Margo Price recalls Thanksgiving with Willie Nelson & Kris Kristofferson, collaborating with heroes
By: Ian Saint
As America celebrates its 250th anniversary this weekend, Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival is presenting a firework just for Texas. Her name is Margo Price.
She’s a darling of the Americana music scene; and when last autumn’s Americana Music Honors & Awards at Nashville’s “mother church” Ryman Auditorium was hosted by John C. Reilly, he duetted Willie’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” with Margo. This year, she is nominated for Artist Of The Year; and her Hard Headed Woman record is nominated for Album Of The Year.
Buddy Magazine has been covering Willie’s 4th of July picnic since its very first edition in 1973, which you can peruse in our debut issue. This year, the picnic is preceded by the Outlaw Music Festival launching at Irving’s Toyota Music Factory on Friday. In addition to Margo Price, the line-up supporting Willie includes Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Lukas Nelson, Stephen Wilson Jr., and Lily Meola — who starts playing at 2 PM.
On the same day, Price drops her Days of Unrest mixtape, which includes her and Joan Baez covering Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos)” with the Memphis Mariachi. Guthrie’s legendary 1948 composition commemorated the 28 migrant farm workers who perished with four Americans in an overcrowded plane.
Price spoke with Buddy Magazine’s Ian Saint on the Americana Honors red carpet last September. A transcript of their conversation, edited for length and clarity, follows.
IAN SAINT: Hello, Margo!
MARGO PRICE: How are you? It’s good to see you.
IAN SAINT: I’m doing well, but it’s an exciting night for you with the big duet. What are your thoughts going into that?
MARGO PRICE: Oh, my goodness. I’m so happy that we are singing a Willie Nelson song, because he is a guiding light for me. And I love singing with John. I met him nine years ago at Third Man Records. (TMR is owned by Jack White. Catch my Buddy cover story conversation with Jack White here.) We got to sing and it’s been so much fun.
IAN SAINT: I thought of you when Kris Kristofferson died recently, because you posted those sweet pictures of you with Willie and Kris during Kris’s final Thanksgiving. That was probably our final glimpse of Kris, and it was such a wonderful last look at him. Kris and Willie have such long arcs in music, and you met them in their 80s. How have they inspired you in that stage of their lives?
MARGO PRICE: Watching Willie continue to hone in his craft and be incredibly prolific, constantly keep moving, and putting out records is so inspiring to me. Kris, too — he performed even after he was really struggling with his memory, but being able to see him sing and still connect to the song really shows the power of music. I felt very honored to be able to spend time with him, and have Thanksgiving with them. We listened to Willie’s unreleased album. It was very surreal.
IAN SAINT: And in Hawaii, of all places.
MARGO PRICE: Yeah, in Hawaii of all places. I’m going to go back and spend Thanksgiving with the Nelsons this year, too. It’s become a tradition for us.
IAN SAINT: You didn’t grow up in Hawaii, of course. You grew up in Illinois. I think people underestimate how huge Illinois truly is, and how much of Illinois is rural and so far from Chicago.
MARGO PRICE: Totally.
IAN SAINT: How did your hometown of Aledo influence your artistry?
MARGO PRICE: I still feel such a deep connection to where I’m from, and the Midwest in general. I meet people from the Midwest all over — they’re the hardest working, most kind people. And yeah, my hometown was very desolate — it still is — but it was kind of a gift: I was focusing a lot on music, because there was so much boredom. There wasn’t much to do, besides listening to the radio and CDs, in my car driving on gravel roads. I love my hometown so much, and it’s a big piece of who I am.
IAN SAINT: So when you go back — having done things like singing with John C. Reilly on this program they’ll see on PBS — do folks there tell you what that means to them, as an Aledo ambassador?
MARGO PRICE: Absolutely. I drive into the town and it says “Home of Country Music Star, Margo Price” (in addition to Suzy Bogguss). People there are so proud of me, and I’m truly a celebrity. It’s 3,000 people, and everybody there is just so humble; and it keeps me humble when I go back and visit, that’s for sure.
IAN SAINT: I have to ask about your outfit, and the way it matches your eyes. I’m so struck by it.
MARGO PRICE: Thank you. This was made by my friend Sarie (Jukebox Mama), and she is an incredible seamstress. This is my “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” suit, cause we’re going to sing that.
IAN SAINT: Gosh, did she gaze at your eyes when she made the colors? They match very well.
MARGO PRICE: Yeah, they matched it in there with my hair and makeup girls. It’s fun to be able to further express yourself through your fashion.
IAN SAINT: I’m thinking about the breadth of Americana. We were talking about your small Illinois hometown, but also your experiences in Hawaii with Kris and Willie. John Fogerty — who’s closing tonight’s show — grew up in California, yet songs reminding of the Bayou have become one of his trademarks. What does “Americana” mean to you?
MARGO PRICE: “Americana”, when you look up the term, it’s “of America” — it’s American music, and there are so many things that fit under that category. I think it’s really a place where real instruments, real songs, and real storytelling can exist; and I’m so grateful that there is a space for that. Pop music gets a lot of love, and I’m not here to hate on it by any means — I’ve listened to pop music — but I think Americana feels like home for me, that’s for sure.
IAN SAINT: Do you have a favorite John Fogerty song?
MARGO PRICE: Oh my gosh, like, all of them. I actually had a dog named Creedence — my first dog that I ever got on my own, when I was 20 years old and moved to Nashville. I couldn’t figure out what to name him. We were driving and “Susie Q” came on the radio; her perked up, so I named him Creedence. I used to cover this song called “Wrote a Song For Everyone.” It’s a deep cut (from Green River), and it’s one of my favorite songs. I love John Fogerty so much.
IAN SAINT: What’s one of your favorite deep cuts of your own? Maybe one that’s not near the top of streaming numbers, but…
MARGO PRICE: Absolutely. This song that’s about the Midwest, called “Nowhere is Where,” on my new album, Hard Headed Woman. That song means the most to me and it’s definitely not the one that’s going to get the most radio play or anything. I hope people will go listen to it.
IAN SAINT: You’ve had so many dream collaborations. Which stand out as the most surreal for you?
MARGO PRICE: Oh, my goodness. I mean, Mavis Staples singing one of our songs was really wild. Emmylou Harris. Willie Nelson recorded on one of my records. I’ve collaborated with Joan Baez and Rosanne Cash; I got to sing on Lucinda Williams’ last record. It’s truly unreal that I’ve been able to meet so many of my legends. I love my heroes so much — I just pinch myself all the time.
Americanafest 2026 takes place from Tuesday to Saturday, September 15-19; with the Americana Honors taping on Wednesday, September 16. For conference passes and award show tickets, visit https://americanamusic.org/. For Margo Price tour dates and tickets, visit her official website: https://www.margoprice.net. For Outlaw Music Festival 2026 tour dates and tickets, visit https://blackbirdpresents.com/concert/outlaw-music-festival-tour-2026.
