Amy Irving to Release Willie Nelson Tribute Album, Instigated by Her ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ Co-Star Himself (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Forty-five years after “Honeysuckle Rose,” Amy Irving is set to release an album of her interpretations of 10 Willie Nelson songs — all picks suggested to her by Nelson, who also contributes a guitar solo to a song plucked from that film, “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.” The forthcoming album, “Always Will Be,” is teased today with a title track that features a guest appearance by Amy Helm, a singer-songwriter in her own right and the daughter of Levon Helm. (Listen below.) Steve Earle is among the other featured artists on the album, due out April 25 on Queen of the Castle/Missing Piece Records.

Irving will promote the new record with a handful of gigs, starting with a show May 4 at City Winery in New York City and another at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY on May 31. “Always Will Be” is the second musical effort from Irving, known for her performances in films like “Crossing Delancey,” “Micki and Maude,” “The Fury” and “Carrie” as well as “Honeysuckle Rose.” It follows on the heels of the actor’s musical debut, 2023’s “Born in a Trunk.” She tells Variety what led her into the realm of music as well as the specifics of her salute to Nelson’s material, which includes songs from some of the lesser-covered corners of the country legend’s catalog. “We stayed friends all these decades,” Irving says of Nelson. “We’ve been in each other’s life all this time.

He’s one of my favorite people, one of my best friends. We are pretty much in communication now daily.” (Testament to that is a voice mail from Nelson that Irving threw into the title track.) Nelson sang on a track on her debut album two years ago, and following that collaboration, “Willie sent me a bunch.