Release Date of New Willie Nelson Album ‘First Rose of Spring’ Moved from April 24 to July 3

The legendary Willie Nelson was supposed to add to his boundless repertoire of music on April 24 — just in time for his 87th birthday five days later — but his new (and 70th!) studio album, First Rose of Spring, has been pushed back to a July 3 release date, presumably due to the global uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The news of the album delay came down on Monday, a few days after Nelson’s Luck Reunion festival was livestreamed via social media late last week:

To date, Willie Nelson has previewed First Rose of Spring with a pair of songs, most recently “Our Song” penned by Chris Stapleton:

Said Stapleton of the honor of having one of his heroes sing a song he wrote:

“I can easily say Willie Nelson is one of my biggest musical influences. For me it just doesn’t get any better than hearing him sing a song I wrote,” he said in a statement.

The other song premiered so far from the record is its title track:

Via the news release, First Rose of Spring features two new songs from Nelson and collaborator Buddy Cannon, in addition to tributes to various pop/country songwriters over the years:

Premiering 11 new Willie Nelson studio performances and featuring original artwork created by Willie’s son Micah, First Rose Of Spring finds Willie working again with longtime friend and producer Buddy Cannon and debuts two new songs co-written by the pair: “Blue Star” and “Love Just Laughed.”

Alongside his new compositions on the album, Willie pays musical tribute to a variety of pop and country songwriters and performers, interpreting songs penned by Toby Keith (“Don’t Let The Old Man In”), Billy Joe Shaver (“We Are The Cowboys”) and Pete Graves (“Just Bummin’ Around” – a song recorded by Jimmy Dean, Dean Martin and others).’

Here’s the album’s track listing:

1. “First Rose Of Spring” (Randy Houser, Allen Shamblin & Mark Beeson)
2. “Blue Star” (Willie Nelson & Buddy Cannon)
3. “I’ll Break Out Again Tonight” (Sanger “Whitey”Shafer & Doodle Owens)
4. “Don’t Let The Old Man In” (Toby Keith)
5. “Just Bummin’ Around’ (Pete Graves)
6. “Our Song” (Chris Stapleton)
7. “We Are The Cowboys” (Billy Joe Shaver)
8. “Stealing Home “(Marla Cannon-Goodman, Casey Beathard & Don Sampson)
9. “I’m The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raise”d (Wayne Kemp, Bobby Borchers & Mack Vickery)
10. “Love Just Laughed” (Willie Nelson & Buddy Cannon)
11. “Yesterday When I Was Young” (Hier Encore) (Charles Aznavour & Herbert Kretzmer)