Country music legend Willie Nelson played private party in Sonoma

Just after dark on Saturday night country music legend Willie Nelson started to sing at an estate on Lovall Valley Road and Seventh Street East in Sonoma. The private event was for about 150 guests and staff of Farm to Pantry – a countywide nonprofit that brings fresh produce to needy families.

Much of that produce is grown at Sonoma’s Haystack Farms, and the private concert was part of the second annual “Haystack Farm Harvest.” At their first harvest celebration in 2021, Emmylou Harris performed a surprise concert.

Nancy Pelosi was there, too. Pelosi is a Bay Area congresswoman and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. While calls to her congressional offices were not returned by deadline people coming out after the party confirmed she was inside.

Two or three songs into his set, Nelson’s deep, gravelly voice rang out with the opening lyrics of “On the Road Again,” perhaps Nelson’s greatest hit ever.

Nelson’s private gig was the talk of the dog walking trail well before he came onstage. Huge music and stage production trucks could be seen along Seventh Street East all day long, adding credence to his rumored appearance.

So after dark, a dog walking friend and I met up on Lovall Valley Road and Seventh Street East. We were not invited guests, so she brought folding chairs and we sat on the side of the road, just off a vineyard. Another eight or so people who had heard about the event also came to listen outside.

It was great.

Nelson played for about one hour and 10 minutes. And even though perhaps five football fields away from actually seeing him, hearing him play rocked the night.

Marty Orgel is a correspondent with the Napa Valley Register and a freelance reporter for the Index-Tribune. He (usually) reports in Napa and lives in Sonoma.