It’s no secret that musician Willie Nelson is a cannabis lover. Nelson fostered a similarly weed-friendly fanbase over his career, and anyone attending his shows over the decades could guarantee to find fellow fans using cannabis freely. Nelson also launched his cannabis brand, Willie’s Reserve, in 2015, which just expanded to Michigan earlier this month.
Dave Matthews hammered in the same point during his induction speech for 90-year-old Nelson at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony at Barclays Center, held in Brooklyn, NY on Nov. 3. According to Celeb Stoner, two minutes into his speech, Matthews said, “You know what? Willie likes to smoke weed?”Matthews’ speech was considered by many as one of the funniest and more exuberant of the evening, as the initial remake was met with lengthy applause. Matthews carried on to tell a story of how Nelson had previously smoked in the White House with Jimmy Carter’s son. He joked that, had Jimmy Carter been elected for a second term, weed may have been legalized in the mid-80s.The two first met at Farm Aid in 1995, as Matthews recalled that initial encounter.“We came off stage and we went on his bus after our set and I got so high that I thought I might forget to breathe,” Matthews relayed. “Then I got more high and we continued to get high. Then Willie said, ‘Is everybody high?’ My mom still has the photograph of me and the band so high on Willie’s bus. She’s very proud of me.”Matthews also recounted Nelson’s record of “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me (When I Die)” with Snoop Dogg, nodding to Nelson’s titanic tolerance.“Snoop said smoking with Willie is the only time he ever said, ‘I can’t smoke anymore,’” Matthews said.Matthews also praised Nelson’s concern for the wellbeing of others, notably his involvement with Farm Aid, along with an instance when a reporter once asked Nelson if he would retire. Nelson replied, “Well, I play golf and I play music. Which do you want me to give up?”The speech ended with Matthews calling Nelson “an example of how the world could be if we could just straighten up and fly right.” He also sang a cover of Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away.”Nelson kept his speech brief:“Thank all y’all for this great honor. I appreciate the acknowledgement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Included with so many legends and some I’m lucky enough to call a friend. Thanks again for including me tonight. And thanks for appreciating my music.”Nelson also spoke about how genre never mattered much to him, as he preferred songs with the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles. “We just sang the songs we loved,” he said, as he turned to reflect on the present. “I’d like to thank my Family Band for hanging out with me on this ride,” he added, nodding toward his sons Micah and Lukas Nelson who back him up.He also used the platform to give a shoutout to another performer and push for a future inductee.“Now that Johnny [Cash] and I have been inducted, I want to give a plug for Waylon [Jennings], who played with Buddy Holly, and Kris [Kristofferson], who sang so many hits, to be inducted too.”Nelson also took part in a number of performances that night, including “Whiskey River” with Chris Stapleton, Don Was and Micah Nelson; “Crazy” with Sheryl Crow and “On the Road Again” with Matthew, Crow and Stapleton.Crow was also inducted that evening, calling it a “big honor to be inducted alongside one of the people I admire most on this planet and that’s Willie Nelson.”Crow and Nelson joined Kate Bush, George Michael, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners, DJ Kool Herc, Link Wray, Chaka Khan, Al Kooper, Bernie Taupin and Don Cornelius as inductees.
