“don’t sell out and don’t be an asshole”

Outlaw country’s current queen looks back to move forward. By James McNair.

Fifty years ago, WILLIE NELSON up-ended the tyranny of the Nashville Sound with a record like nothing before or, perhaps, since. The road to Red Headed Stranger was long and uphill: strewn with broken marriages, record label wrangles and acts of God, but it transformed his fortunes, and his image. "It got to be a cool thing to like Willie," discovers SYLVIE SIMMONS.

Protest songs: Lucinda Williams in the studio, still ...

SARAH DITUM

From a home in England’s West Midlands, to Knebworth and Live Aid with Led Zep and back, via fame, fortune, tragedy and musical resurrection – ROBERT PLANT ’ s come full circle. A new album with local heroes Saving Grace exemplifies his hard rock apostasy, the reason he’d rather worship Nora Brown than hang with Axl Rose. And if all else fails? “I’ll just be an Elvis impersonator!” he tells KEITH CAMERON .

With her diverse new album full of amazing playing, there are changes afoot for the Grammy Award-winning acoustic-guitar virtuoso as she takes a few steps away from her bluegrass roots