SOLD OUT: Willie Nelson & Family perform Friday at BCC

BOLIVIA—It isn’t every day Willie Nelson rolls into town.

But come this Friday, the legendary singer and his family are on the road again, making their first bus stop ever at Brunswick Community College to fulfill a sold-out 7:30 p.m. gig in Odell Williamson Auditorium.

“We are sold out,” auditorium manager Mike Sapp said last week of ticket status in the 1,500-seat auditorium where history will be made when Nelson performs his first-ever Brunswick County concert on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7.

Nelson’s Brunswick County stop is part of a five-day stretch of regional tour concerts this week, which launched Tuesday night in Augusta, Ga., and continued Wednesday in Charlotte, Thursday in Asheville, and concludes Saturday night in Columbia, S.C.

Nelson’s entourage will consist of four buses pulling into the Odell William Auditorium parking lot in time for the concert, where doors open at 7 p.m. for those lucky enough to have a ticket.

The “family” part of the concert will quickly surface, as Nelson’s son and daughter are scheduled to open the show. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, along with Paula Nelson, are slated to perform, Sapp said.

Sapp said there will be no meet-and-greet.

“I can tell you what’s going to happen,” Sapp said of the concert that’s been the biggest sell-out ever for the auditorium.

Nelson & company will pull in at the back of the auditorium about 10 minutes before time to go onstage, he said.

“He’ll do his show, get on the bus and be gone,” Sapp said.

In addition to his children, Nelson will be accompanied by his sister, Bobbie, who plays in his band. Nelson will probably bring Trigger, too, his legendary guitar with the hole in it.

When tickets for the concert went on sale to the public Oct. 12, they were quickly snapped up despite the $66 and $59 prices for orchestra and balcony seating, respectively.

That following Monday, the concert was declared a sellout—the fastest one in history at the 19-year-old auditorium.

Sapp and staff stayed busy selling and tracking sales, as seats were gobbled up as quickly as buyers could click on them at their computers.

Sapp was among those who didn’t get a seat, either. But he’ll be working behind the scenes to ensure all goes well while Willie & Family are in Brunswick County.

Laura Lewis is a staff writer at the Beacon. Reach her at 754-6890 or email llewis@brunswickbeacon.com.