Pink spray paint covered the base of the bronze statue, located in front of the ACL live music venue
Oh, the humanity. An eight-foot bronze statue of Willie Nelson in Austin, Texas, was vandalized over the weekend, Austin's Fox affiliate reported. Much of the statue's base was covered in hot pink spray on Friday — to which we can only ask, “Why?”
Local cleaning crews rushed to remove the paint and clean the statue after the vandalism. Austin police had not responded The Rolling Stones request for comment Monday about possible suspects or whether the vandals had been arrested.
Nelson has been synonymous with the city of Austin since the 1970s. Born in Abbott, Texas, Nelson tried to make a name for himself in Nashville in the 1960s before moving to Austin in 1972, where he embraced the city's hippie-cowboy culture and her counterculture music venue, Armadillo World Headquarters, and helped launch the Outlaw Country movement. In 2010, the city honored Nelson by renaming Second Street downtown Willie Nelson Blvd. Nelson's bronze statue has stood outside the ACL Live venue in downtown Austin on Willie Nelson Blvd for over a decade, unveiled on 4/20/2012 – an appropriate date given Nelson's reputation as a prolific smoker.
Nelson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame late last year, with Chris Stapleton, Dave Matthews and bandmate Sheryl Crow taking the stage for his induction. At 90, Nelson remains active on the live circuit and will continue to tour throughout 2024.
Last week, the singer's annual Luck Reunion was announced, with Nelson headlining alongside performances by Tyler Childers, Old Crow Medicine Show and Madi Diaz during South By Southwest next month. Earlier this year, Nelson released a new duet with Charley Crockett, “That's What Makes The World Go Around.”
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/willie-nelson-statue-vandalized-austin-1234975863/
