Written by Stacey Lovett
Photography by Stacey Lovett & John Croxton
A blend of cedar and sweet native grasses balanced the heaviness of the Texas summer air as just over four hundred guests arrived at Luck, Texas. They were there to take part in an intimate screening of the 1986 classic Red Headed Stranger in its own setting as company of the evening’s resident host, Willie Nelson.
Nothing in Luck is served up neat – there is too much to simply take in straight that has been slowly distilled over time. It’s a mix of the old and new, the staples blend with innovative elements creating a gentle complexity that appeals to the creativity of all the senses. You can taste the heart and soul of all that is handcrafted there – that by man and beyond – which is infused in the very land, creating its own cocktail of the spirits rising from Nelson’s heartsongs sung throughout the years. Once facades of the set, this ghost town comes to life with each event hosted at this legendary ranch. The lucky few who get to take part also get to take residence in the faux western town among the pop-up bars and vendors that lend the same essence the foundation of Nelson’s legacy was built on. Less the set, however, everything there is authentic, each element mindfully curated into a harmonious whole. The screening of the film for this event took the setting to a new high. Guests were seated in the heart of the town, taking part in the sights and sounds of the very land they shared with the fallen preacher’s story on-screen in a full sensual experience. One could never recreate what was felt that night. Just as on the album that influenced the visual project a decade after, the night was a series of poetic vignettes – each element loosely becoming a piece in the prose of everyone’s own narrative – of the event and of life. The locusts and other summer night sounds collected around, becoming a piece of the experiential playlist and enhancing the dimension of the soundtrack penned decades before. Archived pieces from the Wittliff Collection – an assemblage of western-based creative culture from the film’s own director– gifted the visuals onsite with movie memorabilia and photographs, providing even more connection to the place and the creation of the piece thirty years prior. Libations flowed, some aptly named for the feature, all flavoring the evening as agents of kindred spirits joining moviegoers in the full consciousness of the night. And further heightening that consciousness was Nelson’s own Willie’s Reserve on site with his newly released CBD infused coffee and tea for sample and sale as well as souvenirs of the singer’s support to all fronts of the herbal cause. Everything tailored specifically to carry on the culture of Luck, to further ingrain all this man has given in his art onto the world for the benefit of generations to come.
Luck is a natural setting for reunions – from annual music reviews to poker games in the World Headquarters with whichever friends are touring through Austin to three decades of creative union – the little western town in the rolling hills of Spicewood comes alive in the name and spirit of love, letting it flow out into the world in a celebration of all this great legend has cultivated through his life and lessons – his own time of the preacher, one who has abandoned conformity and journeyed into his own meaning of truth, sharing it with all who listen. And if you listen deeply, it’s truly something special. Guests were treated to such a special moment following the screening as the Red Headed Stranger himself joined moderator Andy Langer in offering his own verbal archive of some untold accounts during the filming alongside a panel of guests and key players in its creation. With Trigger in attendance, Willie and friends recounted anecdotes from aligning with unexpected funding for the film to the depth of the group collaborative which ultimately brought it to fruition. Despite the topical impediments in its creation, everything that transpired due to them had a deeper significance towards the film’s success – it became its own invention much like life itself. And the life of Willie Nelson, the depth of music and culture he has not only cultivated from it but forwarded to others around him, is one to be celebrated.
The lucky few who had the opportunity to partake in this once in a lifetime immersive experience were forever changed, impacted by the heart and soul this very place was built on. It remains in the foundation of Luck and is what makes you fall in love with it again and again.
* Red Headed Stranger was the first in a series of events for Luck Cinema – a partnership of Luck Productions and Rolling Roadshow; Sponsored by Southwest Airlines and Alamo Drafthouse Austin
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