Finding himself alongside stars like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Bobby Bare, Ray Wylie Hubbard helped shine a light on outlaw country. Throughout the 1970s, Hubbard watched as the genre took over the airwaves. With fans helping make Nelson an icon in country music, there are more than enough stories about the singer. With each passing year, it seemed like a singer or musician had a wild story to tell about hanging out with Nelson. And for Hubbard, he recently recalled how members of Nelson’s band kidnapped him to go to a beer fest in Milwaukee.
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Appearing on the Drifting Cowboy podcast, Hubbard explained how it was nearly 3:00 a.m. when his phone started to ring. Somewhat confused by the call, he soon learned it was Nelson’s drummer Paul English, tour manager Poodie Locke, and Michael Gene Schroeder. Although knowing how the trio loved to party, Hubbard admitted that against his better judgment, he let them in.
That’s when Hubbard learned about their plan. “They said, ‘Well, we’re gonna meet Willie out in Garland on the Time 2,’ that was his first bus. ‘We’re going to Milwaukee to a beer fest. Come on with us.’ And I said, ‘Man, I can’t, I got tickets to The Eagles, and this girl I’m trying to sleep with loves The Eagles, and so if I take her to The Eagles, it’s guaranteed.’ And they go, ‘Oh, man you don’t wanna go see The Eagles. They sound just like their records.’”
Ray Wylie Hubbard Missed His Date Thanks To Willie Nelson’s Band
Although focused more on the lady than The Eagles, the trio finally talked Hubbard into tagging along. Climbing on the tour bus, the songwriter quickly learned he’d been kidnapped. “They came up and put a pillow case over my head and start blowing smoke in it. So about next stop, we made, Little Rock or somewhere, maybe Memphis, I get off, I gotta call the girl and say, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna be able to take you to The Eagles tonight.’ She goes, ‘Where are the tickets?’ ‘They’re upstairs.’ I’m gonna go get ’em.’ So I never heard from her again…”
With Hubbard missing out on his date, the singer decided to just enjoy the wild story he would remember forever. “But anyhow, so we went to Milwaukee, to a beer fest, and then it’s so weird, we were coming back from somewhere, Chicago, I don’t know where Milwaukee is… they were trying to mess with me a lot, but Jerry Jeff Walker was somewhere, I said, ‘Let me off here. I’m gonna go hang out with Jerry Jeff.”
Eventually letting Hubbard go, the Nelson Milwaukee beer fest remained a highlight for the singer, who continues to perform and share stories about his time with some of the biggest names in country music.
(Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
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