Beto O'Rourke, Willie Nelson Perform 'On The Road Again' At Massive Austin Rally

Country music legend Willie Nelson unveiled his new election-themed song Vote Em Out on Saturday at a massive rally for Democratic Senate hopeful Beto ORourke in Austin, Texas.

Nelson performed his musical call to action at Austins Auditorium Shores after singing several of his hits, including On The Road Again with ORourke, who seeks to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the November midterm elections.

Hear Willie Nelson, Beto O'Rourke sing together as Nelson his unveils new 'Vote 'em out' election song https://t.co/hCIByPDTb8 pic.twitter.com/7O8FL2OGfh

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Hear Willie Nelson, Beto O'Rourke sing together as Nelson his unveils new 'Vote 'em out' election song https://t.co/hCIByPDTb8 pic.twitter.com/7O8FL2OGfh
Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) September 30, 2018

Nelson, who announced his endorsement of ORourke earlier this month, belted out the lyrics to Vote Em Out, which stresses the importance of Americans right to vote.

The biggest gun weve got is called the ballot box / If you dont like whos in there, vote em out, the song says.

Roughly 55,000 people attended the rally, ORourkes campaign told the Austin American-Statesman , citing an estimate from the venue. The Austin Police Department declined a request for comment on the crowds size.

It wasnt the first time ORourke has performed with Nelson. He joined the music legend on stage a couple months ago at the singers annual Fourth of July Picnic in Austin.

And heres Willie Nelsons performance of Vote Em Out to close out Beto ORourkes Austin rally. pic.twitter.com/rRR9aHApSh

Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) September 30, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Vaughn Hillyard","author_url":"https://twitter.com/VaughnHillyard","cache_age":86400,"description":"And heres Willie Nelsons performance of Vote Em Out to close out Beto ORourkes Austin rally. pic.twitter.com/rRR9aHApSh Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) September 30, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1046419526839988225/pu/img/rs8v9Ys32t8TtCLt.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"Vaughn Hillyard on 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And heres Willie Nelsons performance of Vote Em Out to close out Beto ORourkes Austin rally. pic.twitter.com/rRR9aHApSh
Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) September 30, 2018

Cruz, an unwavering conservative who failed in his bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, had been heavily favored to win a second Senate term at the start of this years campaign. But ORourke, a House member from El Paso, has generated widespread enthusiasm for his candidacy and pulled close to Cruz in several polls.

Nelson has taken heat from some of his conservative fans over his support for ORourke. His link on his Facebook page to a news article announcing his plans to headline ORourkes rally on Saturday prompted some angry responses.

One fan griped on Nelsons page that If thats true [then] Im done after 45 years with the Red Headed Stranger.

By Willie, that smoke has finally got you! the fan added, apparently referring to Nelsons longtime use of marijuana.

Nelson has shrugged off the naysayers.

I dont care, Nelson said earlier this month on ABCs The View. You know, theyre entitled to their opinions and Im entitled to mine. ... Everybody has a right to an opinion.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Auditorium Shores provided a crowd estimate to the Austin American-Statesman. In fact, ORourkes campaign provided the number, citing the venues estimate.