Outlaw Blues: Mickey Raphael Rambles On With Willie Nelson And Bob Dylan

By Kevin Murphy Wilson | Photo provided by Jack Spencer 

When it comes to harmonica playing, Mickey Raphael is the man. His ridiculously long and eclectic list of recording credits includes U2, Norah Jones, Marcus King, Wynton Marsalis, Billy Strings, Ryan Adams, and Mötley Crüe, just to cite a few. For most of his 50+ year career, however, Raphael has also averaged more than 200 annual concert dates with Willie Nelson & Family. That is the act he’s been most closely associated with and it’s this ongoing opportunity that lands Raphael back in the area this season for two special performances as part of Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival: June 22 at Riverbend Music Center and September 18 at Ruoff Music Center. 

Known as much for his humility as his badass abilities, Raphael shared that his long and winding musical journey actually began inauspiciously enough when he was a young “Deadhead” and “Dylanphile” coming of age in Texas. 

“I wasn’t immersed in that scene to the point that I would follow them around, you know, but the Grateful Dead was definitely my go-to band in high school,” Raphael said. “I would lay in my bunk bed for hours just getting lost in their songs. I was sort of an outcast growing up and music was my only savior. Those guys seemed like social misfits, too, which really resonated with me. And Bob [Dylan] was another one that really influenced me in my formative years. When I decided I wanted to learn how to play the harmonica, it was Dylan I was listening to. Not really the Chicago blues guys at all. I was more into the folk scene. Bob set the standard in that style.” 

In those early days, Raphael was introduced to Willie Nelson through happenstance by [then-football coach at University of Texas] Darrell Royal at one of Royal’s notoriously rowdy post-game pickin’ parties. “During that initial jam session, I had vaguely been invited by Willie to come back and sit in any time I wanted. So, I just kept showing up and doing that until I started getting asked to actually travel with the band to gigs,” Raphael said. 

Although he was hanging around out of genuine interest, Raphael was uncertain if there would ever be a paycheck attached to his efforts. In fact, Raphael wryly recalled that, “At a certain point Willie asked Paul English, our drummer, ‘How much are we paying Mickey?’ To which Paul said, ‘Nothing!’ and Willie said, ‘Well, double it then.’ Eventually my persistence paid off though.” 

That is a bit of an understatement seeing as how he inadvertently ended up in one of the most impactful and longest-running supporting roles ever. It’s hard to imagine Willie Nelson & Family without Raphael. His sparse, haunting contributions adorned most of Nelson’s massive hit singles from the ’70s and ’80s including “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” and “Always on my Mind.” His harp was also an integral sonic component of Nelson’s best-loved LPs such as Stardust, Songbird, and Teatro. 

Not surprisingly, Raphael’s distinctive stylings have continued to earn him a steady flow of [the aforementioned] freelance studio work as well as a sweet side hustle as a part-time member of Chris Stapleton’s touring band, whenever Raphael isn’t already committed to be elsewhere for his day job. That said, Nelson’s wildly popular Outlaw Music Festival, which also features Bob Dylan, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Sheryl Crow, Trampled by Turtles and several other noteworthy names this year, will indeed keep Raphael busy most of the summer, and that is perfectly fine by him. 

Marveling at how things have come full circle — the Grateful Dead’s Bobby Weir shared the stage with Willie Nelson & Family multiple times in recent years and Raphael has even been invited more than once to sit in with Dylan during similar Outlaw outings — Raphael said that he couldn’t be happier to still be playing night after night, with his 90-something boss, bandleader, and buddy for however long that colorful collaboration continues. 

For more information about the 2025 Outlaw Music Festival, visit blackbirdpresents.com.