What It’s Like to Sleep on a Beautyrest Bed Alongside 150 Strangers During an 8-Hour Music Performance

Music has been an integral part of the South by Southwest experience dating back to 1987 when the festival debuted. Legendary names from Johnny Cash to Willie Nelson and The B-52’s have taken the stage at the Austin, Texas, festival over the years, and this year will be no different (SXSW Music officially kicked off Monday). But this year, the festival also featured a new kind of performance.

Only 150 or so SXSW attendees got to experience the full performance of British-German composer Max Richter’s eight-hour epic, Sleep, and Adweek was lucky enough to score one of the coveted spots.

Sleep comes to SXSW 

At 12:13 a.m. on Tuesday, Richter took the stage at Bass Concert Hall in Austin, and over the next eight hours, he played his melodic, lullaby-inspired piece, accompanied by a five-piece band and a vocalist. All 3,000 seats in the three-tiered concert hall were empty (save for a few lucky SXSW badge-holders who were allowed into the space for two hours). Instead, the stage was packed with roughly 150 twin-size Beautyrest beds, complete with branded pillows, blankets and silk eye masks.

So, while music fans and influencers were treated to a striking performance of Sleep, they were also given the opportunity to do just that—sleep. And not by sitting back in a slightly uncomfortable folding chair in a concert hall, but on a cushy Beautyrest bed surrounded by 149 complete strangers (and a crew of photographers, videographers and sound experts).

The mattress brand originally heard about Richter and his sleep opus from Universal Music Group and Brands (a partner for Beautyrest on this SXSW activation). When Beautyrest figured out there was potential to partner with Richter, it jumped at the chance.

“When we heard about this concert and what [Richter] does in terms of his sleep concerto, we thought about all the things we do,” said Warren Kornblum, chief marketing officer at Serta Simmons Bedding. “At Beautyrest, we talk about ourselves as not just being a mattress company, but a sleep company. We are leaning into innovation and enabling people to sleep better—to help them, as opposed to just selling mattresses—and when we heard about this, it seemed like the perfect fit.”

A glimpse into Sleep 

Hours before the performance was set to begin, a line of more than 50 people shot around the concert hall. All were eager for the chance to experience the once-in-a-lifetime concert. Because of the high demand, 100 music fanatics were allowed into the auditorium, so there was some extra commotion from the gallery before Richter’s arrival. The 100 lucky fans were asked to leave the auditorium at 2 a.m.

For those lucky enough to score a spot on stage, there really wasn’t a bad seat in the house. Richter and his accomplices were positioned in the middle of the stage, with beds radiating out from front to back and into the wings. At the very back of the stage, a photo of a bright moon was projected onto a screen to set the mood, while dreamy projections of clouds filled the walls around the stage.

“This is going to be the coolest fucking thing ever,” one young woman screamed to a friend on a nearby bed, as all 150 of us made our way to our own beds to settle in for the night.

As midnight approached, many people changed into their comfy clothes, snapped selfies and shots of the stage, got under the covers, fluffed their pillows and awaited Richter’s arrival on stage.

“Here comes Sleep,” Richter told the audience. “We will see you on the other side.”

Continue Reading

Katie Richards

@ktjrichards

Katie Richards is a staff writer for Adweek.