In unfortunate news, the Willie Nelson statue in downtown Austin, Texas, was vandalized sometime last week. Local FOX 7 Austin reporter Rudy Koski posted images of the spray-painted statue on Twitter/X and described the scene.
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The statue has stood outside of Moody Theater since 2012, and represents Willie Nelson’s outlaw country legacy in Austin. The vandals used pink spray paint to tag the statue, as the photos indicate. Cleanup crews were attempting to scrub away the paint at the time.
An Austin resident in the comments included another art installation that had been tagged. They included a photo of a cleanup crew removing graffiti from a statue and noted that it was across the street from the Downtown Austin Public Library.
The good news is the paint was quickly and effectively power washed from the statue, bringing Willie Nelson’s image back to its former glory. Members of the Downtown Austin Alliance were there to restore the statue and clean it up, and posted an image of the statue being cleaned on Twitter.
Willie Nelson’s Son Lukas Becomes Victim of Theft in Seattle
It seems like there’s been a run on the Nelson’s lately—Lukas Nelson recently had his instruments and gear stolen when someone in Seattle, Washington jacked the band’s truck from their hotel. Three of his most prized guitars were among the items stolen. Lukas posted about the theft on Twitter, asking anyone in the area for information.
“Our truck with all of our equipment got stolen last night out of the hotel near Seattle. We got rental equipment now, and we will play the show tonight,” he explained at the time. “But if you’re in the Seattle area and you hear about any guitars being pawned or sold — my ’56 Les Paul Junior, my ’64 335, and my custom Nacho tele are all in there. We have a lot of other equipment that’s in there as well.”
Luckily, there’s a happy ending to this story. The truck was found several hours later, with most of the gear still intact. Apparently, the thief wasn’t able to access the back of the truck where the really valuable instruments were kept.
“Great news, they found the truck, and all of the valuable instruments that were in there are still there. They were packed in the back and protected. All of the equipment that we needed is there,” Lukas said at the time, updating fans on the situation. “We have a few missing things like sound board, lighting packages, and some pedals, but all are replaceable and insured. The irreplaceable stuff is still there. So grateful to this community for helping out and to you guys for putting the word out.”
Featured Image by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
