This one just never gets old.
Over the weekend, Willie Nelson put on his 40th annual Farm Aid fundraiser in Minneapolis, Minnesota which featured performances from John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews as well as Bob Dylan, Margo Price, Kenny Chesney, Billy Strings and more.
But possibly the highlight of the evening was when Willie and his son, Lukas, performed a duet of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe,” which was originally released in 2009 as the second single from the band’s ninth studio album, Backspacer. A solo write by frontman Eddie Vedder, it peaked at #6 on the U.S. Billboard Alternative chart, which makes it the band’s highest-charting follow-up single since “Wishlist” in 1998.
Willie and Lukas initially recorded their duet of it in 2012 for Willie’s Heroes album, and it has been one of my all-time favorites ever since. And actually, on an old episode of Willie’s Roadhouse, Vedder likened their rendition to:
“Smoking a great joint without all the coughing or the smoke.”
He also went so far as to say that having them record his song was:
“Best contribution to music so far.”
Lukas accompanied his father for his headlining set, as he does pretty often, and I will never get tired of hearing them sing this song together. It’s so special, especially considering that Willie is still able to join his son onstage at 92-years old.
It’s a treasure that Willie continues to tour and perform the way that he does, and his lasting dedication to supporting farmers for so many decades is truly impressive.
The full performance is available to watch here:
Willie recently wrapped up his extensive 2025 Outlaw Music Festival Tour, and he’s gearing up to put out his tribute album to Merle Haggard, Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle, on Friday, November 7th.
If features 11 country classics penned by the Hag, himself, of course including hits like “Silver Wings,” “Okie From Muskogee,” “Swingin’ Doors,” and many more. Willie and Merle were longtime friends who released a handful collaborative albums together including 1983’s Pancho and Lefty, 1987’s Seashores of Old Mexico, 2007’s Last Of The Breed (alongside Ray Price) and 2015’s Django and Jimmie.
