By Trey Hicks
The folks at Fortress Festival announced via Instagram that they’ll be releasing the lineup to this year’s music event in one week — which, since I’m writing this two days later, will be Jan. 14.
Last year’s lineup included homegrown star Leon Bridges headlining, with CHVRCHES, Rae Sremmurd, and Khruangbin rounding out the top of the bill. While the festival is still very much in its infancy — this being its fourth year — it’s easy to laud the organizers for curating a program of musical acts that promises a diverse experience for festivalgoers. As a music fan, this is much appreciated. But it makes my job as a festival Nostradamus extremely difficult.
Despite this, I can make some confident predictions: Tame Impala, Childish Gambino, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and the Rolling Stones will not be taking the stage in Fort Worth’s Cultural District; Leon Bridges will not be doing an encore of last year’s amazing show; and there will be at least three Fort Worth-based acts participating.
For the remainder of my predictions — of which I have little confidence will come true — I didn’t merely point to bands or solo artists I liked and say “yeah, that’s who’ll play.” No, I looked at past lineups, tendencies, current festival lineups (to see who’s currently on the circuit), band schedules, and recent releases. For instance, the festival has a knack for inviting well-established indie and/or hip-hop and R&B acts as headliners. Typically, these are bands and solo musicians that fly just enough under the radar to keep their hip credentials while not scaring away any God-fearing grannies (Leon Bridges is the archetype of this artist). The organizers also lean toward the R&B side of indie music while steering clear of electronic dance music, or inviting DJs who press play on a laptop and awkwardly dance with oversized headphones.
Regardless of its accuracy, this forecast is meant to be a fun way to stir conversation and get you thinking about who you’d most like to see at this year’s festival.
Here are my thoughts with a sentence or two of reasoning to back up each prediction:
Potential headliners
Anderson .Paak — He performed at the Toyota Music Factory in June of last year, and his overall groove — an accessible mix of soul, funk, pop, and hip-hop — screams “Fortress Festival headliner.”
Portugal. The Man — It’s been a couple years since these guys last played North Texas (it was at the Bomb Factory in 2017 with Tank and the Bangas in case you were curious); it’s also been a hot minute since the last time they released new music, but they already have three separate festivals booked this spring.
Doja Cat — This might be more of a plea for her to play than anything else — perhaps the idea of seeing her perform “Candy” under a lit Pioneer Tower is too tempting an idea to pass up. But she is playing Coachella, which means she’s open to the festival circuit.
Kurt Vile — Mr. “Pretty Pimpin’” will be on tour this spring. Conspicuously, he’s taking a break from his performances the weekend of Fortress Festival. Also noteworthy: no North Texas dates have been announced.
St. Vincent — If last year is any indication, Fortress Fest likes to keep things at least semi-local (yes, this includes the entire metroplex). So, don’t be shocked if they bring in St. Vincent from our sister city. There’s little doubt she’ll bring an audience.
Sylvan Esso — Not currently touring, but they are scheduled to play The National-curated Homecoming Music Festival in May and Bonnaroo in June. Their electro-indiepop fits this fest like a glove.
Some other possibilities to round out the lineup
Noname — The Chicago-based artist announced she’ll be releasing some new material this year. No upcoming shows have been announced, so her schedule’s wide open.
Japanese Breakfast — The kind of budding indie band that Fortress Fest loves to showcase. They played ACL a couple years ago but haven’t returned to the Lone Star State since.
Hot Chip — They’re playing Coachella and oddly skipped the entire state of Texas during last year’s tour for “A Bath Full of Ecstasy.”
Yella Beezy — Dallas-based rap artist who also played Posty Fest last year. We’d, of course, love it if he crossed Arlington to play in the Fort.
Sharon Van Etten — She’s playing at Stubb’s in Austin on the 26th with the 25th wide open. With it only being a three-hour drive, I suspect she might make the trip to Fort Worth for an appearance.
Moses Sumney — Keeping himself relevant with the constant release of singles, Moses Sumney has been a mainstay of the festival circuit the past couple years. The one festival he’s missing on his resume? You guessed it.
Nilufer Yanya — Despite releasing one of 2019’s most critically acclaimed albums, and playing Austin City Limits last year and Coachella this year, she has yet to step foot in North Texas. Let’s change that.
Cate le Bon — She’s touring with Kurt Vile, so if Kurt plays, we suspect she will too.
Post Animal — These cats have been touring hard the past year, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see their name on all the merch despite playing in Dallas last year.
Magna Carda — Austin-based outfit whose funky jams and intelligent rap is the kind of thing the organizers love to unearth.
Local acts I’d love to see
Lou Charle$
Abraham Alexander
Polydogs
Cut Throat Finches