North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement spokesman Ernie Seneca said that shortly before Nelson was set to take the stage, officers at the Duplin County Events Center in Kenansville thought they smelled marijuana aboard a tour bus and were given permission to search it.
Six members of the singer’s band and crew, including longtime bass player Dan Edward “Bee” Spears, and five others were charged with “possession of non-tax-paid alcohol” (bringing to mind the plot of the Burt Reynolds’ classic “Smokey and the Bandit,” in which the title character is hired to run a semi full of beer over county lines).
Two of the six were also charged with possession of marijuana.
Shortly after the arrests, the show was called off. Nelson’s daughter took to his Web site last night to blame the cancellation on the fact that “Dad’s hand (the one he had the carpel [sic] tunnel operation on) was in pain, too much to play his guitar Trigger.”
While Thursday night’s show is being rescheduled, Nelson is expected to play tonight’s show in Rome, Ga., and then Saturday night in Asheville, N.C., before returning home to Texas to rest for 10 days.