On May 12, 2023, the LBJ Foundation awarded its most prestigious honor—the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award—to legendary Texas singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. A gala award ceremony at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, raised money to create the Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities, which will fund research and student fellowships at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. After accepting the award, Nelson was joined on stage by Mark K. Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, for a wide-ranging conversation on the plight of the family farm, the power of music and love and his thoughts on bridging the current divides in our country.