A Texas Tribune editor recalls working on the 2006 independent gubernatorial campaign of Kinky Friedman.

Kinky Friedman, the singer, songwriter, satirist and novelist who also dabbled in Texas politics with a campaign for governor, has died.

Friedman launched a boisterous campaign for governor in 2006, decades after forming the band Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys.

SPICEWOOD, Texas Willie Nelsons annual Fourth of July Picnic is going ahead this year, but to reduce concerns about the coronavirus the event will be virtual. Other performers expected to play include Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley, Steve Earle and Nelsons fellow Texas-based singers Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and Kinky Friedman. Some of the artists will perform at Nelsons Luck Ranch in Spicewood, northwest of Austin. Nelsons event started in 1972 and has been held most years since, moving around Texas and occasionally outside the Lone Star State. First Rose of Spring features two new tunes plus Nelsons take on songs by Toby Keith and Chris Stapleton.