Why Tito's, Southwest and Jack Daniel's Keep Going Back to Willie Nelson's 'Anti-Festival'

From the principle stage at Willie Nelson‘s annual music competition, North Carolinian folks singer and songwriter Lou Hazel requested the small viewers gathered for his early set: “How’s everyone doing?” A lanky, grey-haired man within the entrance row shouted again, gleefully: “We’re in Luck!” Enveloped in near-constant clouds of barbecue smoke and weed, the remainder of the onlookers chuckled—it was true. Nelson’s ranch, dubbed “Luck, Texas,” isn’t technically its personal city. The property—residence to buildings from the unique set of 1986 Western Pink Headed Stranger—sits about one hour west of Austin inside the metropolis limits of Spicewood.Luck Reunion began in 2012, initially requiring all model signage to be hand-painted. Typically described as an “anti-festival,” it now pulls in tens of millions of sponsorship {dollars} from 20 totally different manufacturers—tapping into the uniquely progressive pressure of Texas’ spirit that the almost-91-year-old Nelson embodies.With long-term, experience-first partnerships, manufacturers like Southwest Airways, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Jack Daniel’s embed themselves into the competition, bodily interacting with the 4,000 attendees and reaching an viewers of as much as 50,000 extra via the ticket lottery and the occasion’s manufacturing arm, Luck Presents.“The manufacturers turn into virtually just like the artists to the competition, the place they’re truly bringing worth and story and power to the occasion,” Matt Bizer, founder and govt producer of Luck Reunion, advised ADWEEK. “Individuals stay up for seeing them there.”Branded saloons and basic shopsLuck Reunion occurs throughout South by Southwest, Austin’s 37-year-old conglomeration of festivals spanning music, expertise, movie, schooling and tradition, capitalizing on the inflow of non-Texans flooding the state every March. Model sponsorships at Luck vary from $10,000 to $20,000 on the low finish, to $20,000 to $50,000 within the midrange and $100,000 to $300,000 on the excessive finish, Bizer mentioned. Southwest, a sponsor since 2017, takes over Luck’s basic retailer (the Pink Headed Stranger set included all the elements of an previous western city—jail, saloon, chapel, and many others.). This yr, it used the house to highlight Wearsos, a companion firm that sells leather-based items made out of repurposed leather-based from previous airplane seats and painted by hand by artisans from Costa Rica.The particular person on the left fashions one in all Wearsos’ hand-painted leather-based jackets, whereas the Tito’s consultant on the appropriate gives up a drink from the vodka model’s onsite bar.Luck ReunionSouthwest additionally companions with Luck Reunion as a part of its “On the Rise” program, a contest that helps early-career musicians. Over 80 acts entered the competition this yr. Three finalists are chosen from these entrants, every of that are featured in a video of their hometown that highlights their roots, inspiration and magnificence, with followers then voting on a winner via Southwest’s web site. Lou Hazel was the airline’s 2024 Artist on the Rise, snagging him a spot on the World Headquarters Stage throughout Luck Reunion. “Our clients and staff are keen about music, and viewers is so inbuilt on music,” mentioned Alyssa Foster, head of name partnerships and leisure public relations for Southwest. “We’re actually capable of weave our branding in a really natural method and hit on a few of our messages with out being too in anybody’s face, and actually simply make that good connection.”Southwest has occupied Luck’s basic retailer since 2017.Luck ReunionTurning into a part of the expertiseTito’s, Luck Reunion’s longest-running sponsor, has been there for the reason that starting. The Austin-based vodka model’s identify adorns the Saloon, a comfy, two-story constructing that serves as one of many occasion’s 5 phases. “It’s all the time in regards to the cocktail and what that have is like,” mentioned TJ Mathias, director of nationwide occasions at Tito’s, “and being part of an occasion that’s simply inherently cool.”Tito’s smaller bar, alongside the Saloon, served up free cocktails to festival-goers.Luck ReunionTexas-sized sustainability challengesThis yr’s competition was powered by roughly 95% photo voltaic power, 5% shore energy and no gas-powered turbines, Bizer mentioned, which Luck was capable of obtain via a partnership with Reverb and Overdrive Vitality Options.Whereas this represents main progress in sustainability, some obstacles are inherent to Luck’s location. The Texas Hill Nation doesn’t have the recycling and composting services for occasions like Bonnaroo or Outdoors Lands. It eradicated “single-use” plastics from the occasion this yr, permitting solely bio-based, compostable plastics for use for meals and drinks—acknowledging that with out entry to industrial composting, it’s all going to landfill.“Hopefully inside the subsequent two to 3 years, we’ll be absolutely 100% compostable and recyclable,” Bizer mentioned. “Our aim ultimately is to get as near carbon-neutral as doable.”

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Why Tito’s, Southwest and Jack Daniel’s Keep Going Back to Willie Nelson’s ‘Anti-Festival’

Texas-sized sustainability challenges

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