Willie Nelson to Headline Luck Banquet During South by Southwest
Willie Nelson will headline a daylong festival, dubbed the Luck Banquet, at his Luck, TX ranch in the spring. The festival, which will showcase 20 country, rock, folk and soul artists who will be announced at a later date, will also feature food by Austin chefs and a boutique where locals can sell their wares. The event will take place on March 18th. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon CST on the festival website.
“We welcome you all to Luck,” Nelson tells Rolling Stone. “Either you’re in Luck or you’re out of Luck.”
The ranch served as the setting of the singer’s Red Headed Stranger movie in 1986. The Banquet, which occurs during South by Southwest, will take place on two stages: in a revival tent next to the chapel and on a main stage overlooking the front porch of the singer’s “world headquarters.” The festival will begin in the tent, where artists will partake in a collaborative “song-swap set,” according to organizers, in the style of Heartworn Highways Revisited, the sequel to the 1976 movie about outlaw country.
“We believe that the best way to honor the true Americana story is by embracing the spirit of the movement and harboring a community that pushes boundaries – celebrating the wild, gritty and ultimately beautiful work of artists we love,” a spokesperson for Luck Productions said in a statement. “The support of Willie, and the opportunity to revive ‘Luck’ as an artistic gathering place, is a gift.”
On the night before the concert, Luck, TX will also host another kind of feast: Chef’s Pot Luck. It will offer attendees a multi-course meal made by what producers promise to be all-star chefs, and it will benefit Wholesome Wave, an organization that helps low-income families get fresh, locally grown food. Nelson is also set to perform.