Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion Reveals 2026 Event Lineup
It’s one of the coolest events that happen during SXSW each year—the annual gathering in Austin, TX where thousands of artists and industry folks get together to celebrate independent music. It’s the Luck Reunion, and it’s hosted by Willie Nelson at his Western town just outside of Austin called Luck, TX, built during the filming of Red Headed Stranger.
This year, SXSW is a little funky, with organizers deciding it should run from Thursday, March 12th to Wednesday, March 18th as opposed to Monday through Sunday. Since the Luck Reunion is usually on the Thursday of SXSW, they’ve decided to do it on the Thursday after SXSW, March 19th.
Top names from the country and roots world set to appear are Kaitlin Butts, Joshua Ray Walker, Lukas Nelson, Angela Autumn, Fred Eaglesmith, Anna Tivel, Trampled By Turtles, and of course Willie Nelson with his Family Band. Appearing in songwriting showcases will be Dale Watson, Kelly Willis, James McMurtry, Willis Alan Ramsey, Dallas Burrow, Leon Majcen, Shelby Stone, Julianna Rankin, and more. See the full lineup below.
Along with these announced names, there are also “special guests” who usually are quite notable. Previous special guests have been folks like Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell.
“Fourteen years in, Luck Reunion continues to be about bringing people together in meaningful ways,” says Matt Bizer, CEO and Founder of Luck Presents. “This year’s lineup beautifully represents that spirit, with legendary artists who’ve been part of our story from the beginning, new voices we’re excited to introduce to our community, and more than a few surprise guests that we can’t wait to reveal.”
Then the next day on Friday, March 20th, there will be a tribute to Todd Snider at Luck called “Todd Snider Rules!” No lineup has been announced just yet for that event.
Tickets to the Luck Reunion cane be very hard to come by. Giveaways are done randomly, so follow them on social media, and sign up for their email list for opportunities. They will also be holding a “Lucky Draw Live” event in Austin, Texas at the YETI Flagship store at 220 S. Congress Ave. on Saturday, February 21st. 3:00 PM: Doors, 5:00 PM: Wheel Spin, 5:30 PM: Live Music with Joshua Ray Walker.
THE 2026 LUCK REUNION LINEUP:
Adrian Quesada’s Trio Asesino
Agalisiga “Chuj” Mackey
Alex Amen
Angela Autumn
The Animeros
Anna Tivel
The Band Loula
Booker T. Jones
BMI Writers in the Round featuring: Julianna Rankin, Leon Majcen, and Emma Ogier
Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes
Deloyd Elze
Dylan LeBlanc
Folk Uke
Frank Mastra
Fred Eaglesmith
Gail Swanson
Ghostland Observatory
Hannah Cohen
Hudson Freeman
Joshua Ray Walker
Kaitlin Butts
Los Juanos
Luck Family Jam with Carrie Rodriguez & the Best of Luck Band
Lukas Nelson
Luna Roja
Particle Kid and Daniel Lanois
Penelope Road
The Redbird Songwriters Showcase featuring: Dallas Burrow, Willis Alan Ramsey, Dale Watson, Kelly Willis, and James McMurtry
Robert Lester Folsom
St. Vincent
Susto Stringband
Tom Jenkins
Trampled by Turtles
Visit Ft. Worth featuring: Cory Cross, Jack Barksdale, .Marcel., and Shelby Stone
Willie Nelson and Family
February 20, 2026 @ 7:43 pm
ANYTHIN involving Willie Nelson is cool !!!
February 20, 2026 @ 8:39 pm
Glad to see Willie himself listed – with no fall dates outside that benefit show, and none this spring I was started to get worried!
February 21, 2026 @ 8:06 pm
I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know he was still going strong enough for appearance.
February 20, 2026 @ 8:42 pm
Loving that Willie Nelson is going strong in his 90s, and glad I saw him a few years back. Id imagine his shows are way more put together than the only other performer I know still doing shows in their 90s…. Frankie Valli which if you see videos of that… yikes…
February 22, 2026 @ 12:35 am
Well, going strong isn’t the words.
They roll him onto the stage, he waves his hand and croack a bit, then he fall asleep and they roll him off the stage.
The son and the wife runs the show. He’s just a prop to make sure people pays a shitload.
I never thought I would say this, but I almost feel sorry for the old, sick man. It’s elderly abuse.
February 22, 2026 @ 8:32 am
The problem with people saying this is that Willie Nelson is on record many times saying he wants to die on stage. For all we know, they family/handlers don’t want him to perform any more, and he refuses, demanding to keep playing. That was what happened with George Jones. That’s even what happened for Evan Felker when he was having his abuse issues. He would downright demand or threaten for people to keep booking shows.
February 22, 2026 @ 8:50 am
He’s in no shape to have a say anymore.
We saw him on stage late ’24, and he’s not fully aware of anything, as far as we could tell. Looked confused, sounded confused, couldn’t pick, couldn’t sing but a few words of “On the Road Again”, Lucas and a chick hasten to roll him off the stage as he stared blank at nowhere.
Sad.
February 22, 2026 @ 9:10 am
For some artists, taking them off the road is what kills them, not vice versa. But maybe we’re not seeing any tour dates this year so far for a reason, I don’t know. It is strange that there would be nothing on the calendar at this point. As for this event, it literally happens at Willie’s home in Austin. So there probably couldn’t be an easier event for him to make an appearance at.
February 22, 2026 @ 9:00 pm
@Sof–
I’ve seen some concert footage where Willie appears as you describe him, but I wanted to do a bit of my own “research.” So I entered “When was Willie Nelson’s most recent public appearance?” From Google, I found that he performed on September 20, 2025 at a Farm Aid concert at the Univ. or Minnesota stadium in Minneapolis. And it’s posted on YouTube.
Honestly, it’s not bad at all. To me, he appears engaged and fully cognizant of his surroundings, and carries a tune and remembers the lyrics to this Tom Waits song. Most important, he does not look like a “hostage.” He looks like he’s enjoying it and wants to be there, singing his song. He may be too old and worn to give full concerts, but why should he? But if he can still come out at a festival and peform even one song this authoritatively, in front of what looks like 60,000 people, then that’s great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGPam0HDjYU&t=165s
February 20, 2026 @ 11:33 pm
Why not chase rice included he toured with Willie
February 21, 2026 @ 12:56 am
Package shows are definitely the way to go for an artist at Willie’s stage. The show goes on whether Willie can appear or not, and there are no guarantees.
February 21, 2026 @ 8:57 am
subtle reference to Willie’s cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Me and Paul.”
February 22, 2026 @ 12:36 am
Nah, that’s Willie’s song. Paul English, the pimp turned Family-drummer.
February 22, 2026 @ 9:38 am
oh, shit, you’re right. seems like everything else Willie recorded in that era was written by Billy Joe Shaver. 🙂
February 22, 2026 @ 12:25 pm
Nah, Willie never covered Shaver back then.
From 2010, he did a few of them.
Waylon, on the other hand…
February 22, 2026 @ 12:53 pm
1985 Willie album with 3 Shaver songs: https://www.allmusic.com/album/me-and-paul-mw0000691142#trackListing
February 22, 2026 @ 3:13 pm
Willie recorded Me and Paul (the song) for the album Yesterday’s Wine, 1971, and he didn’t record any Shaver covers during that era (the early 70’s).
The album you linked, is a side project released in 1985, with layovers from previous sessions, just the way Willie did it back then to cash in on his new-found superstar status.
So, we’re both right.
February 21, 2026 @ 4:34 pm
Trigger, you see Billy Strings is altering his lyrics now to address ICE? I contend its not that these artists are more political so much as the absurdity of it all is causing people who wouldnt normally speak out to do so. (P.S I dont think thats fake news but one never knows these days
February 21, 2026 @ 5:27 pm
So Billy Strings changes one lyric, and Whiskey Riff rushes to print? I’m sure Rolling Stone will also try to mine it for clicks, and then we can all seethe back and forth about it.
I would tend to agree that the excesses of ICE is what has stimulated a lot of this, and made the sentiments less polarizing than normal. The irony is, Charley Crockett didn’t say anything about ICE in his screed, nor did Sturgill Simpson.
Also, none of this has to do with the Luck Reunion.
February 21, 2026 @ 5:35 pm
True but I have know idea how to buzz you other than the comments of past articles. And to be fair I def don’t read Whiskey Riff..
Saw it on “Live for Live Music”
February 21, 2026 @ 5:35 pm
Anyways thought youd be interested