With South by Southwest downsized to a week this year, it was unclear just what impact it might have on Luck Reunion. The Thursday festival on Willie Nelson’s Spicewood ranch traditionally fell in the middle of SXSW Music, and certainly took advantage of the annual influx of artists to bolster its lineup. But it turns out that Luck probably doesn’t need that dual draw to Austin anymore.
This year’s Reunion even felt much more laid-back than previous years, undoubtedly aided by what seemed like a less dense crowd occupying the movie-set town. The casualness extended to the performances as well, especially Willie’s closing set that filled out the Family Band with Booker T. Jones and Daniel Lanois.
Highlights from the early afternoon included Angela Autumn’s diabolical twang in the Saloon as she unleashed a much heavier sound than her SXSW shows, and Deloyd Elze’s digitally washed Americana in the Revival Tent. The latter added local pedal steeler Zack Wiggs to the 7-piece outfit, feathering extra layers atop the Elze’s gritty but poetic songwriting. Across five stages, the music spilled from every corner of the town, with Dylan Earl’s smooth country croon in the 20-capacity Jack Daniel’s room and Leon Bridges band member Marcel’s jazzy R&B vibes on the small Visit Fort Worth Stage countering Joshua Ray Walker’s domineering country rock and Trampled By Turtles string band jams on the mainstage.
The Revival Tent played host to legends for the remainder of the day, kicking off with Robert Lester Folsom, the recently revitalized Seventies folk rocker who pulled heavily from his new album If You Wanna Laugh, You Gotta Cry Sometimes. The septet rolled with an easy jamming sound, and Susto’s Justin Osborne joined for Folsom’s classic “See You Later, I’m Gone.” Fred Eaglesmith charmed the crowd with his grizzly-voiced banter and worn anthem “Trucker Speed,” while Chuck Prophet rejuvenated behind the Latin psych fusion of his new project Cumbia Shoes. Closing out the tent, Booker T. Jones talked and played a living history lesson behind his piano.
The Barn Stage carried the day’s biggest highlight though. Following Kaitlin Butts’ powerhouse performance that rang across the whole complex, Carrie Rodriguez convened her Luck Family Jam with a stable of female guest artists backed by an impeccably tight band that included locals Emily Gimble and Bonnie Whitmore. Melissa Carper, Suzanna Choffel, Kam Franklin, Lily Meola, and Monica Valli all paraded through, with Erika Wennerstrom hitting a high note pulling Townes Van Zandt’s “Be Here to Love Me.” The loudest reception was rightly held for San Antonio’s “La Reina del AcordeĂłn” Eva Ybarra joining the group, and Tami Neilson bringing the barn down with Patsy Cline’s “Three Cigarettes in the Ashtray” and her apt anthem “Careless Woman.” The full contingent then gathered to invert the Willie and Waylon classic into “Good Hearted Man.”Â
Before Willie headlined the mainstage, St. Vincent made her Luck debut with a charming and cheeky, stripped-down set, forgoing much of her guitar pyrotechnics to let her backing cowboy quartet featuring Robert Ellis and Will Van Horn’s pedal steel lead the way. Mickey Rapheal joined for the torching “Candy Darling,” and “New York” smoldered to close. Lukas Nelson worked through his new American Romance and recruited Meola to scorch a duet on “Find Yourself,” but Ghostland Observatory turning the Saloon into a throbbing, sweaty rave delivered a unique laser-slashed blowout to the night.
Launching at 10:45pm sharp, Willie closed out the Reunion with one of his best sets in years. Credit the Jones and Lanois additions to the band, or the four additional guitars flanking Trigger (Waylon Payne, Lanois, and sons Lukas and Micah), but the nearly 93-year-old Luck patriarch seemed even more relaxed and enjoying himself than usual. The 75-minute, 20-song set ran the familiar hits, but nixed his usual medley for stellar duets with Neilson (“Beyond the Stars”) and Meola (“Will You Remember Mine”), while the Lukas-led “Texas Flood” ripped with Jones’ breakdown on keys.
Despite the changes to this year’s SXSW, Luck’s magic remained unmatched, and the Reunion served as perfect capstone to the week.