# Paula Nelson
**Paula Nelson** (full name Paula Carlene Nelson; born 1969 in Houston, Texas) is an American country music singer-songwriter and SiriusXM radio host, the daughter of singer-songwriter [Willie Nelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/willie-nelson) and leader of the Paula Nelson Band.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625662/bio/) • [2](https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/74498) She performs a blend of traditional country, Americana, and blues-influenced material, and hosts shows on SiriusXM's Outlaw Country and Willie's Roadhouse channels.[3](https://siriusxm.fandom.com/wiki/Outlaw_Country) • [4](https://www.siriusxm.ca/fr/chaines/willies-roadhouse/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969, Houston, Texas; birth name Paula Carlene Nelson[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625662/bio/) |
| Family | Daughter of Willie Nelson and Connie Nelson; sister of Amy Nelson, with Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson among her half-siblings[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625662/bio/) |
| First name | Named for Paul English, her father's longtime drummer[5](https://willienelson.com/blogs/one-by-willie/paula-nelson-on-devil-in-a-sleepin-bag-special-willies-bday-episode) |
| Albums | Coming Home (1997), Fireflies (2000), Little City (2010), Under the Influence (2014)[6](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/paula-nelson/27242169) |
| Radio | The Paula Nelson Show on Willie's Roadhouse; Outlaw Country with Paula Nelson on the Outlaw Country channel[3](https://siriusxm.fandom.com/wiki/Outlaw_Country) • [4](https://www.siriusxm.ca/fr/chaines/willies-roadhouse/) |
| 2023 duets | "Slow Down Old World" (February 24) and "Pretend I Never Happened" (March 17) with Willie Nelson, produced by Bruce Robison for The Next Waltz[7](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/paula-nelson-to-release-pair-of-duets-with-dad-willie-on-the-next-waltz-label-20230126) |
| Award | Female Artist of the Year, 2016 CMA of Texas Awards[8](https://cmaoftexas.com/2016-cma-of-texas-awards/) |
## Family and early life
Paula Nelson was born in 1969 in Houston, Texas, to singer-songwriter Willie Nelson and Connie Nelson. Her siblings and half-siblings include Lana, Amy, Lukas, and [Micah Nelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/micah-nelson), among others.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625662/bio/) She is the fourth of Willie Nelson's eight children.[9](https://stillisstillmoving.com/willienelson/paula-nelson-cd-release-party-at-saxon-pub-in-austin-tonight-7302010/) Her first name comes from Paul English, her father's longtime drummer and close friend, the subject of the song "Devil in a Sleepin' Bag" from the 1973 album *Shotgun Willie*.[5](https://willienelson.com/blogs/one-by-willie/paula-nelson-on-devil-in-a-sleepin-bag-special-willies-bday-episode)
She started playing piano and singing at the age of seven, and drew early vocal influence from singers such as [Jessi Colter](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessi-colter) and [Rita Coolidge](https://www.edgepedia.org/rita-coolidge).[10](https://www.ntpda.com/documents/bulletins/NTPDA_WINTER_2012-web.pdf)
## Starting a career apart from her father
A 1996 Los Angeles Times profile described the difficulty of building an identity as the daughter of one of the world's best-known singer-songwriters. Nelson had first tried to launch her singing career in Austin around 1992, but found that "It was kind of too much 'Willie World' there. I couldn't get away from it," with venues billing her as "Willie Nelson's Daughter" in large letters and her own name in small ones. She moved to [Laguna Beach, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/laguna-beach-california), formed a band, and opened for her father and [Leon Russell](https://www.edgepedia.org/leon-russell) at [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) dates.[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-11-ca-63559-story.html)
Her father's advice pointed toward independence: "Watch exactly what I do, and do exactly the opposite."[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-11-ca-63559-story.html) In that period she told the paper that country music "is what everyone is trying to get me to do, because it would be easy" to exploit the father-daughter connection, adding, "It's not that I don't like country, but the blues is more me." Her band then included her younger sister Amy as backup singer; the two sisters had harmonized since childhood, joining their father onstage to sing gospel songs.[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-11-ca-63559-story.html)
An early mentor was Clifford Antone, owner of the Austin blues club Antone's, who shared her October 27 birthday, taught her guitar chords, and let her sing a song nightly alongside blues musicians at his club.[12](https://www.rivetingriffs.com/Paula%20Nelson.html) • [9](https://stillisstillmoving.com/willienelson/paula-nelson-cd-release-party-at-saxon-pub-in-austin-tonight-7302010/)
## Recording career
Nelson's albums on Apple Music are Coming Home (1997), Fireflies (2000), Little City (2010), and Under the Influence (2014).[6](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/paula-nelson/27242169) She released *Little City*, her fourth CD, in July 2010 with a release party at the Saxon Pub in Austin; the album was mostly recorded in Austin with her band, and all of its songs except a duet with her father were written by her. She described the record as the moment she found her own sound: "I want to do it my way."[9](https://stillisstillmoving.com/willienelson/paula-nelson-cd-release-party-at-saxon-pub-in-austin-tonight-7302010/)
She recorded *Under the Influence* (2014), whose title reflected the musicians who shaped her, including her father; a Colorado Springs Gazette preview of a Paula Nelson Band show noted that her live sets could include family songs as well as material by [Waylon Jennings](https://www.edgepedia.org/waylon-jennings) and others from the country world.[13](https://gazette.com/2014/01/16/subhead-3cb3c016-a52d-53ff-bf5e-3123206c1faa/) Reviewers have described her singing in similar terms across outlets: Texas Monthly called her voice "torchy," and the Los Angeles Times wrote, "There's no missing the unforced power of Paula's singing."[10](https://www.ntpda.com/documents/bulletins/NTPDA_WINTER_2012-web.pdf)
In 2023 she returned to her father's catalog for two duets. After she mentioned to singer-producer Bruce Robison that she wanted to record some of her dad's songs, Robison invited her and Willie to the Bunker, his all-analog studio in Lockhart, Texas, and produced the pair. "Slow Down Old World," a waltz-time song first heard on *Shotgun Willie* (1973), was released on February 24, 2023, with a big string section and harmonica player Mickey Raphael added; "Pretend I Never Happened," a song from *Phases and Stages* (1974) that Waylon Jennings had released first in 1972, followed on March 17. Both appeared on Robison's label The Next Waltz.[7](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/paula-nelson-to-release-pair-of-duets-with-dad-willie-on-the-next-waltz-label-20230126)
Her guest appearances with her father include "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" on his 2013 album *To All The Girls...*, a duet with Paula Nelson covering the [Creedence Clearwater Revival](https://www.edgepedia.org/creedence-clearwater-revival) song, and a duet on his 2004 album *It Always Will Be*, whose three duets showcase Willie with [Norah Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/norah-jones), Paula Nelson, and [Lucinda Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucinda-williams).[6](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/paula-nelson/27242169) • [14](https://archives.nd.edu/observer/v39/2005-01-20_v39_073.pdf) She also appears on the 2021 gospel album *The Willie Nelson Family*, which brings in daughters Paula and Amy along with sons Lukas and Micah and sister Bobbie.[15](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/willie-nelson-the-willie-nelson-family-review-3096599)
## Radio work
Nelson hosts two programs on SiriusXM. On the Outlaw Country channel, launched in May 2004 by [Steven Van Zandt](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-van-zandt), she presents "Outlaw Country with Paula Nelson," playing a mixture of traditional country and [Americana](https://www.edgepedia.org/americana) on weekday mornings; the channel describes itself as a home for "the freaks, misfits, rebels, and renegades of country music." On Willie's Roadhouse, she spins country classics and hand-picked favorites from her father's catalog, broadcasting from [Austin, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-texas).[3](https://siriusxm.fandom.com/wiki/Outlaw_Country) • [4](https://www.siriusxm.ca/fr/chaines/willies-roadhouse/) Willie Nelson himself noted the radio work in a 2016 interview with Dan Rather: "I just heard Paula, my daughter, on, DJing now on XM. She's doin' a good job."[16](https://danratherjournalist.org/sites/default/files/documents/2016%20403%20Willie%20Nelson%2001%2026.pdf)
In 2016 the Country Music Association of Texas named her Female Artist of the Year.[8](https://cmaoftexas.com/2016-cma-of-texas-awards/) Her band has toured in the United States and Europe, completing a second European tour in March 2011 after playing together since the summer of 2004.[10](https://www.ntpda.com/documents/bulletins/NTPDA_WINTER_2012-web.pdf)
## Other work
IMDb lists acting credits for Paula Nelson in *Corruption* (2010), *Big Little Lies* (2017), and *Willie Nelson: [Have You Ever Seen the Rain?](https://www.edgepedia.org/have-you-ever-seen-the-rain)* (2013).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625662/bio/) She also appeared on the One by Willie podcast in April 2022, discussing "Devil in a Sleepin' Bag" for an episode marking her father's 89th birthday.[5](https://willienelson.com/blogs/one-by-willie/paula-nelson-on-devil-in-a-sleepin-bag-special-willies-bday-episode)
## References
1. [Paula Nelson - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625662/bio/)
2. [Paula Nelson, SecondHandSongs](https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/74498)
3. [Outlaw Country, SiriusXM Wiki (Fandom)](https://siriusxm.fandom.com/wiki/Outlaw_Country)
4. [Willie's Roadhouse (Ch. 61), SiriusXM Canada](https://www.siriusxm.ca/fr/chaines/willies-roadhouse/)
5. [Paula Nelson on "Devil in a Sleepin' Bag" (special Willie's Bday episode), Willie Nelson Shop / One by Willie](https://willienelson.com/blogs/one-by-willie/paula-nelson-on-devil-in-a-sleepin-bag-special-willies-bday-episode)
6. [Paula Nelson, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/paula-nelson/27242169)
7. [Paula Nelson to Release Pair of Duets with Dad Willie on The Next Waltz label, BroadwayWorld (January 26, 2023)](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/paula-nelson-to-release-pair-of-duets-with-dad-willie-on-the-next-waltz-label-20230126)
8. [2016 CMA of Texas Awards](https://cmaoftexas.com/2016-cma-of-texas-awards/)
9. [Paula Nelson CD Release party at Saxon Pub, in Austin Friday! (7/30/2010), Still Is Still Moving (KVUE report)](https://stillisstillmoving.com/willienelson/paula-nelson-cd-release-party-at-saxon-pub-in-austin-tonight-7302010/)
10. [NTPDA Winter 2012 bulletin (Paula Nelson Band)](https://www.ntpda.com/documents/bulletins/NTPDA_WINTER_2012-web.pdf)
11. [Mike Boehm, "On Her Own Again," Los Angeles Times, November 11, 1996](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-11-ca-63559-story.html)
12. [Paula Nelson Interviews with Riveting Riffs Magazine](https://www.rivetingriffs.com/Paula%20Nelson.html)
13. [Linda Navarro, "Subhead," The Gazette (Colorado Springs), January 16, 2014](https://gazette.com/2014/01/16/subhead-3cb3c016-a52d-53ff-bf5e-3123206c1faa/)
14. [Album reviews, The Observer (Notre Dame), January 20, 2005](https://archives.nd.edu/observer/v39/2005-01-20_v39_073.pdf)
15. [Willie Nelson - 'The Willie Nelson Family' review, NME, November 17, 2021](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/willie-nelson-the-willie-nelson-family-review-3096599)
16. [Dan Rather interviews Willie Nelson, transcript, 2016](https://danratherjournalist.org/sites/default/files/documents/2016%20403%20Willie%20Nelson%2001%2026.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Country, gospel, and western singers › Bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country singers › Outlaw, Texas country, and Americana singers › Texas country and Red Dirt singers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license