lucky day

Willie Nelson's annual Luck Reunion fest to feature 40+ artists in 2024

We now have a lineup for the 12th annual Luck Reunion.

Photo by Shelley Neuman

The lineup has been unveiled for one of Texas' most anticipated music events of the year: The 12th annual Luck Reunion, taking place on March 14 at Willie Nelson's Luck Ranch, will feature more than 40 musical acts, with a special focus on country and folk styles including Tyler Childers, Dawes, Durand Jones, Lucius, and Old Crow Medicine Show.

DFW acts include Toadies and Polyphonic Spree.

As is tradition, Nelson will make an appearance alongside his talented family — both those who he's actually related to, and those he's gathered over the years.

“As always, the Luck Reunion line-up drop is an exciting day for us all," says a press release. "It is the official kickoff to the best family reunion we can imagine. This year we have a robust lineup of familiar members of the Luck Family, up-and-comers, and legacy performers coming together in Willie's backyard. As always, expect the unexpected, attendees will have some extra special surprises in store for this year.”

In addition to good, folksy music, attendees can enjoy food from across the country via Potluck 2024 - Heirloom: A Celebration of Roots, An Intimate Celebration of Culinary Traditions. In more concrete terms, that will mean a family-style benefit dinner featuring heirloom ingredients before Nelson takes the stage. Artists Jason Boland and Jon Muq will open that show.

Participating chefs include Rick Bayless (Frontera Restaurants), BJ Smith (Top Chef, Sit Tite), Amarys Koenig Herndon & Jordan Herndon (Palm & Pine), Zak Walters (Sedalia's), Gabrielle Hamilton (Prune, Mind of a Chef) and Edgar Rico (Nixta Taqueria). The Luck Family Foundation is the benefactor, and will distribute funds to Farm Aid, Wholesome Wave, and Texas Food And Wine Alliance.

Among this year's idiosyncrasies are a fifth anniversary celebration for Southwest Airlines' fan-voted artist curation program at the festival (2024 artists are Lou Hazel, Victoria Bigelow and Jobi Riccio); expanded "green initiatives" in collaboration with Overdrive, which last year launched a 100 percent sustainably powered stage; and a sober space and mocktail experience by 1 Million Strong.

Panel discussions are also returning to the Bread & Roses Community Conversations Stage, where "musicians, activists, and local family farmers" are all getting a moment in the spotlight. The cross-industry talks will be led by moderators Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson and Je Naé Taylor (Highlander Research and Education Center), and Shorlette Ammons (Farm Aid).

Information on how to access tickets when they're released is available at luckpresents.com.

The 2024 Luck Reunion lineup is as follows:

BMI Song Swap
Claud
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country
Dawes / Lucius
Durand Jones
Dylan LeBlanc
Evangeline
Folk Uke
FRIKO
Jobi Riccio
John Oates
Lambrini Girls
Lukas Nelson
Lou Hazel
Madi Diaz
Nick Shoulders
Ogi
Oh Boy - Tre Burt, Emily Scott Robinson, Kelsey Waldon, Mick Flannery, Arlo McKinley
& Swamp Dogg
Old Crow Medicine Show
Particle Kid
Polyphonic Spree
Proxima Parada
Rainbow Girls
Red Clay Strays
Rett Madison
Tami Neilson
TEXAS WILD: Walker Lukens & Texas Gents
Theo Lawrence
Toadies
Tyler Childers
Victoria Bigelow
Willie Nelson & Family
Zella Day & Chaparelle

live music concerts festivals willie nelson luck reunion chefs

Party Is Over

Party City chain to close all stores including 9 in Fort Worth

Party City

A chain of stores where the party is always going on is closing down: Party City will close all of its stores and has initiated layoffs, effective immediately. According to CNN, CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees that Party City has to “commence a winddown process immediately,” and that Friday would be their last day of work for the company.

However, the actual store locations, including those around North Texas, will be open until February 28.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, Party City is largest party goods retailer in the U.S. — the go-to destination for every type of celebration, with more than 700 company-owned and franchise store locations across North America selling home decor, candles, balloons, wrapping paper, tableware, bulk candy, baking supplies, and more.

A typical Party City store ranges in size from 10,000 to 12,000 square feet and carries approximately 30,000 items. Halloween accounts for as much as one-quarter of yearly sales, but they celebrate all seasonal holidays, from New Year's Eve to the Fourth of July to Father's Day to Super Bowl Sunday, and offer a wide array of merchandise for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, wedding and bridal showers, and baby showers.

Party and costume merchandise has become more competitive in recent years, with companies like the budget-focused Spirit Halloween expanding beyond its Halloween pop-ups into “Spirit Christmas” stores, as well as competition from Amazon and other online retailers.

In 2023, the chain filed for bankruptcy, then emerged with a plan that included transitioning into a privately held company and canceling nearly $1 billion in debt. At that time, there were approximately 800 U.S. stores.

There are 64 stores in Texas, with 9 in the Fort Worth area, as follows:

Arlington
Burleson
Denton
Euless
Fort Worth
Hurst
Lake Worth
Mansfield
Watauga

Dallas-Fort Worth stores have already started sales between 5 and 50 percent off.

holidays closings