\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIf you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.<\/p>\n
\n\tGary Clark Jr. played a surprise set for F1 attendees in Austin last weekend, taking over the city\u2019s Franklin Barbecue for a private show sponsored by Velocity Black.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe invite-only event transformed Austin\u2019s famed barbecue joint into an intimate showcase for the rock and soul star, who played an hour-long set that included his hits like \u201cThings Are Changing\u201d and \u201cLow Down Rolling Stone,\u201d as well as a cover of Jimi Hendrix\u2019s \u201cLittle Wing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tClark Jr., who was born and raised in Austin, was joined by wife Nicole Trunfio (a successful model-turned-entrepreneur of maternity brand, Bumpsuit), while other guests in the crowd included Aston Martin Formula 1 development driver Jak Crawford; Franklin Barbecue owner Aaron Franklin; and ambassadors for whiskey brand Glenfiddich, celebrating the brand\u2019s ongoing collaboration with the Aston Martin team.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI got a call to play music at a barbecue joint and I couldn\u2019t turn it down,\u201d Clark Jr. told the crowd of 50 or so guests by way of introductions. \u201cI\u2019m trying to find my groove right now,\u201d he said minutes later: \u201cI did myself a disservice and had a whole bunch of barbecue, so this might be a low down blues set,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVelocity Black<\/p>\n
\n\tThough thousands of racing fans descended upon Austin for the 2025 U.S. Grand Prix, the night was reserved exclusively for members of Velocity Black, a luxury digital concierge service that offers insider access to premium dining, entertainment and travel experiences around the world \u2014 all from the convenience of a handy app. Velocity Black\u2019s team of insiders come from the worlds of aviation, fashion and hospitality and can curate everything from a private jet pickup, to bespoke getaways, to scoring tickets to sold-out sporting events and concerts (think everything from World Series tickets to Sabrina Carpenter seats). Members also get access to special events tailored to their profile and interests, with the app using custom-built tech to identify \u201chyper-personalized experiences,\u201d per a company memo.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tFranklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
\n\t\tBestselling cookbook\t<\/p>\n
\n\tAccess to\u00a0the private Clark Jr. and Franklin Barbecue event was available only to\u00a0Velocity\u00a0Black members, who received invitations through the\u00a0Velocity\u00a0Black app as a complimentary perk of membership. The restaurant \u2014 which typically closes as soon as its meat is sold out for the day \u2014 re-opened exclusively in the evening, with Franklin pitmasters smoking up brisket, ribs and turkey to pair with the Glenfiddich x Aston Martin F1 16-year single malt. The party and music continued afterwards with a Dwight Yoakam concert at the Moody Center, with an official after-party in a members-only speakeasy dubbed \u201cThe Hideaway by Velocity Black.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tGlenfiddich Aston Martin F1 16-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
\n\t\tThe official collaboration with the Aston Martin team is a limited-edition release\t<\/p>\n
\n\tVelocity Black has also been the official Luxury Lifestyle Partner of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 team for the last three years, and Velocity Black members were able to access dedicated VIP tables in the Aston Martin paddock club lounge over the weekend, while taking in private garage tours and pit lane walks. Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso even made a surprise appearance in the paddock club the day before the race.<\/p>\n
\n\tVelocity Black\u2019s activations in Austin will continue on beyond the race, with the \u201cHideaway\u201d returning to the Moody Center later this fall, offering VIP access in the \u201cmost exclusive corner of the arena\u2019s event floor\u201d for the upcoming Tate McRae and Billie Eilish concerts. More details about Velocity Black\u2019s offerings, experts and membership dues are available on its website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Gary Clark Jr. played a surprise set for F1 attendees in Austin last weekend, taking over the city\u2019s Franklin Barbecue for a private show sponsored by Velocity Black. The invite-only event transformed Austin\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[17936,706,5832,16471,9076,1996,168,241,17937],"class_list":{"0":"post-30624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-barbecue","9":"tag-black","10":"tag-clark","11":"tag-franklin","12":"tag-gary","13":"tag-members","14":"tag-plays","15":"tag-show","16":"tag-velocity"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}