It was one of those moments only music can make, and it happened in Luck, TX. The “Beyond The Stars” duet with Tami Neilson and Willie Nelson ultimately was the talk of the Luck Reunion, and the talk of SXSW.
Willie Nelson’s 1975 conceptualized album Red Headed Stranger is considered by many to be the greatest country music album of all time. The film Red Headed Stranger based off the album and released 11 years after holds a bit of a different legacy. Starring Willie Nelson, Morgan Fairchild, and Katharine Ross…
Starting around 2011 or so, if you hung around and talked to up-and-coming country and roots bands attending SXSW, you’d hear whispers about an invite-only event out at Willie Nelson’s ghost town outside of Austin called Luck, TX. Luck was originally constructed as part of the set of the movie The Red Headed Stranger released in 1986—a companion to Willie Nelson’s legendary album.
Willie Nelson’s private town called Luck, TX that sits on the edge of his ranch just west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country was heavily damaged in storms that moved through the area late last week. “Our beautiful Luck wasn’t so Lucky recently,” the Willie Nelson camp said in a statement, “Last week’s tornado force winds ripped several buildings apart…”
Willie Nelson is in many ways a microcosm of the American experience. He grew up during The Depression, had a rough and tumble youth, battled through familial and financial problems for years, struck it rich, and reformed himself from his violent past to become one of the world’s most well-known and greatest pacifists and advocates for the poor and social justice.