Looking Back on Our Mini-Trip to Fort Worth

At the heart of North Texas is Visit Fort Worth, the City of Fort Worth’s dedicated organization focused on driving development through tourism and, most importantly, sharing the Fort Worth story.

Luck has teamed up with Visit Fort Worth in myriad ways over the years, and their presence always brings a big taste of authentic Texas to the Reunion. This year’s Visit Fort Worth area was no different, featuring an actual stage where we got to see some of our favorite Fort Worth artists deliver some of the day’s most memorable performances.

Matthew McNeal kicked off the day with his debut Luck performance. A steady centerpiece of his adopted hometown’s art scene, McNeal has impressively and notoriously created nearly constantly over the last ten years. From church basements to the punk scene, he’s been around in his career, but his deeply relatable songwriting and the pure soul he brings to the studio and stage alike made him a perfect Texas match for the Visit Fort Worth live experience.

Born-and-bred Fort Worth native Claire Hinkle found new music inspiration at last year’s Luck. Having returned from studying music at New York’s New School, it was a gig at the Reunion’s after-party that inspired her to return to her Country Americana roots. Her renewed take on story and song brought her to this year’s Luck proper, where she celebrated the upcoming release of her debut self-written and composed EP.

It wouldn’t have been Fort Worth without a little Tejano tinge. Thankfully, accordionist Abel Casillas and highly sought-after quartet Squeezebox Bandits brought the Tex-Mex flavor to the mix with a spirited set that reflected Texas’ rich music history and wide range of influences.

The mini-trip to Fort Worth drew to a close, oh so appropriately, with a closing set by 2024 Southwest: On The Rise to Luck finalist Angel White. Already a close-knit member of the Luck Family following last year’s journey, we were happy to have him back to celebrate another milestone; the March 7th release of his full-length album, “GHOST OF THE WEST”. Following a year of hearing “Angel” echo more and more everywhere we go, we were very proud to have our Texas On The Rise standout back out for a second year.