At the end of last year, The New Yorker published a profile of the legendary country crooner Willie Nelson, who is best known for classic bangers like “Highwayman” and “Whiskey River,” along with collaborations with country artists like Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. But until diving into this story cataloging both his life and music archives, which includes 155 albums over the span of the better part of the last century, I had no idea he was the architect of so many hits over the years. Songs like “Crazy,” which is more commonly associated with Patsy Cline, and “Funny How Time Slips Away,” were both on his debut album, “And Then I Wrote,” which launched his career in 1962.

But Willie looks a little different on that album cover compared to his long-haired, bandana-wearing, reefer-smoking persona he’s known for today. Hailing from the Bible Belt, his clean-cut, suit-and-tie image had gone gone up in smoke by the 1990s, at which point he owed the federal government $16 million in back taxes, prompting him to release “The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories” to pay off the U.S. Treasury.

“He went from jazz musician to hippie,” his daughter Lana told the New Yorker.

At 92, Willie has always toured with his family, including with his sister, Bobbie, who played the grand piano with him for 50 years. But these days his son Lukas is typically by his side and fills in for him if he can’t make it to a performance due to his emphysema.

But Lukas also has his own tour schedule, which this year includes a stop at Abayance Bay Marina in Rexford where he’ll play at The Red Clay Strays Fan Fest with St. Paul and the Broken Bones from June 24-28. This will be his only stop in Montana before he joins Tedeschi Trucks Band for a slew of shows later in the summer.

As Montana’s concert announcements continue, I’ll have to fight the urge to buy tickets to all the shows I want to see – but Les Claypool tickets have been secured and I’ll be in Ticketmaster’s virtual waiting room when Bonnie Raitt tickets go live on Friday – both of which will be hosted at the Kettlehouse Amphitheater in Missoula.

In the northwest corner of the state, Tanya Tucker on July 3 will be playing at Happy’s Inn off U.S. Highway 2 with shuttles available from Kalispell, Marion and Libby.

And of course, Under the Big Sky festival returns on July 17-19 at Big Mountain Ranch in Whitefish with headliners Chris Stapleton, Zach Top and Cody Jinks. Local staples like Hannah King (pictured above), Michelle Rivers and Tobacco River Ramblers will also take the stage.

But if you want to see live performance in its rawest form, I recently learned there’s a handful of open-mic night opportunities around the Flathead Valley where earlier this month I saw a range of seasoned veterans like slide guitarist Dan Dubuque play ahead of teenaged singer-songwriters at Bias Brewing in Kalispell. Acts like comedy bits and poetry readings are also on the table if you’re not musically inclined.

There’s even a Facebook page dedicated to the Flathead’s open mic nights, which houses the most updated information. Bias Brewing hosts on the first Monday of the month, while The Rendezvous in Columbia Falls also hosts on select Thursdays this winter. The Remington in Whitefish even experimented with a “Jam Night” at the end of last year, when organizers vowed to “see what happens if we unplug the pandora.” Future jam dates remain TBD.

I’m Maggie Dresser, here to drop the mic on today’s Daily Roundup.