THROUGH THE LENS: Two Views of Austin at SXSW and Luck Reunion

With SXSW and Luck Reunion both on the calendar, the roots and indie music world headquarters is in and around Austin, Texas, for the month of March.

You might think of those two events as the yin and yang of roots music festivals. While there is some overlap in their sounds, the fests differ in their approach. Begun in 1987, South by Southwest literally takes over the city of Austin for nine days. In that span the event, which now includes film, comedy and other arts, typically brings in some 300,000 attendees, adding $381 million into the local economy. But this year it began with some controversy. More than 80 artists and many panelists canceled their appearances in protest of sponsorship from the U.S. Army amid the Israel-Hamas War.

Meanwhile, the Luck Reunion is a one-day festival 30 miles from Austin in Luck, Texas. Created by Willie Nelson, it’s held on the grounds of a movie set built for his 1985 film Red Headed Stranger, an adaptation of the album. The self-contained fest celebrated its 12th year with a nice mix of members of the Nelson family with performers such as Tyler Childers, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Madi Diaz. As Austin has become more commercialized, Luck encapsulates the “Let’s Keep Austin Weird” mantra way more than the town that was once considered the capital of left-of-center music.

But it’s the vibe at Luck that sets it apart. Only 2,000 tickets are sold, and you have to be extremely lucky (no pun intended) to get one, as they are only sold via flash email alerts and a lottery. That, and perhaps the free beer that’s included in the price of admission, gives a sense of exclusivity. A favorite gathering spot onsite is the Chapel; the sets here, which can seat only 49 folks, have an intimacy that cannot be replicated. This year Lukas Nelson and John Oates did Chapel sets with hundreds of extra fans milling around outside. Last year, Luck joined forces with environmental nonprofit Reverb to have a 100% solar-powered main stage. It was the first fest to have done so, and that commitment continued this year.

SXSW veteran Kirk Stauffer once again attended that fest and brought us his photos, as did Kim Reed and Justin St. Clair. Kim and Justin did double duty, as they also attended Luck. Given the scope of this week’s column there are more photos than usual, so I urge you to take your time and view them via slideshow, which you can launch by clicking any image below. Among the images is one of the greatest music photographer ever, Henry Diltz. Kim got a picture of him in the photo pit at Luck.

Click on any photo below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.