Music City Rising: Fort Worth Looks to Elevate Its Scene, But Does the City Have What It Takes?

Can you hear it? A young woman’s fingers dance upon a guitar as her voice lifts into a song. Hip-hop wordsmiths toss their poetry into head-nodding crowds. A whirlwind of violins rises into the balconies at Bass Hall, pushing awestruck listeners into their seats. Folk bands jam and indie rockers play one for the people in the back. Hard-jaw honky-tonk tumbles out of a Stockyards saloon on a trail of late-night laughter. Mariachis dazzle with their whip-fast wizardry. Jazz leans out and explores. R&B rolls through. Dance beats bounce. Tulips. Fortress Fest. Leon.

Welcome to the upswing. Fort Worth’s music scene is catching fire as the city shifts from artistic incubator to powerhouse player. Exciting sounds are bubbling up from local record labels, studios, and stores. New venues are opening their doors. Fans are returning to concerts and festivals to bask in the magic of live music. Behind the curtain, a small army is driving the industry forward at organizations like Hear Fort Worth and Amplify 817. And it’s working: Fort Worth was the first city in the state to receive certification as a Music-Friendly Community by the Texas Music Office.

Fort Worth has all the ingredients to become a bona fide music destination, one that’s singularly branded with the city’s renowned friendliness and wild spirit of freedom. With an established arts culture and a welcoming community, Fort Worth provides a uniquely supportive landscape for musicians and others in the business. There’s a palpable lack of the posturing that’s commonly found in music cities, from the glossy artifice of Los Angeles to the pretentiousness of Austin — a place where every other show is blues-rock, every other person plays the guitar, and everybody lives in Pflugerville because the rent is too high anywhere else. In Fort Worth, music is about quality, not quantity. Being a musician here is special. It’s affordable. And it comes with the infinite possibilities of a city on the rise, the optimism of getting on the ground floor of a scene that’s about to skyrocket. 

“There’s a lot of opportunity here, and there’s a lot of good talent,” says Tom Martens, director of the Fort Worth music office (aka Hear Fort Worth) and associate vice president of creative and branding. Part of the Visit Fort Worth tourism bureau, Hear Fort Worth is dedicated to the advancement of local music. “With all the development and all the cool things happening in areas like the Near Southside and River East,” he says, “I think it’s just going to explode.” 

“It’s super exciting,” agrees Lou CharLe$, an influential rapper, hip-hop artist, and force-to-be-reckoned-with (who also sits on the board of Hear Fort Worth). “There’s so much untapped potential here in Fort Worth, and that’s from the top down and across genres. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Potential. Opportunity. Everybody seems to be talking about the music scene’s stunning capacity for growth. Fort Worth is well on its way to becoming a nationally celebrated music destination. But how do we get there? More than two dozen industry insiders gave us their insights and visions for the future, including performing artists, venue owners, label heads, studio managers, and promoters. While every person had a different perspective, they all shared an infectious enthusiasm for its high-flying potential. But to truly understand the present, you must first know the past — and this city’s musical soul runs deep. 

The Sound of Fort Worth Fort Worth’s rich (and often overlooked) musical history shines with groundbreaking movements and moments. Western swing was born here at the Crystal Palace, a glittering dance hall on the banks of the Trinity River. Two-steppers flocked to its dance floor to escape their Depression-era worries with the hot-footed rhythms of Bob Wills, Milton Brown, and the Light Crust Doughboys. Bobby Day provided the sock-hop soundtrack of the 1950s. That same decade, free jazz originated at I.M. Terrell High School, where legendary saxophonist Ornette Coleman rewrote the rules of the genre with his avant-garde friends: Dewey Redman, Prince Lasha, King Curtis, John Carter, and Charles Moffett. Pianist Van Cliburn vaulted to worldwide fame after winning Moscow’s International Tchaikovsky Competition at age 23, a brilliant light during the Cold War darkness that propelled the city’s cultural prestige to a whole new level. T Bone Burnett has been scooping up the Grammy Awards since 2000, and hometown hero Leon Bridges has stamped the hearts of millions with his soulful sound while wearing his love for Fort Worth on his sleeve.

Even long before Leon, cowboys sang to calm their herds and allay their loneliness. For the Native American tribes who lived in the area, music played important spiritual and social roles; the haunting beauty of their chanting and drumbeats echoes through the story of Texas. German immigrants arrived with their oompah-oompah sounds, African slaves blessed us with their rhythms, and Scots-Irish settlers brought their bluegrass through the Appalachian Mountains. Countless other groups contributed to the mix. By the time Hell’s Half Acre was in full burn, you could listen to everything from fiddle contests and tinny saloon pianos to opera singers, gospel choirs, and polka bands.

The Wild West may be gone, but the freedom of the frontier spirit and its no-limits attitude still permeates the culture of Fort Worth. “I think you hear it in the music here,” says Sean Russell, guitarist and lead singer of local band Cut Throat Finches. This sense of freedom helps to fuel the city’s eclectic sound, which goes beyond the boundaries of genre to cater to all age groups, styles, and tastes. Today’s artists are making the future their own with genres that didn’t even exist when Van Cliburn triumphed in Russia. Metal. Electronica. Rockabilly. Shoegaze. And hip-hop, no doubt one of the most exciting genres right now. “Depending on what your ear is and what you’re into, you can hear different stories told about the city, told from different points of view,” says CharLe$. “I think that’s really cool about Fort Worth. It doesn’t have a distinct sound. In Fort Worth you have a bunch of different sounds, and that’s what makes it unique.”

“There’s far more happening here than anyone knows,” adds Ramtin Nikzad, co-founder of Fortress Festival, the city’s preeminent music festival. “It’s also far more diverse than it’s given credit for. There’s dance, synth-pop, hip-hop, R&B, Tejano, Latin-pop … it goes on and on.” Country music certainly plays a significant role, but the Fort Worth sound is so much broader than that, Martens says. “Having Billy Bob’s and the Stockyards here is going to make us associated with Western music. But then our biggest artist is Leon Bridges — not Western. I think it’s also apparent by the way people collaborate that we’re not just one type of music. These barriers are coming down in genres.”

But one of the challenges for Martens is to communicate this diversity to people outside Fort Worth, who sometimes have an outdated impression of the city. Russell explains: “They probably think that this is Cowtown, a country town, and everybody drives pickup trucks and then shoots guns all day. I’ve heard people from California say that … they have an image of what Fort Worth is. I think that hurts us not only on the cultural side, but also on the business side. It’s not that it creates a negative image; it just creates a very two-dimensional image rather than who we really are. For businesses to be attracted to us, it has to be a much bigger image than that. The more people coming here for business, the more it benefits the city. If you’re a business owner and you’re wanting to expand your business, Fort Worth being seen as a diverse, multicultural, dynamic city is to everyone’s benefit.”

Whether as concertgoers or tourists, we’ve all experienced the power of music to embed a sense of place in our hearts and minds. “If you go into a town and you get to experience the art and culture — you hear some of the music, eat the food, and find a good bar — then you’re going to remember that town. It’s going to be more memorable than just checking off the list of things that you’re supposed to see,” says Russell. But understanding the true, long-term value of music for a city’s culture and economy can be difficult for most people. “They won’t be able to see it. It’s not a tangible thing.”

Numbers may help: Fort Worth’s music industry generated more than $500 million in direct economic output in 2016, according to a study by Sound Diplomacy. “An active music scene has a resounding economic impact that benefits everyone, not just fans and musicians,” says Nikzad. “However, there’s a tendency here, and many places, to think of the arts predominantly as a philanthropic enterprise. That goes for both the creative entrepreneur and investment communities. A better understanding of the business and economy of the arts in a for-profit context will help us build a lasting scene.” Nourishing and promoting Fort Worth music will produce a richer soundscape that appeals to performers, fans, tourists, and businesses from around the world. It’s a massive undertaking, but several organizations are already leading the way.

Local Music Initiatives: Fueling the Fire Championing musical diversity is just one task on the to-do list at Hear Fort Worth, a name on the lips of countless artists as they praise the city’s support. With Martens at the helm, Hear Fort Worth is charting new ground with creative ideas to help our musicians. The organization has offered application fee reimbursements for the SXSW music festival as well as travel grants for performers who want to tour. “Sometimes that first tank of gas is the obstacle to getting out of town. Sometimes it’s printing $500 of merchandise,” says Martens. It’s a multi-pronged strategy; musicians on tour act as ambassadors for the city in a way that sculptures in a park never could. “We want them to get out and tour. We want them to share the Fort Worth story on the road.”

Hear Fort Worth also organizes music showcases at out-of-town events like the Houston Rodeo, and they’ve worked with Niles City Sound to supply studio time to emerging artists. They use songs and voiceovers by local musicians in commercials for Visit Fort Worth, which provides funding as well as exposure. And they host a come-as-you-are industry mixer every first Tuesday of the month. “It’s really informal,” Marten says. “It’s open to everyone.” Simply known as the Hear Fort Worth Mixer, the event moves around to a variety of venues. One month it might be at Billy Bob’s, the next at the R&B/hip-hop recording studio Music in Focus. This change-up allows for artists of all stripes to feel at home. “When you get people together and they feel welcome and safe, more people show up,” he continues. “It’s all about support.”

Supporting artists is also a priority for The Cliburn. The Cliburn’s programs deliver a small slice of the symphony to venues and festivals not normally known for classical sounds, such as The Post at River East, Scat Jazz Lounge, and Friday on the Green. “To bring classical music to more people, it’s important to go where they are and to find ways to present the same high level of musicians in comfortable, more casual environments,” explains Maggie Estes, The Cliburn’s director of communications and digital content. In nontraditional bar-style environments, fans can chat with the classical players while having a few drinks, a totally different vibe from Bass Hall. COVID-19 forced The Cliburn to shift to outdoor pop-up concerts, which has turned out well. “They’ve been immensely popular and have all sold out,” Estes says. Open-air performances have also been a hit for Cliburn in the Community, an event series that hosts younger instrumentalists at various branches of the Fort Worth Public Library — often in the parking lots and always for free. “Attendance and enthusiasm have been awesome so far.” 

The library is ground zero for another organization that’s dedicated to Fort Worth music: Amplify 817. Presented in partnership with Hear Fort Worth and sponsored in part by the Fort Worth Public Library Foundation, Amplify 817 hosts a commercial-free music-streaming site featuring a curated selection of local musicians. Artists are paid upfront for their music, a distinct contrast to most streaming sites (which pay musicians based on their number of streams). New applicants are regularly accepted into the fold. “We’re keeping a steady flow of submission rounds open and including as many diverse artists as we can,” says Rita Alfaro, music librarian at the Fort Worth Public Library and Amplify 817. “We’re committed to a wide range of genres and artists to showcase the sounds of our city.” Anyone can listen for free at amplify817.org, and library cardholders can also download the songs at no charge. It’s a win-win-win for the musicians, the fans, and the city of Fort Worth.

Amplify 817 also creates vital opportunities for artists to connect with each other and with various players in the industry, including venue owners, journalists, and sound engineers. Their networking mixers and media events forge links within the community, while their educational panels and interview sessions help artists upgrade their game. “We’re also developing a performance series [virtual and live] to continue connecting and collaborating with all of the different music venues and organizations we have in the area,” Alfaro adds. “We want to provide more music resources, programs, and connections.” 

All of these organizations are making an impact with their efforts, says guitarist Sean Russell. “The city recognizes us and continues to show us that they see musicians as an integral part of both the cultural underbelly and for tourism. We drive revenue. We have value to the city. They put money where their mouth is; that’s really the biggest part of it.” 

But it’s a long road to becoming a preeminent music city, and a more comprehensive approach may be required. “Arts and culture entrepreneurship could be better encouraged and celebrated,” admits Nikzad. “The effort needs the active patronage of attendees as well as the support of civic institutions and the business community.” Russell agrees: “Create a standard for what ‘support local music’ really means. Show businesses how they can promote local musicians and make us a part of what they’re doing.” For example, the city could offer incentives for restaurants and bars that play a certain percentage of local songs in their establishments — perhaps a “Fort Worth Music Supporter” window badge of some sort. “There’s no reason for venues in the Stockyards to be playing anything other than music from right here,” adds Russell. “You’re talking about thousands of tourists coming through that area. But they’re giving more attention to Nashville than they are the artists that are starving right there across the street.”

For CharLe$, it all comes back to the people. “Programming like Amplify 817 and Hear Fort Worth need to reach out to the community more, to let people know what’s going on in the city. Because I think a lot of times people just don’t know.” Venues and musicians could step up the community involvement as well, he adds. In many ways, Fort Worth is already taking the right steps to develop the industry — we just need to do more. More education and mentorship. More opportunities for exposure. More support from businesses. More radio stations, studios, festivals, and competitions.

And of course: more venues.

Music Venues: The New and the Needed   Every person whom we interviewed for this article had a different opinion about the Fort Worth music scene. For every individual who praised its diversity, another said we needed greater diversity. For every artist that championed the city’s efforts, another maintained that it needs to do more. But there is one element that everyone agreed on: Fort Worth needs more venues.

To be fair, several spaces have opened in the past few years. Dickies Arena no doubt deserves the loudest fanfare for bringing regional and national tours to Fort Worth. But having a variety of smaller venues is just as important. In the Stockyards, the reborn Isis Theatre presents live shows in a historic landmark. Mule Alley’s new Second Rodeo is primarily a brewery and beer garden, but it also hosts Texas country musicians (and they “ain’t got none of that Nashville pop”). 

In the up-and-coming River East neighborhood, The Post provides a unique setting for performances with a large outdoor courtyard plus an indoor listening room with superior acoustics. The quiet, seated environment is “designed for serious music fans who want to listen more than they want to party,” explains Brooks Kendall, entertainment manager at The Post. “It has a cool vibe,” adds Martens. “I think it’s the way Fort Worth is going.” Another exciting new venue is Tulips FTW, which opened in the Near Southside during the middle of the pandemic. “Tulips is already attracting big names in music and has a very impressive season lined up for shows to come,” says Megan Henderson, director of events and communications at Near Southside Inc. “I am so proud of the investment that Jason Suder and the Tulips FTW team have made in our local music ecosystem, and in maybe the hardest year we could ever imagine doing so.”

But despite these recent additions, we still need more. “A greater variety of performance venues of different sizes with quality sound systems and professional sound engineers can only help us grow,” says Nikzad. “There are a lot of really great venues that have been around a long time, well suited to small shows. Now that we’re expanding with larger and midsize venues like Dickies Arena and Tulips, let’s keep going. I think we’ll be able to attract a greater variety of shows and artists to the Fort Worth scene.”

If we want more venues, however, first we need to support the ones that already exist. “The reason there aren’t more is because people don’t buy enough tickets to keep the venues we already have consistently filled,” contends Kendall. “The most important form of support is patronage. Bring your office here for happy hour, buy tickets for shows, order lunch from us.”

Music venues aren’t just places that host performances. They are spaces where communities take shape, where fans and artists come together to share, create, and celebrate. Good venues are so much more than the names on the lineups. They are experiences: the friends you see, the people you meet, the drinks you spill, that moment when you forget all your worries. But only with help from the community will spaces like The Post thrive and multiply. “As we get more venues, I think we’ll start to see more things happen,” says Martens. 

Every new venue amplifies Fort Worth’s musical stature. Midsize spaces are especially important for drawing bigger acts to the city, which give locals more opportunities to share the stage with top-tier performers (and connect with their crowds). Creating additional avenues to success for our artists is essential, because when it comes to musicians — this city is brimming with talent.

Talent: Overflowing Yet Underdeveloped  Fort Worth has the 12th largest population of any American city. We’re bigger than Nashville, Seattle, Denver, San Francisco, Boston, and Las Vegas. We have a huge pool of homegrown artists, but even more important than their quantity is their quality. “There’s a really high standard for music here,” says Russell. “I see that for both the venues and the bands. In other cities, the level of talent is not the same with bands of comparable [social media] followers, for example. I think it’s good because it does push you to hit a higher level. It’s a good pressure, an encouraging pressure.” Fort Worth artists also possess an abundance of grit and determination, which is just as important as one’s music (if not more so) when it comes to success in the industry. “There’s a work ethic in this town with the musicians,” he adds, “they’re working really hard.”

But to achieve their dreams, artists must also navigate the modern music business. Marketing and merchandise. Contracts and royalties. Spotify and Apple. It’s called the music business for a reason. But no one learns to play guitar because they want to write Twitter posts and negotiate contracts. Most musicians simply want to create and play the sounds that they love. And they can certainly do that. But if they also want to support themselves financially with their music (which most do), they will benefit immensely from learning the basics of the industry. “We need to educate artists and help them develop themselves,” says Martens. “If only we could convey how important it is to treat it like a business.” Russell also sees room for improvement. “There seems to be a gap right now in the business side.”

For artists trying to advance their careers, Fort Worth feels a bit like a wilderness (at least compared to cities with more developed music scenes). “Fort Worth likes to be that big city with a small-town feel, but if we want people to come and see what we have, we’ll need to possibly grow out of that mindset a little bit,” notes Alfaro. The lack of pretentiousness lauded above may help to explain a scarcity of marketing impetus on some parts. While researching this article, I handed my card to more than 20 musicians; I told them I was writing a cover story for the city’s top magazine and looking for artists to feature. Only one person reached out and contacted me (big up to Averi Burk).

Luckily, navigating the music industry is a skill that can be taught. Artists can find some of the guidance they need at local record labels like TRND and Dreamy Life. Like almost every other facet of the music business, the role of record labels has changed dramatically in recent years. Old-school labels like the three majors (Universal, Warner, and Sony) have traditionally given advances to their musicians. Advances are pre-payments of a record’s anticipated royalties, which must be paid back. It’s an outdated system that often leaves artists in debt to labels if their sales fall short of expectations. Today’s independent labels (every label except the three majors) work quite differently. 

“A modern label will let the artist cover most of the cost of the record, and the label will step in to help promote and market the record, taking a smaller cut, but helping the artist reach his market much more efficiently,” explains Blake LaBella, co-owner and artist manager at TRND (pronounced “trend”). “Artists in Fort Worth can benefit heavily from a well-connected label because it gets them out of their friends and family bubble. It can help by acting as a booking agent, it can work with PR companies, and it can create buzz around an act using its resources and connections, rather than just the artist’s.”

From management to cover art design to data analytics, today’s labels wear many hats. They operate recording studios and record stores; they host events, festivals, and launch parties. Labels serve as musical curators, helping fans to filter the fire-hose onslaught of new sounds that arrive every day. And they can engender entire communities around musical movements, says Cameron Smith, co-founder of Dreamy Life Records. “Our best examples of independent record labels are the ones that really helped cultivate a creative ecosystem — some championing entire underground scenes into well-recognized subgenres — by providing resources and seeking unique opportunities for the artists they represent. If you’re really doing it right, a label can also be a network and a support group.”

Perhaps this is the most important function of a modern record label: giving musicians that crucial feeling of support. “Many artists still need a team around them to help push them,” says LaBella. Labels are fundamental to a healthy music culture, and Fort Worth needs more of them, he adds, “more music industry labels, managers, and executives here that can push the music out to a larger audience and demographic on the national and international scale.”

Venues are also essential for supporting artists, who had plenty of improvements to suggest. Book more up-and-coming, lesser-known acts. Book a greater variety of performers. Host multigenre shows. Bring in regional and national acts and hire locals as openers. Offer fair wages and reliable booking practices. “We need a robust conversation about how to value musicians as professionals,” asserts Henderson. “We need to create better work environments for musicians across the industry.” Venues and performers would both benefit from a professionalism agreement that spelled out their mutual obligations. For example, says Martens, “musicians would agree not to show up drunk, and venues would agree not to make the artist come back three days later to get paid.” Some sort of “Fair Pay Pledge” could help. But what exactly would that look like? “I’m afraid that if we set a baseline amount, it would take some aspiring artists out of the equation,” he says. “You’re not going to pay everyone $100 at an open-mic night, but at the same time … musicians need to be compensated. You can’t pay your rent in ‘exposure.’” By working together with performers and venue owners, Martens hopes to identify a middle ground.

But beyond business policies, record labels, venues, and artist education — there is one thing that Fort Worth music needs more than anything else: you. Venues will only book lesser-known acts if people actually show up to hear them. Festivals can only exist with our patronage. Every element of the musical ecosystem is connected, and fans are the fuel that keeps it moving forward.  

Fans: You Are the Future of Fort Worth Music What makes Fort Worth a great music city is the same thing that makes it great, period: our people. Our community’s friendliness and welcoming nature create a fertile landscape for growing the music industry. “There is a wonderful neighbor mentality where everyone likes to help each other out and watch our friends succeed. It’s very inspiring,” Alfaro says. “It definitely comes down to the people,” adds CharLe$. “That’s the beginning and the end. There’s a lot of people in Fort Worth that get it right now. They understand the community aspect. And one cool thing about Fort Worth is that Fort Worth loves Fort Worth. So when they see somebody out here trying to do something and trying to execute their vision, they’re always down to help. It’s a very collaborative environment for sure.”

In the Sound Diplomacy study, one of the more interesting findings was that the average person in Fort Worth does not view their hometown as a “music city.” Many of us are unaware of our momentous musical history or the plethora of novel sounds bubbling up right now. Most of us don’t identify as local music advocates with the same fervor that we identify as foodies, football fans, or small business supporters. What if we did? “Everybody loves the idea of supporting local restaurants. People love finding out about a new restaurant and then telling everybody about it. What if people would be that adamant about music?” asks Russell. “When they go out and see local bands or they hear about local bands from somebody, what if they talked about us just like they talk about restaurants?” 

Being a local music supporter is a badge of honor, and we should wear it with pride — because it matters. “Everyday citizens can make a huge difference in Fort Worth’s music economy,” says Henderson. It’s a thrilling prospect, but it’s only possible when we take ownership of the city’s musical future and embrace our vital roles in its development. And the best way to do so is simple: Go to a show. “You don’t have to be young, you don’t have to be old, you can go to a show, and just support by showing up,” says Martens. “Sometimes just showing up is all the support people need. And buy something physical if you can, a little bit of money goes a long way. If it’s a record, get it signed and hang it on your wall. Get a T-shirt and let everybody know who your favorite band is.” Buy drinks and food at the venue, and post pictures whenever you can. Add a few bucks to musicians’ tip jars as a point of pride. Let go of the notion that music is synonymous with nightlife; plenty of daytime events and family-friendly festivals cater to crowds with early bedtimes. 

Express your gratitude freely and often, because words of appreciation are powerful sustenance for artists — in person or online. “Connect to us, because that’s what we want, too,” says Russell. Dig a little deeper. Listen a little longer. “When you find a local band, just give us a try. Follow us a bit on Facebook or Instagram and see what pops up. Then you can forget about us if you don’t like us,” he laughs. “As long as you’re following us, at least we’ll get into some better festivals.” Even a reposted Tweet or an Instagram “like” can reach a new audience. Find a Fort Worth playlist and set it to repeat, especially if you’re a business owner. And don’t forget to tell all of your friends. 

We’re already on the right track; now we just need to turn it up. “We are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were five years ago, three years ago, two years ago,” says CharLe$. COVID-19 restrictions hit the music industry hard, but it has resumed its upward trajectory in the last several months. “We’re seeing more shows at more places than we’ve seen before,” says Nikzad. The pandemic may have shut down live events, but it also reminded us of the immense value of the arts in our lives. Because in the darkest, most anxiety-riddled days of quarantine when the entire world shut down — we turned to artists. We lost ourselves in movies, we read books, and we listened to song after song. 

“Music is one of the most memorable, moving, and fundamentally important arts,” says Henderson. “Imagine musical theater without the orchestra or film without a soundtrack. How many art shows have we enjoyed that have a live DJ creating the atmosphere on gallery night? How often do we enjoy fine dining and rely on music to create the ambiance of our experience? How many visual artists do we know that listen to music as they paint, sculpt, or create? When we define ourselves as a city and cultural destination, isn’t music one of the first things we turn to when we share our city’s spirit? All of these are reminders how music, and more importantly musicians, are so important to who and what Fort Worth is.”

“It’s a very exciting time and scene to be a part of, and I’m eager to see what’s to come,” says Nikzad. “The future of Fort Worth is unwritten, and we can make that story whatever we want.” The power is in your hands to shape the sound of the city’s tomorrow. Because when we listen to local music, talk about local music, and show up for local music — Fort Worth will grow into the incredible music city that we all know is possible.  

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Music Venues

Bass Performance Hall | 525 Commerce St.

Billy Bob’s Texas | 2520 Rodeo Plaza

Club Ritzy | 1201 Oakland Blvd.

Curfew | 350 W. Fifth St.

Dickies Arena | 1911 Montgomery St.

Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theatre | 2401 N. Main St.

Filthy McNasty’s Saloon  | 114 W. Exchange Ave.

Jazz Café | 2504 Montgomery St.

Lil’ Red’s Longhorn Saloon | 121 W. Exchange Ave.

Lola’s Saloon | 2736 W. Sixth St.

Longhorn Saloon | 121 W. Exchange Ave.

Magnolia Motor Lounge | 3005 Morton St.

Main at South Side (MASS) | 1002 S. Main St.

McDavid Studio | 301 E. Fifth St.

Panther Island Pavilion | 395 Purcey St.

Pearl’s Dancehall | 302 W. Exchange Ave.

Pete’s Dueling Pianos | 621 Houston St.

The Post in River East | 2925 Race St.

The Rail Club Live | 3101 Joyce Drive

The Ridglea  | 6025 Camp Bowie Blvd.

Scat Jazz Lounge | 111 W. Fourth St.

Second Rodeo | 122 E. Exchange Ave., Ste. 340

Smokestack 1948 | 2836 Stanley Ave.

Thirsty Armadillo | 120 W. Exchange Ave.

Tulips FTW | 112 St. Louis Ave.

The Warehouse | 1125 E. Berry St.

Twilite Lounge | 212 Lipscomb St.

White Elephant Saloon | 106 E. Exchange Ave.

Wild Acre Live | 1734 E. El Paso St.

Will Rogers Auditorium | 3401 W. Lancaster Ave.

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Artists Respond:  What Does Fort Worth Need to Become THE Music City in Texas?

Elise Amara [soulful R&B]

“Fort Worth needs to consistently be more inclusive of diverse artists and have spaces where they can come together and connect. If opportunities are created for exposure and visibility, the scene will flourish.”

Grady Spencer [Texas groove rock]

“Let’s make sure there are plenty of venues around town to give artists a place to learn and grow their careers. Yes, the Saturday night headliner needs a 5,000-person venue — but for every one of those, there are 10 kids needing a 100-person room where they can learn how to perform and perfect their craft.”

Bryan Freymuth of Driving Slow Motion [post-rock instrumental]

“Established bands and venues could utilize the wide variety of artists. Mixed genre shows need to be a thing again; we don’t need the same bands on every bill. Perhaps the bigger festivals and venues in town should make it a point to book more of the newer, lesser-known artists. There’s a lot of talent out there.”

Lorena Leigh [Cowgirl-mermaid alt-pop/rock]

“What any city needs to be great for musicians is a culture of people who appreciate the art (or at least are willing to take a chance to listen to music live that they’ve never previously heard of). There has to be a mindset that the experience of music and diversity in music is important to the community; that it is worth the small investments of time, energy, and money because it all supports the bridge that music provides amongst a group of people.”

Corrie Donovan [Classical soprano]

“We need more bands, different kinds of bands, more local artist support, and absolutely more spaces for these people to perform. We also need to be fostering more local talent through continued education and training as well as professional opportunities both through nonprofits and schools.”

Summer Dean [Traditional country]

“I have a hope that Fort Worth becomes a city with a reputation for supporting touring bands. That we’re known for supporting bands that travel to play our town, even if we’ve never heard of them.”

Smoothvega [Latin-influenced hip-hop]

“I would like to see more thriving venues come along that are diverse and open to different genres of music. And more opportunities to educate artists.”

Jack Barksdale [Americana/folk]

“More of what they are already doing. More organizations like the Public Library using their presence in the community to support music in the way Amplify 817 is doing. The more that the community and city of Fort Worth are invested in the success of its music scene, the more Fort Worth music will flourish.”

Lou Charle$  [Lyric-driven rap/hip-hop]

“Making sure we have spaces for artists to perform and congregate and collaborate is very important. And while Fort Worth is growing, we need to protect these spaces — we don’t want artists to get pushed out of vibrant spaces due to gentrification. We need people in City Council and City Hall who are fighting to make sure that Fort Worth is a music city.”

Hannah Witkowski and Samuel Culp of Yokyo [dance pop/electronic]

“Venues should treat artists as business partners and negotiate fair deals where success can be shared. Smaller venues need to bring in larger regional and national acts so that local artists have a chance to open up for bigger artists; larger venues need to provide local support for all national acts that come through Fort Worth.”

Averi Burk [rock/pop/R&B/alt electronic]

“More unity and support among artists. Fort Worth has so many talented musicians and diversified genres, I believe when we work together, support, and appreciate each other the potential is unlimited. There’s power in numbers.”

Dustin Massey [Alt-country/rock singer-songwriter]

“Just time. The direction and growth are undeniable.”

Ginny Mac:  [WESTERN SWING/AMERICANA] 

“In my opinion, the problem Fort Worth is facing in the art scene is too much money has the power to say, ‘What is art.’ If you want a true representation of expression in the city, we’ve got to take it to the punk part of ourselves and break away. That’s what I’m working to do myself.”

Van Darien  [Americana]

“If we had more listening venues like The Post and Magnolia Motor Lounge, and larger venues for national touring bands to perform, it might create more of a draw for audiences from all over.”

Abraham Alexander [Soul/R&B]

One, you need to acknowledge that it is [the Music City], and then you need to build an infrastructure in order to develop the music that’s around. The talent is there. The hunger is there. They say, “If you build it, they will come.” And if you don’t build it [that infrastructure] the musicians are going to leave.