Photo by Gretchen Barber

Willie Nelson & Friends headlined the first New Year’s Eve show at Austin, TX’s new ACL Live at the Moody Theater. Just before midnight, fully-bearded ZZ Top guitarist Billy F Gibbons emerged to help Nelson and his band with their New Year’s countdown. He then joined the group on “Auld Lang Syne” and “Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” after which Nelson took the lead on the new gospel tune “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I’m Gone.” Earlier in the day, Nelson and his band honored their longtime bassist Bee Spears, who recently passed away, during a private memorial in Luck, Texas.

Willie Nelson will perform at Amarillo, TX’s Amarillo Civic Center this evening.