Flagship story 04 · August 13-25, 2013
The founding guitarist remembers hearing a song from his family home on Willie Nelson’s stage. The opening run brought those two parts of his life into the same room.
Evidence and scope · firsthand account
The route is documented. The surviving shared-stage photograph confirms the broader Willie Nelson context but does not identify the exact night or song.
The memoir supplies the participant narrative; the personal chronology lists nine Willie dates, including Las Vegas, Pozo, and Boise. A contemporary November 2013 interview states that Nelson shared the stage with the band. The photograph corroborates that moment, but its exact date, venue, song, and photographer remain unresolved.
4 sources · firsthand account
Las Vegas · August 13, 2013
The song arrived before the introduction
The founding guitarist remembers hearing Willie Nelson open with “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” a song connected to music in his family home. His personal chronology places the opening date in Las Vegas.
- Supported by
- Personal chronology and attributed memory
- Still open
- No photograph or set list yet connects the song to the Las Vegas date
Evidence notes
The founding guitarist remembers hearing Willie Nelson open with “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” a song connected to music in his family home. The personal chronology supports the Las Vegas opening date; the emotional and family context remains his attributed memory.
That distinction strengthens the scene. The itinerary establishes where the band was. The participant account explains why one song carried more weight than the schedule could record.
2 sources · section evidence
The Willie Nelson run · exact night unresolved
Called back to one microphone
Members of The Wild Feathers gather at a microphone while Willie Nelson performs at the edge of the photograph.
The exact night and song remain unknown; the frame belongs to the broader Willie Nelson run.
- Supported by
- Photograph, itinerary, and contemporary interview
- Still open
- Exact date, venue, song, and photographer remain open
Evidence notes
A surviving frame shows members of The Wild Feathers gathered at a microphone while Willie Nelson performs at the edge of the image. Contemporary reporting supports the shared-stage context.
The photograph cannot by itself identify Las Vegas, the song, or the exact date. Its strength is narrower and sufficient: it proves that the musical exchange remembered from the run entered the visible record.
Research still open
The story stops where the evidence stops.
- Identify the shared-stage photograph's date, venue, song, and photographer.
- Locate set lists, backstage passes, settlement sheets, or participant photographs from the nine-date run.