Willie Nelson appears in truck stop show

Willie Nelson will perform on the Aug. 24 episode of “Truck Stop Missouri,” a reality TV series about the Midway Truck Stop.

This month, the Travel Channel’s debuted what it calls a “docu-series” Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EDT. The 30-minute series is set at the truck stop in Midway, Mo., just west of Columbia off Interstate 70.

“Gettin’ Willie With It” will feature music and television legend Nelson, who had scheduled a show at the truck stop as its staff prepares for a motorcycle rally. Nelson had been an equity owner in the former Willie’s Place truck stop in Carl’s Corner, Texas, which reopened as a Petro Stopping Place last spring.

General Manager Joe Bechtold was working in the Australian wine business until 2000, when he was asked to return home to take over his family’s truck stop, home to 12 businesses.

Beyond typical truck stop services, Midway features a huge antique mall, bar, daycare, expo center and outdoor concert venue. Perhaps the most unusual business is Fearfest Haunted Attraction, described as where customers can “shoot live zombies with paintballs.”

The production company Leftfield Pictures produces the show, as well as History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” and “American Restoration.” More information is available here.

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