Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic is happening in Camden on July 4

Willie Nelson will celebrate July 4 in Philadelphia.

Well in Camden, actually.

Willie Nelson’s iconic 4th of July Picnic will be held on the East Coast (at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion) for the first time since the celebrated American music legend originated the festival in Dripping Springs, Texas, in 1973.

And in terms of legendary acts, it’s not just the Red Headed Stranger. The full bill for the all-day show includes Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Maren Morris, Mavis Staples and Celisse.

“I am thrilled to bring the 4th of July Picnic to Philadelphia for the first time in our storied history,” Nelson, who turns 91 next month, said in a news release. “It’s an honor to host such an extraordinary lineup of talent in the birthplace of our country. We can’t wait to celebrate Independence Day with you.”

This year, Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic, coupled with the Roots Picnic at the Mann Center a month earlier, sets up a two-Picnic summer in the Philadelphia area. This iteration of Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic is a juiced-up version of the Outlaw Music Festival, a touring event that Nelson has brought to either the Mann Center or the Pavilion in Camden for the past several summers.

The 2024 Outlaw fest is playing close-to-Philly shows in Holmdel, N.J. on June 30 and Hershey on July 7. Those dates are stacked with legends with Nelson, Dylan, and the magical pairing of Led Zeppelin’s Plant and bluegrass fiddler and singer Krauss, plus Celisse, the hotshot guitarist who has toured with Lizzo and pays homage to Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

The Camden Picnic adds to that embarrassment of riches with gospel great Staples — who, fun fact, Dylan once proposed to — and Morris, the country pop singer who’s a member of the Americana supergroup The Highwomen and is currently the most popular act on the bill, in terms of chart-topping hits and Spotify streams.

Plant and Krauss released their second collaborative album, Raise the Roof, in 2021. Their first, Raising Sand, won album of the year at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Dylan most recently played the Fillmore in Philadelphia on his “Rough & Rowdy Ways” tour in November. The latest album by Staples, whose powerful voice anchored the family band the Staple Singers, is We Get By, produced by Ben Harper.

The amazingly active Nelson has a new album, The Border, due May 31 on Legacy Recordings. It includes four new songs that Nelson cowrote with Buddy Cannon, plus a title song penned by Rodney Crowell. The album includes liner notes by Mikal Gilmore and photos by Pamela Springsteen.

Tickets go on sale via presale at citientertainment.com at 10 a.m. March 26, and then go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. March 29 via Ticketmaster.com.