Willie Watson Joins Alison Krauss and Union Station on Spring 2025 Tour
WILLIE WATSON
TO SUPPORT ALISON KRAUSS AND UNION STATION
ON MAJOR 2025 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
SELF-TITLED ALBUM - OUT NOW!
Today, the singer-songwriter, poet, actor, and multi-instrumentalist Willie Watson has been announced as support on all dates of Alison Krauss and Union Station’s 2025 North American tour. The run kicks off on April 25th, 2025 in Atlanta, GA and will continue on until the end of September. The five-month tour will snake throughout the US and Canada and highlights include The Beacon Theatre in New York City on September 12th as well as a stop at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL on June 7th, The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on July 13th and The Allied Music Center at Massey Hall in Toronto, ON on August 19th. Presale begins Thursday, December 5th with wide on-sale taking place this Friday, December 6th at 10AM Local Time. Find tickets HERE and the full list of tour dates below.
The tour comes on the heels of his latest release - Willie Watson - his first-ever solo album of original material - over 20 years into his career. The collection of songs is honest and potent, an unadorned reflection of Watson’s life, his mistakes, his traumas, and his gratitude to still be here, to still be alive, and to still be loved. It's the type of record that can’t come early in one’s career and was won after a life of hard battles and difficult lessons. The former founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show has been a part of numerous musical projects, soundtracks, and films. Willie Watson is out everywhere now, via Little Operation Records (Thirty Tigers). LISTEN TO THE ALBUM HERE.
Willie Watson has spent most of his musical career as a favorite of musicians in the know. As an inspiring and eccentric character, a remarkable player, and a human who looks at the world differently, Watson attracted a who’s who of collaborators throughout his career including Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, John Prine, John C. Reilly, Sara and Sean Watkins and so many more. Watson has always battled his own self-diminishment and only now has decided to allow a body of work of his own to be released into the world. “After 30 years of playing music professionally - this is my debut album. This record is me beating the devil, or the story of what finally did it anyway. I didn’t make any specific pact or anything but I know we’ve been tangled up most of my life. Now that he’s gone I can love myself again,” says Watson of the record.
Watson recorded the album in Los Angeles with producers Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers) and Kenneth Pattengale (Milk Carton Kids) and with a crack band of players including Paul Kowert on bass (Punch Brothers), Dylan Day on guitar (Jenny Lewis, Nick Hakim), Benmont Tench on keys (The Heartbreakers), Jason Boesel on drums (Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis), and new massive talent Sami Braman on fiddle. Watson shared early tracks including the first single “Real Love” and its stunning companion music video, “Slim and The Devil” and “Already Gone."
Willie Watson was born and raised in upstate New York where he started the earliest iterations of his musical life while still in high school. As a teenager, Watson and Ketch Secor co-founded Old Crow Medicine Show - a group of remarkable players obsessed with early American traditional music. He remained in the band as one of its main creative forces until he departed in 2011. Watson appeared in Joel and Ethan Cohen’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs in the role of The Kid and also as a part of the soundtrack, performing with Tim Blake Nelson on the Oscar-nominated “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings.” He also appears on the soundtracks for the Coen Brothers Hail, Caesar! and Live By Night. Watson previously released two albums of covers, Folk Singer Vol.1 and Folksinger Vol 2.
TOUR DATES:
2024
+ with special guest Viv & Riley
Dec 3 - Nashville, TN - Basement East +
Dec 4 - Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle Music Hall +
Dec 6 - Washington DC - Union Stage +
Dec 7 - Charlottesville, Va - The Southern +
Dec 8 - Ardmore, PA - Ardmore Music Hall +
Dec 10 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair +
Dec 12 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom +
Dec 13 - Woodstock, NY - Levon Helm Studios +
Dec 14 - Ithaca, NY - Hangar Theatre +
2025
UK Tour Dates
Jan 25 - Nottingham, England - The Bodega Social Club
Jan 26 - Leeds, UK - The Old Woollen
Jan 27 - Liverpool, UK - Leaf
Jan 28 - Glasgow, UK - Cottiers Theatre
Jan 30 - Manchester, England - Night & Day Cafe
Jan 31 - Bristol, UK - Thekla
Feb 1 - London, UK - 100 Club
US Tour Dates
^ Supporting Alison Krauss and Union Station
Mar 21 - Raleigh, NC - A.J. Fletcher Opera Theatre
Apr 25 - Atlanta, GA - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park^
Apr 26 - Wilmington, NC - Live Oak Bank Pavillion^
Apr 27 - Cary, NC - Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park^
Apr 29 - Augusta, GA - The Bell Auditorium^
Apr 30 - Tallahassee, FL - The Adderley Amphitheater^
May 2 - Orange Beach, AL - The Wharf Amphitheater
May 3 - Brandon, MS - Brandon Amphitheater^
May 4 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Concert Hall
May 6 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre - Memphis^
May 12 - Little Rock, AR - First Security Amphitheater^
May 13 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Criterion^
May 15 - Maryland Heights, MO - Saint Louis Music Park^
May 16 - Rogers, AR - Walmart Arkansas Music Pavillion^
May 17 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theater^
May 29 - Sugar Land, TX - Smart Financial Centre^
May 30 - New Braunfels, TX - Whitewater Amphitheatre^
May 31 - Irving, TX - The Pavillion at Toyota Music Factory^
June 3- Cincinnati, OH - PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center^
June 4 - Decatur, IL - Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater^
June 5 - Milwaukee, WI - BMO Pavilion^
June 7 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater^
June 8 - Waite Park, MN - The Ledge Waite Park Amphitheater^
June 10 - Mankato, MN - Vetter Stone Amphitheater^
June 11- Duluth, MN - Bayfront Festival Park^
June 13 - Cedar Rapids, IA - McGrath Amphitheatre^
June 14 - Sioux Falls, SD - Sioux Falls Convention Center - Denny Sanford Premier Center^
June 15 - La Vista, NE - The Astro - Outdoor Amphitheater^
June 16 - Park City, KS - Hartman Arena^
June 18 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre^
June 20 - Dillon, CO - Lake Dillon Amphitheatre^
June 21 - Taos, NM - Kit Carson Park^
June 25-28 - Owensboro, KY - ROMP Festival
July 11 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre^
July 12 - San Diego, CA - The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park^
July 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre^
July 15 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl^
July 16 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery^
July 18 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort and Casino^
July 19 - Redding, CA - Redding Civic Auditorium - Lawn^
July 20 - Troutdale, OR - Edgefield Amphitheater^
July 22 - Walla Walla, WA - Wine Country Amphitheater^
July 23 - Boise, ID - Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden^
July 26 - Bozeman, MT - Theater at The Brick^
July 27 - Airway Heights, WA - Northern Quest Resort & Casino - Pend Oreille Pavillion^
July 29 - Tsuut'ina, AB - Grey Eagle Resort and Casino - Event Centre^
July 31 - Saskatoon, SK - TCU Place^
Aug 1 - Winnipeg, MB - Centennial Concert Hall^
Aug 19 - Toronto, ON - Allied Music Centre - Massey Hall^
Aug 21 - Indianapolis, IN - Everwise Amphitheater^
Aug 22 - Nashville, TN - Riverfront Park - Ascend Amphitheater^
Aug 23 - Knoxville, TN - The Tennessee Theatre^
Aug 24 - Knoxville, TN - The Tennessee Theatre^
Aug 26 - Chattanooga, TN - Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium^
Aug 28 - Virginia Beach, VA - Virginia Beach Dome^
Aug 29 - Richmond, VA - Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront^
Sept 6 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill^
Sept 7 - Cleveland, OH - Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica^
Sept 9 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts - Filene Center^
Sept 10 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia^
Sept 12 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre^
Sept 16 - Providence, RI - Veteran's Memorial Auditorium^
Sept 17 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion^
Sept 19 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion^
Sept 20 - Shelburne, VT - The Green at Shelburne Museum^
Sept 21 - Lewiston, NY - Artpark Amphitheater^
Sept 23 - Salem, VA - Salem Civic Center^
Sept 24 - Charleston, SC - Credit One Stadium^
Sept 26 - St. Augustine, FL - The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre - Backyard Stage^
Sept 27 - Clearwater, FL - Coachman Park - The BayCare Sound^
Sept 28 - Davie, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live^
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