During SXSW in 2010, Murray and GZA were reportedly together around Austin.
Several accounts of the bartending incident place GZA at Shangri-La with Murray.
The video description from Hoerl specifically says Murray later went to hang out with GZA in the corner while people pulled out their phones to document the moment.
That detail gives the evening an almost cinematic quality.
Imagine walking into a neighborhood Austin bar during SXSW and discovering that the person pouring drinks is Bill Murray while GZA is sitting nearby.
There is no Hollywood scriptwriter who needs to invent anything.
Reality had already done the work.
The “Wrong Drink” Became the Main Event
What makes the story particularly funny is that Murray apparently did not try very hard to behave like a conventional bartender.
A normal bartender's job is to listen to the customer's order and make the requested drink.
Murray's apparent philosophy was different.
Listen.
Reach for a bottle.
Pour tequila.
Move on.
The Guardian later described the episode as Murray spontaneously becoming a temporary mixologist and serving generous tequila shots to patrons regardless of what they had ordered.
Other accounts from the period told essentially the same story.
The consistency of these accounts, combined with the video footage, gives the basic incident strong documentation.
The precise details of every individual drink order are harder to verify.
But the broader picture is clear: Murray got behind the bar, poured drinks, and tequila became the unofficial specialty of the night.
And honestly, that was probably more entertaining than getting the cocktail listed on the menu.
There Was No Red Carpet
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the story is how ordinary the setting was.
Murray wasn't appearing at a movie premiere.
He wasn't standing on a stage accepting an award.
He wasn't promoting a new film in front of a carefully selected audience.
He was in a bar.
And then, apparently, he decided to work there for a while.
That distinction matters because SXSW has always been a festival where the boundaries between performers and audiences can become unusually loose.
Musicians play tiny clubs.
Actors attend screenings.
Directors mingle with fans.
Industry figures show up at parties.
The festival encourages discovery.
But even by SXSW standards, Bill Murray becoming a bartender was unusual.
The Night Became Part of Murray's Larger Public Mythology
Over the years, the SXSW bartending story became one of many anecdotes contributing to Bill Murray's unusual public image.
Murray has long been associated with spontaneous interactions and unexpected appearances.
He has been photographed at sporting events, parties, restaurants and other public places in ways that often feel disconnected from conventional celebrity behavior.
The bartending episode fit perfectly into that mythology.
It was strange enough to be memorable.
But it was also believable enough that people could imagine Murray actually doing it.
And unlike many celebrity stories that circulate online without evidence, this one had visual documentation.
That made it particularly durable.
Years later, publications continued referencing the incident when discussing Murray's habit of unexpectedly appearing behind bars.
In 2016, for example, Hot Press noted that his SXSW 2010 appearance at Shangri-La involved serving tequila shots regardless of what customers requested.
Time Out similarly referred to the 2010 episode when reporting on Murray bartending at his son Homer's Brooklyn bar years later.
In other words, the story survived because it became part of the established collection of unusual Bill Murray moments.
It Wasn't Even His Last Time Behind a Bar
The SXSW episode was not the end of Murray's relationship with bartending.
In 2016, he appeared behind the bar at 21 Greenpoint in Brooklyn, a restaurant associated with his son Homer Murray.
That later appearance again involved tequila, music and enthusiastic customers.
NME reported that Murray served drinks, drank tequila and sang along to The Rolling Stones while working at the Brooklyn establishment.
Hot Press likewise noted that the actor had a history of getting behind bars and specifically connected the 2016 appearance to his earlier SXSW stunt.
So perhaps the 2010 incident was not entirely random.
Or perhaps Murray simply enjoyed the novelty of taking over a bar every once in a while.
Either way, the SXSW night became the most famous example.
Why the Story Still Works
There is something timeless about the humor of the incident.
A famous person is usually expected to behave like a famous person.
There are security arrangements.
Publicists.
Schedules.
Appearances.
Press events.
Carefully planned interactions.
Murray's reputation has often been built around the opposite.
He seems most entertaining when the situation is informal.
A bar.
A restaurant.
A sporting event.
A party.
Somewhere without a script.
That is exactly what happened at Shangri-La.
The comedy came from the mismatch between Murray's identity and the job he suddenly decided to perform.
A Hollywood star became a bartender.
A bartender who apparently did not care much about traditional drink orders.
A crowd that quickly realized what was happening.
And a camera that captured it all.
The SXSW Environment Made the Moment Even More Special
SXSW also played an important role.
The festival is famous for unexpected collaborations and encounters.
Artists from completely different worlds can find themselves sharing the same venue.
Fans can encounter performers outside official events.
People who might never otherwise meet can end up in the same bar.
That unpredictability is part of the festival's appeal.
In 2010, the environment was particularly suited to the kind of spontaneous night Murray seemed to enjoy.
Contemporary accounts from the festival describe him appearing at screenings and events around Austin. One 2010 roundup specifically mentioned Murray's appearance at the Get Low screening and separately joked about the bizarre possibility of letting celebrities bartend.
Other festival reports also documented Murray's presence around town.