AI-Proofing, Vintage EVs, and a Thirst Hearse: Luck Reunion Is a Niche Alternative to SXSW for Brands

While more than half a million people descend upon the city of Austin, Texas, during its annual tech, music, TV, and film festival, South by Southwest, a smaller group of around 4,200 makes the pilgrimage out to the Texas Hill Country every year. Tucked away off a nondescript, winding road lined with scruffy juniper trees sits Luck Ranch, the home of 91-year-old country music legend Willie Nelson. Luck Reunion, which has been dubbed an "anti-festival," falls between the two weekends of SXSW and boasts a daylong slate of up-and-coming country and country-adjacent musicians alongside icons like Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, and of course, the Red Headed Stranger himself. SXSW has star-studded panel stages, film screenings, and flashy brand activations for the masses. Luck Reunion offers brands like Rivian, a Luck sponsor last year and headline sponsor of SXSW this year, a way to test the waters in Central Texas before making a bigger investment in Austin. "It's similar to our music lineup," Matt Bizer, co-founder and executive producer of Luck Reunion, told ADWEEK. "Brands like White Claw worked with us a few years back, and then [sponsored SXSW], and now it's the same with Rivian. It's kind of funny." Longtime sponsors of the 13-year-old festival like Tito's Vodka, Southwest Airlines, and Jack Daniels come back year after year to foster their relationship with the festival and its attendees or to test new product (all beverages are included in the ticket price). But for newer advertisers—like Kindred Motorworks, canned water brand Liquid Death, and Humanable, a company that certifies music as human-made amid a flood of AI-generated tunes—Luck offers a niche opportunity to tap into the cultural cachet associated with SXSW without paying top dollar. A backdoor alternative to SXSW Kindred Motorworks, a company that refurbishes vintage cars with new electric vehicles or gas-powered engines and modern interiors, was founded in 2022 and sponsored Luck for the first time this year. With two Broncos parked beneath a mountain cedar (in the same place occupied by Rivian trucks last year), festival-goers were able to scope out the interiors, peak under the hoods, and chat with brand representatives. Rather than at traditional auto shows, Kindred has found more enthusiasm for its cars at events that revolve around music, food, wine, or travel, said Monica Coakley, vice president of marketing and sales for the brand. And given that Texas is a big market for the company, showing up at Luck Reunion made a lot of sense. "We wouldn't come on as a South by Southwest official sponsor, but we know that our future fanbase is sitting there," Coakley told ADWEEK. "I think we've been able to do that in a more grassroots, backdoor way." Certified Organic—but for human-made music If it wasn't already clear, artificial intelligence is coming for everything—music included. Humanable, a certification for musicians to prove their work isn't made with AI, was founded in September in response to artists' concerns that their work would be drowned out in a sea of AI-generated noise. "We certify music as generative AI-free, using a series of affidavits and identity verification, so that artists and publishers and labels—and I mean, pretty much anyone who wants to—[can] prove that they that their music will have a clean copyright," explained Lillian McGrady, president and co-founder of Humanable. While still in the midst of fundraising, Humanable was a lower-tier sponsor at Luck Reunion this year with a booth in the artists' lounge. The main goal was to build name recognition among musicians playing the festival, McGrady said. "Hopefully by [next year] we can increase those sponsorship dollars," she said. "We really believe in this sweet circle that Luck Reunion is, and we would love to participate at a higher level." Murdering thirst with a hearse (sustainably) While only a 6-year-old brand, Liquid Death's brand recognition has gone far, fast—as has its reputation for experiential stunts. For its third year at Luck Reunion, the canned water brand brought back its "thirst hearse," which carries water in a coffin-shaped cooler. Attendees were treated to canned waters from the coffin cooler, as well as a few of the company's new iced tea flavors. But in addition to the silliness, Liquid Death also has a mission to fight plastic pollution, which aligns with Luck's sustainability goals. Given its location in rural Texas, it's been a challenge, Bizer admitted, to find recycling partners that meet the festival's standards. One way to divert more of its waste from landfill is to avoid plastic as much as possible given its patchy track record when it comes to recyclability. "Having our cans onsite are eliminating thousands of plastic bottles that are not infinitely recyclable, like aluminum is," said Ryan Heuser, senior vice president of experiential marketing at Liquid Death. The sponsorship also gets Liquid Death in front of a Central Texas audience that the brand has identified as a priority market, Heuser explained. Similar to Kindred, it also offers a way for the brand to participate in a cultural moment during SXSW in a more targeted way, he added. "We were just looking for the best place to do something during South by Southwest, but to stand out from the chaos that is downtown," Heuser said. "We identified Luck as a great place for us to do that. That was three years ago, and it's been great ever since."

Experiential Marketing

AI-Proofing, Vintage EVs, and a Thirst Hearse: Luck Reunion Is a Niche Alternative to SXSW for Brands

Willie Nelson's annual 'anti-festival' offers a smaller, more focused audience for Liquid Death and Rivian

Kathryn Lundstrom

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