Willie Nelson launched his now-famous Fourth of July Picnic in 1973, inspired by his experience at the poorly promoted Dripping Springs Reunion the previous year. Held at the same Hurlburt Ranch venue near Austin, Texas, the debut event drew an estimated 40,000 fans and helped cement Nelson's role as a figurehead of the "outlaw country" movement, which pushed back against Nashville's tight creative control over the genre.

The inaugural picnic was chaotic, with attendees facing traffic jams stretching over ten miles, plus shortages of sanitation, electricity and medical care amid widespread heat exhaustion and drug-related incidents. The lineup blended folk and outlaw country, featuring Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash, with Leon Russell performing the night before and joining Nelson for a sunrise rendition of "Amazing Grace"; Sammi Smith and Rita Coolidge were the only two women to appear. Despite its rocky start, the event grew the following year into a three-day festival at the Texas World Speedway and has continued, with a few interruptions, ever since.