At 91, Willie Nelson remained a commanding presence in American music in 2024. On September 21, Willie Nelson & Family closed the 39th Farm Aid festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. Among the set’s most affecting moments was Nelson’s rendition of “Last Leaf,” which Farm Aid later shared in an official performance video. The clip arrived as Nelson was promoting Last Leaf on the Tree, his 76th solo studio album, released on November 1. Its title track is a cover of the Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan song that first appeared on Waits’ 2011 album Bad as Me.
Nelson delivered the song while playing Trigger, his famously weathered Martin N-20 acoustic guitar. His Farm Aid set featured sons Lukas and Micah Nelson, while longtime band member Mickey Raphael set aside his customary harmonica to play accordion on “Last Leaf.” Micah also produced Last Leaf on the Tree, played numerous instruments on the record and helped shape its stark, reflective sound. Although technical problems briefly disrupted the first half of Nelson’s set, contemporary coverage reported that they were quickly resolved. By the time the band reached “Last Leaf,” the restrained arrangement and Nelson’s weathered vocal had taken center stage.
The song carries particular resonance in Nelson’s hands. Its image of a final leaf enduring after the others have fallen naturally invites comparisons with the singer’s own longevity and with the friends, relatives and collaborators he has lost. Nelson’s sister and longtime bandmate Bobbie Nelson died in 2022, and fellow country icons including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson also preceded him in death. Rather than presenting the performance as a literal statement about Nelson’s mortality, however, it is more accurate to describe that connection as an interpretation embraced by many listeners.
Viewers responded to the performance as a meditation on survival, memory and the loneliness that can accompany a long life. Its impact also reached music writers: American Songwriter placed Nelson’s cover first in its article on three of Farm Aid 2024’s best moments. calling it the performance that “stole the show.” Separate from the live Farm Aid footage, the song received an animated official music video produced, animated and edited by Micah Nelson and Alex Nelson. That project should not be confused with the concert video, which documents the Saratoga performance.
After “Last Leaf” and “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” Nelson welcomed the festival’s guest performers back to the stage for Farm Aid’s traditional communal finish. The closing sequence included “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,” “I’ll Fly Away” and Mac Davis’ “It’s Hard to Be Humble,” with artists from the day’s lineup joining the celebration. Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price were among Farm Aid 2024’s prominent performers, although available footage and reporting do not clearly establish that every named headliner appears throughout every finale number. The mass singalong reinforced Farm Aid’s enduring mission: supporting family farmers and promoting a family-farm-centered food system. The organization now reports that it has raised more than $90 million since 1985.
The performance’s smallest details proved especially memorable, including Raphael’s warm accordion accompaniment and the interplay among Nelson and his family band. More broadly, “Last Leaf” offered a portrait of an artist still working, interpreting songs and connecting with an audience well into his tenth decade. The lyric about returning in a song if the tree is cut down understandably led fans to reflect on Nelson’s legacy, but predictions about his approaching death are unnecessary and overly speculative. What the Farm Aid performance demonstrates more clearly is that Nelson’s music already spans generations—and that his songs, recordings, family and fellow musicians continue to carry that legacy forward.