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Sites & Sounds Episode 2 Spotlights Austin – Watch it here
Luck Productions and Southwest Airlines® are thrilled to reveal Sites & Sounds: Austin, the second installment in a three-part web series celebrating hometown influence on musicians and the destinations that have bred a culture of creativity.
Sites And Sounds Episode 2: Austin
The program serves as an artist-penned love letter to the places that inspired who they are; with each episode showcasing a “host” musician who welcomes a fellow artist to the location that has influenced them the most.
Episode two features Micah Nelson – son of Willie and lead musician in Particle Kid – who welcomes friend and frequent collaborator Sunny War to experience his original stomping grounds: Austin, Texas. The episode is live today at southwest.fm/sites-and-sounds.
Sites & Sounds: Austin invites viewers to join Micah as he shows Sunny his favorite haunts, including raw juice mecca JuiceLand; the popular Torchy’s Tacos; and Hopscotch, a pop-up interactive art installation that finds Micah and friends diving in to an immersive experience that is brilliantly reminiscent of the unique art-fueled mind space Nelson brings to life onstage as Particle Kid.
Fittingly, the episode follows the series’ debut installment which featured Micah’s brother Lukas Nelson, alongside Nikki Lane, in Maui, Hawaii. While the Nelson brothers moved to Maui from Austin at an early age, Micah maintains a strong connection to his hometown and has cultivated a handful of regular haunts, many of which are highlighted in the episode.
“What a wild few days. Especially that last day where we shot a whole music video at Hopscotch, ate at Torchy’s, blew a tire on the highway, but still made it back to Luck, TX. And the camera crew captured it all!”, said Micah Nelson.
“It was fun shooting with the Southwest crew. I will always cherish the first and, most likely last time I ate a huge burrito on camera,” Sunny War added.
Catch Sites & Sounds: Austin today on Southwest.fm and check out additional travel guide content on www.luckjournal.com. The episode will be available in Southwest Airlines’ in-flight portal in late fall.
Since joining forces in 2017, Southwest and Luck Reunion have dedicated their partnership to storytelling, and to lifting up artists who are making great moves on their own terms. Sites & Sounds is an extension of that vision: providing travelers and music lovers with an in-depth glimpse into the places that make artists tick. “Our partnership with Southwest is built on our collective mission to contribute to the artist narrative, and to share emerging artists’ stories in a compelling and honest way,” said Ellee Fletcher Durniak, co-founder of Luck Productions. “Sites & Sounds is our chance to bring this vision to life outside of the Luck Reunion, and we are genuinely proud to be on board with Southwest for this project.”
“Sites & Sounds provides artists a chance to share the connection they feel to a destination and the role it has played in their life,” said Brandy King, Director of External Communications who oversees the airline’s Brand Partnerships and Entertainment Public Relations initiative. “Through our partnership with Luck Productions, we’re thrilled to be a part of sharing stories from these artists to highlight the places that have been a source of inspiration for their creative work. We hope these stories can inspire new adventures and travels for our Customers.”
The third and final episode will bring travel and music lovers to the Bay Area to explore Chuck Prophet’s beloved spots alongside his guest, Aaron Lee Tasjan.
Sites & Sounds will be available for music fans and our Customers to enjoy by visiting Southwest.fm/SitesandSounds. Like some of the places you see in the episodes? Visit LuckJournal.com for even more destination inspiration about the locations featured in the videos.
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About Sites and SoundsTune in and enjoy the adventure that unfolds as a host artist guides a guest artist through sights, sounds, and experiences that make their hometown special, incorporating food, culture, music, and family life. Sites and Sounds is an insider’s destination-based travel guide to the host artists’ hometown, enticing you to experience the one-of-kind offerings of each unique location.
About Luck Productions:Luck Productions is a rogue cultural collective headquartered in Willie Nelson’s Luck, TX. Anchored by its flagship event, the annual Luck Reunion, Luck Productions creates experiences that embrace our past while cultivating new traditions in American roots culture. In addition to the Reunion, Luck Productions has hosted pop-up events including “Luck Mansion” residencies during Nashville’s AmericanaFest; a featured stage activation during Highwater Festival; the “Luck Hotel” content and concert series in Dallas; and the “Luck Social” supper and song series held in Luck, TX.
About Southwest Airlines Co.: In its 48th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 59,000 Employees to a Customer base topping 120 million passengers annually. Southwest became the nation’s largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak travel seasons, Southwest operates more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 101 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries.
Thank you, Janis Tillerson, for all your great photos from the Luck Reunion this year.
www.LuckReunion.com
Amazing Farm-To-Table Barbecue, And More Delicious Highlights From Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion
www.forbes.com
by: Leslie Kelly
The recent Luck Reunion was a full-on sensory experience, a day-long music festival on Willie Nelson’s ranch near Austin, an event that’s not officially part of South By Southwest, but makes good use of the talent visiting the area.
There were six stages featuring stunning performances — outstanding sets by Mavis Staples, Steve Earle, Hayes Carll, EB The Younger, Cedric Burnside, and, of course, Willie and Family were among the many highlights. There was incredible merch, though, sadly, for some, no Willie’s Reserve.
At the heart of the sprawling spectacle, there was an amazing assortment of good things to eat in the Food Corral, an all-star crew rounded up by the Austin Food and Wine Alliance.
Here were a few of the standouts.
This farm-to-table barbecue restaurant works with local farmers and ranchers, bringing in and breaking down whole animals to cook low-and-slow on its pits. In a state ruled by brisket, it’s refreshing to find a barbecue sandwich that pulls meat from every part of the cow. That makes for a sandwich that’s exceptionally flavorful, tender and juicy. Add a generous helping of the brilliant house-made kimchi heaped on a sturdy potato bun, and you’ve got some beautiful barbecue. We also loved the sassy Frito Pie.
Words & Images by: Bryan Lasky
Luck Reunion :: 03.14.19
Luck, Texas Ranch :: Luck, TXThe first thing you see upon arriving at Luck Ranch is a bunch of horses running about and you get a feeling that you’ve landed someplace special. You’re on hallowed ground to see a festival on a movie set, and the lineup is loaded from top to bottom. You can sense the good vibes surrounding it all. For the 2019 Luck Reunion, everything went pretty much to plan.some last minute set up while festival-goers started entering the venue, and the traffic jam leaving the festival were the only things I saw that someone could say weren’t perfect. Luck Reunion is a festival that has everything down to a tee.
The festival grounds are quite small, make it possible to walk from one end to the other in less than 10 minutes. The first building you come to is the chapel, the smallest stage that had a line outside the entire day as only about 60 people, out of roughly 2,000 attendees, are allowed in at one time. There were people, sometimes four rows deep, watching from outside through the chapel windows. Guitarist Billy Strings was early on the schedule and wowed the crowd, as he’s been doing everywhere with his equally skillful band. Later, J.S. Ondara‘s voice echoed through the room to the point she almost didn’t a microphone, while Cedric Burnside closed the chapel down with guitar playing that could certainly be called fast and furious.
There were plenty of drinks from vendors, merchandise from the festival as well as the artists, local businesses, and food trucks for all your hunger needs. Of course, Willie’s Reserve cannabis was on site, which was in the movie set jail, and while you couldn’t try it, you could learn about it. Gibson had a station where you could try a bunch of different guitars and it was great to see kids at the festival trying out the instruments. The set also presented tributes to many musicians who have passed away with their pictures adorned with flowers and candles. It was beautiful to see tributes to so many amazing musicians across the grounds.
The regular stages had a wide range of music during the day. The Mystery Lights brought some ‘70s big-time rock ‘n’ roll madness, while the were more on the ‘60s rock vibe you might find in a Quentin Tarantino film. Low Cut Connie brought his wild rock show to the tent and blew everyone away. It’s thrilling to watch Adam Weiner work a crowd into a frenzy from the moment the show starts and keep it going until it’s over. There was an all-female stage, anchored by Mavis Staples. The women ranged from Mountain Man‘s amazing harmonies to YOLA‘s soulful overpowering voice and songs to Sunny War‘s slightly jazzy folk rock. Of course, Mavis brought the house, and the sun, down as she closed the stage with an energetic set that ended with “The Weight,” with all of the stage’s performers and Nathaniel Rateliff coming out to assist. The crowd was all in for the living legend from the moment she took the stage.
One thing that stood out as the day wore on was that all the artists were watching one another play and mingling with the crowd. The laid-back family affair feel was strong at Luck. It felt like its own little world, in contrast to the craziness happening nearby at South By Southwest.
Like the other stages, the main stage was musically all over the place. Katie Pruitt, winner of the SXSW contest, began the day and showed off that she has a hell of a voice and a fantastic talent for songwriting. Illuminati Hotties, who stirred their own SXSW buzz, showed it’s well deserved. They put on a non-stop rock show for their set and had the crowd grooving along with them. The Marcus King Band played a solid set that included some of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and the crowd showering King and his band with love after the set. Local guitar slingers Matthew Logan Vasquez and Shakey Graves both put on powerful performances, much to the crowd’s delight.
After 8 p.m., most of the other stages shut down as the Nelson family played sets one after the other. Paula Nelson kicked it off with Jesse Dayton and played a fun set of rocking honky tonk. They were followed by Particle Kid, Micha Nelson’s band, who were rocking more like Crazy Horse and less like Johnny Cash. From there we had who played one of the most laid-back sets I’ve seen them do. That’s not to say they weren’t rocking the stage, but with the quieter songs they played, they showed how versatile they can be.
Finally it was time for the man himself, Willie Nelson to take the stage. He looked and sounded great and you could see how happy he was to play for everyone on his own property. Though there weren’t any surprises in the setlist, there was a buzz throughout Luck Ranch as seeing him at his home felt like being invited to be part of the family, even for one night.
.@lukasnelson and @NRateliff join Lukas' Dad @WillieNelson on stage at @LuckReunion last night at @sxsw #SXSW2019 pic.twitter.com/cb88pOjLv3
— Fantasy Records (@fantasyrecords) March 15, 2019
photo: Jenny Thompson
photos: Carol Roshkind
Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion: Review of Annual Event Outside Austin https://t.co/kQVJueUugP
— Larry Pareigis (@larrypareigis) March 15, 2019
