The Associated Press reports that on Nov. 6, Willie Nelson was awarded BMI’s icon award during its 55th annual Country awards ceremony. Artists such as Keith Urban, Emmylou Harris, and Toby Keith were all present to perform and applaud Nelson’s achievement.

BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) is a “performing rights organization” that collects royalties to distribute to its roughly 300,000 artists when their material is featured on television, in restaurants, or via various other platforms. The BMI icon honor is reserved for artists who have had a “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers,” notes the AP report. Nelson certainly falls in that category, having been one of Country music’s most prolific and unique figures for decades.  He joins a coterie of icons including, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, and Crosby, Stills Nash, and Young.

This award follows on the heels of a lower profile award Nelson garnered in October in his native city of Austin, TX. The University of Texas Conflict Project, which educates students and communities on conflict resolution, recognized Nelson for being an inspirational figure in conflict resolution, applauding his ability to “breach divides and connect people” with his respect for the “nobility of the common man.”

Ray Wylie Hubbard, Earl Pool Ball, and other performers showed up to help Nelson celebrate and gathered on stage as he sang “On the Road Again” to an appreciative crowd of friends and family. Seems like country music is always up for a good party (although Budweisers were 4 bucks at this high-falutin event) and honoring one of its most beloved artists is a good excuse to do just that.

At age 74 Nelson is still recording. His most recent album, Last of the Breed, is a collaboration with Ray Price and Merle Haggard.