

The list-less set lately has included classics like “Whiskey River” (always the opener, no guessing to be done there,) and “Bloody Mary Morning” along with newer adoptees like Tom Waits' “Last Leaf,” a song that perfectly expresses Nelson's survivor status.

“I'm the last leaf on the tree,” Nelson sings in the song that leads his 2024 album of the same name. “The autumn took the rest, but it won't take me.”

“My son Micah found that for me,” Nelson said. “I really love the song, and the audience likes it, it’s one of the real good ones.”

He's also been performing songs written by Micah, who records and performs as Particle Kid.

One favorite, “Everything Is B- - - - - -t,” seems to stand in contrast to the gospel standards like “I'll Fly Away” and “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” that he often plays a few minutes later. Willie disagrees.

“It's all gospel,” he says with a laugh.

September will bring the 40th anniversary addition of Farm Aid, the annual festival to support family farmers, which Nelson founded with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, He performs there annually. It was inspired by one-off charity concerts like “Live Aid,” but became an annual institution, rotating each year to a different farm-adjacent city. It's in Minneapolis this year.

Asked his favorite, he said, “They’ve all been good, for different reasons. The first one was great, the last one was great.”

This story was first published June 12, 2025. It was updated on June 18, 2025, to correct that Micah Nelson’s stage name is Particle Kid, not Particle Boy.

FILE - Willie Nelson performs at New York's Radio City Music Hall Thursday night in the first of six sold-out concerts, May 25, 1984. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

FILE - This Nov. 20, 2012 file photo shows country music legend Willie Nelson on NBC's "Today" show in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Willie Nelson performs at Farm Aid 30 in Chicago on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Bobbie Nelson performs at the Heartbreaker Banquet on March 19, 2015, in Spicewood, TX. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Willie Nelson, left, and Kris Kristofferson perform on stage at the 56th annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 26, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Musician Willie Nelson performing ahead of event for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Houston, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

PARIS (AP) — A Paris court is to rule on Monday in a case involving 10 people accused of cyberbullying French first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, allegations her daughter said damaged her health and family life.

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 60, are accused of posting “numerous malicious comments” falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron ’s wife was born a man and linking the 24-year age gap with her husband to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October.

Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the “deterioration” of her mother’s life since the online harassment intensified. “She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” Auzière told the court. She said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.

Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is known as Amandine Roy and describes herself as a medium and an author, is considered as having played a major role in spreading the rumor after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021.

The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations.

Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted. They face up to two years in prison if convicted.

The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.

The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Brigitte Macron, 24 years her husband’s senior, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three.

Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been France’s president since 2017.

FILE - French President's wife Brigitte Macron arrives ahead of the ceremony outside "La Belle Equipe" bar, Thursday Nov. 13, 2025 in Paris as part of ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of terrorist attacks. (Ludovic Marin, Pool photo via AP, File)