art by Sarah Ayala
How does one define funky? While there’s a growing sentiment to apply this denomination to Fort Worth, you’ll likely receive a different answer from every person who purveys this nickname. One could easily argue that the Stockyards, home of Cowtown, with its Wild West vibe and abundance of large belt buckles and cowboy hats, is the funkiest thing west of the Mississippi. And we wouldn’t argue otherwise.
But for this list, we’re choosing to highlight the people and the things that push our city in different, diverse, and exciting directions — people who may one day become synonymous with the term Funkytown, and things on the precipice of becoming cultural institutions. Ultimately, these are the who and the what that are at the heart of our city’s change.
1. Sarah Ayala
From time to time, you’ll see the commercial work of local artist Sarah Ayala hanging throughout various locales in and around Fort Worth: pizzeria Abe Froman’s wood-grain letter sign; the office sign for CG Northern in The Foundry District; a sign for a funeral parlor in North Richland Hills. All were carefully, meticulously stenciled by the Fort Worth native. The 27-year-old artist spends an equal amount of time working in another medium, a unique form of visual art called mandalas. Specifically, she takes old maps, of Fort Worth and beyond, and creates beautiful, texturally rich designs on them, using good ol’ fashioned pen and pencil. “I call it cartography art,” she says. It combines two of her loves: mandalas artwork and vintage/antique maps. “I have a crazy collection of maps, and sometimes I feel bad about drawing on them,” she says. “But it’s like other forms of art in which old pieces are used to create new works.” Ayala’s work can be seen on Instagram at @sarahrayala.
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2. Local Musicians
Because of Fort Worth’s Cowtown roots, the city will always remain tied to country-western music. But this by no means gives twang any exclusivity; Fort Worth has produced — and continues to produce — music from a wide range of genres. Name any musical style, and Fort Worth likely has an artist sharing tunes on SoundCloud. While there are the obvious Funkytown musicians who’ve managed to break into the billboard charts, Leon Bridges and Toadies aside, the local Fort Worth music scene is one of the nation’s best and most diverse. From soul (Abraham Alexander) to rock (Quaker City Night Hawks) to indie (Meach Pango) to rap and hip-hop (Solar Slim), our town has some of the most talented singers, guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, and bassists walking among us. If this current lineup of Fort Worth musicians has done its part to inspire the next generation of singers and songwriters, the future sounds bright.
3. Niles City Sound Studio
The vintage equipment that occupies Niles City Sound Studio is ever so prevalent in the tranquil sounds found on Leon Bridges’ debut album, Coming Home. Austin Jenkins, Josh Block, and Chris Vivion founded the studio after amassing a drool-worthy collection of old-school recording equipment over the course of several years. The three men eventually met Leon Bridges, at the time a dishwasher at Fort Worth’s Del Frisco’s, and the rest is Fort Worth lore. With current trends returning to a more organic sound, Niles City has played a big role in expanding Fort Worth’s music scene beyond the confines of the Metroplex. The Niles roster now includes NeedtoBreathe, Frank Turner, Robert Ellis, Nicole Atkins, and Gili Yalo.
4. Channing Godfrey Peoples
Channing Peoples is hard at work putting Fort Worth on the silver screen. When she noticed a severe lack of complex roles for black women, she made it a priority to bring genuine, racially-diverse, multi-layered characters to the forefront of her own films. After attending Baylor University, she went to the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. Growing up, Peoples dreamt of becoming an actress or a singer, but with the lack of meaningful roles, she ultimately decided to write the parts she wanted to see. This ambition led to the script she worked on immediately following her graduation, “Miss Juneteenth,” which is set to begin filming in 2019. A mother/daughter tale about a previous Miss Juneteenth winner — which commemorates the day slaves were emancipated in Texas — the script received several accolades following its submission to various screenwriting competitions.
5. Fortress Festival
It’s hard to believe that before 2017, North Texas — with its high volume of residents, musicians, and art lovers — didn’t have a major music festival. Taking place in the heart of the Cultural District, Fortress Festival filled those uninhabited shoes. The year of its inception, the festival showcased a lineup of artists as diverse as the city it calls home. A perfect mix of local, national, and global acts, the festival has brought such acts as Leon Bridges, Father John Misty, Slowdive, Chvrches, Run the Jewels, Rae Sremmund, and Tinashe. Taking place over the course of two days during the last weekend of April, the festival is primed to become a North Texas institution.
6. Music Venues
Fort Worth has never lacked musicians — one could throw a rock and hit a guitarist. But these musicians require spaces to showcase their art to the masses. Fortunately, Fort Worth has music venues in spades. No matter the day of the week, live music is happening in Funkytown. Whether it’s genre-specific venues (you’ll likely hear country-western at Billy Bob’s), renovated theaters (The Ridglea Theater), outdoor venues (Shipping & Receiving and Lola’s), or venues with a record store inside (Main at South Side), if you’re looking for a good gig to attend, the city has you covered. While the iconic 1919 Hemphill was shut down due to code violations, there is hope this venue, a nonprofit DIY art space, will soon reopen, thanks to contributions.
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7. Jeremy Joel
You’ve no doubt run across the work of local emerging artist Jeremy Joel, maybe without even knowing it. He painted murals inside Avoca Coffee Roasters and Magnolia Skate Shop, both on the Near Southside, not far from where the 36-year-old artist grew up. His more personal works were recently on display at an art show he helped curate, Pass the Peas, at Shipping & Receiving. There, art-lovers got an up-close glimpse of his biographical paintings, in which he chronicled his rough-and-tumble upbringing. Joel’s star is clearly on the rise: An art gallery in New York recently acquired one of his works, and another recently sold for $7,000. Follow him on Instagram at @bens_goldteeth.
8. Sedrick & Letitia Huckaby
In case you didn’t know, former President George W. Bush has picked up painting as a pastime. His portraits of veterans and world leaders have received praise for their unique style — a style that very much mirrors that of one of his art instructors, Sedrick Huckaby. Sedrick’s own art, like his wife Letitia, focuses on African-American culture, heritage, and history. He paints large-scale portraits that showcase the importance of everyday people — something evident in Sedrick’s Big Momma’s House, a home he inherited from his grandmother in Fort Worth’s Poly neighborhood, which is now filled with jaw-dropping canvases. Letitia, well known for her 2015 collection, Bayou Baroque, has a more photojournalistic style. Her artistic ambitions include the creation of a new visual language by combining traditional images but translating them in new ways.
9. ArtsGoggle
Billing itself as Fort Worth’s premier festival of local artists, ArtsGoggle provides the space and marketing to showcase everything that makes our city funky. Once a year, Fort Worth artists, merch vendors, food vendors, and musicians line the streets of the city’s burgeoning Near Southside. Celebrating its 17th year on Oct. 19, patrons can walk — or take a trolley — through the tents that will occupy Magnolia Avenue and South Main Street. The thing that makes this event so unique is its exclusivity to Fort Worth and its aim to showcase our city’s infinite creative contributions.
10. Jo Dufo
Art teacher, peace muralist, and advocate for children, Jo Dufo, who lives and works in Fort Worth’s Near Southside, combines her myriad of vocations to affect positive change. As an art teacher at Metro Opportunity High School, a local alternative school where children are sent for disciplinary reasons, Dufo uses art as a tool to connect to her students. Often, the students start off as despondent, but slowly and surely, Dufo draws them out of their shells. In turn, they connect to the world and different cultures and walk out of her classroom with new-found confidence. Her expressive style, which includes a colorfully painted midsize truck, have also become local institutions. Through her funky and colorful art, Dufo spreads a message of peace and understanding that resonates with children of all ages and backgrounds.
11. Art Tooth
Adding to Fort Worth’s burgeoning contemporary art scene is Aimee Cordoso’s brainchild, Art Tooth. Founded in 2016, Art Tooth is an artist-run gallery, collective, pop-up, and overall quirky art advocate — just follow Art Tooth on social channels if you ever question the city’s funkiness. Dedicated to educating and exhibiting new and mid-career artists, the group is determined to make Fort Worth a premier art destination and forge relationships between artists and patrons. To get involved, try purchasing a ticket on the Gallery Night pArty Bus where you and fellow art lovers are carted around to participating galleries.
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12. Brewers & Distillers
Fort Worth doesn’t just love to drink beer, whiskey, and vodka; we love to make it. Craft breweries have become prevalent across most, if not all, major U.S. cities. But, in Fort Worth, the scene has become city-defining. With new breweries and distilleries opening at a rapid pace, listing all the places in Fort Worth that ferment their own alcohol is a task that borders on futility. The new Funkytown Fermatorium, which is an offshoot of Dallas’ Deep Ellum Brewery, opened its doors in the Cultural District earlier this year. Martin House Brewing Company continues to pump out some of the beer world’s most interesting concoctions, HopFusion is quickly becoming a staple, Wild Acre is a must-visit, and Collective Brewing Project is the place to go for sours. Point is, when it comes to the craft of making alcoholic beverages, Fort Worth’s funkiness shines through.
13. Jeffrey Lorde
You might have to look twice before realizing Jeffrey Lorde is not James Zametz, the creator of the Keep Fort Worth Funky campaign. After all, both sport impressive facial hair, never expose the crown of their heads, possess a friendly disposition, and are similarly passionate about advocating Fort Worth as a city on the precipice of artistic greatness. Through his Funkytown Podcast, which you can listen to on PodBean, Lorde, in as relaxed a style as one can possibly manage, shoots the shit with artists, musicians, writers, business owners, and quirky Fort Worthians — which are in abundance. Similar to the podcast’s free-flowing style, the podcast doesn’t abide by any regimented schedule, but a new one pops up almost weekly.
14. Blackhouse
On the corner of East Peach Street stands the behemoth Blackhouse, so named for its pitch-black exterior. While the structure dates back to 1915, the home was rechristened in 2016 to its current descriptive nomenclature and has quickly become something of a cultural hub. The Victorian-style home is located in the historic neighborhood of Rock Island, just a few minutes away from Sundance Square, and plays host to a myriad of events focused on local art, music, and the creative scene. On most weekends, you can find a party that goes into the wee hours when some of Fort Worth’s most creative characters mix and mingle.
15. Tony Green
One of Funkytown’s biggest advocates is a man with a large gap-toothed smile and enough charisma and affection to convince anyone he’s Fort Worth’s most beloved celebrity. This is certainly an arguable proclamation; but walk side by side with Tony Green down Magnolia Avenue, where he seemingly doesn’t run into anyone he doesn’t recognize, and you just might be persuaded. While Green’s primary vocation is in the service industry — he bartends at La Zona and works at Kent and Co. Wines — he’s also a tireless self-promoter and, by extension, a promoter of the city. Green currently has a live talk show at Shipping & Receiving — aptly titled “Hello, I’m Tony Green.” The show highlights Fort Worth movers and shakers or, as he says, the people you need to know in Fort Worth. A glimpse of the show on his YouTube channel and you’ll immediately get a sense of Green’s contagious charm and his deep love for Fort Worth.
16. The Night Riders
When Fort Worth’s mayor, Betsy Price, has weekly community bike rides, you know the city’s all in on this awesomely efficient way of getting around. Billing themselves as Fort Worth’s best bicycle group, as the name suggests, the Night Riders ride their bikes after sundown. Two evenings per week — Wednesdays and Sundays — flashing lights and helmet-and-chamois-clad residents take to the streets for a 10-mile ride that includes two bar stops. It’s becoming a Fort Worth standard, and the group continues to grow. Macy Moore, who helped establish the group along with fellow rider, Matt Hill, are also the founders of HopFusion — the pair concocted the idea of the brewery during one of the Night Riders’ outings.
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17. Art Galleries
Fort Worth’s Cultural District is beaming with some of the nation’s most prestigious art institutions (Kimbell Art Museum, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth), but Fort Worth’s art is far from bound to any one district. Thanks to muralists, collectives, and galleries, if any corner of Fort Worth is left vacant, they will fill it with art. Galleries such as Fort Works Art and ArtSpace111 routinely exhibit jaw-dropping local and national artists. SiNaCa Studios serves as an education facility for glass blowing as well as a gallery for glass art. And in the heart of Arlington Heights lies the Grackle Art Gallery, which offers patrons an amazing collection of alternative art through various mediums. The number of local galleries is far too large to list. Point is, in Fort Worth, homes that appear ramshackle or warehouses that appear vacant could very well be filled with priceless works of art.
18. Robbie & Adam Werner
The couple behind one of Fort Worth’s most popular bakeries and art-clad walls in the Near Southside, Robbie and Adam Werner moved to Fort Worth after living in Tennessee. Interestingly, it was ultimately the art scene that drew the Werner family to Fort Worth. Both veterans of art school, Robbie ultimately decided to open a bakery to pursue the equally artistic passion of making pastries. Stir Crazy Baked Goods, which features real ingredients and vegan and gluten-free offerings, quickly found a following and outgrew its original space — the bakery is now located among the bustle on Magnolia Avenue. Adam, meanwhile, continues to explore art through different mediums, including murals. You can see his work on South Main Street.
19. The Grand Berry Theater
Despite no shortage of theaters to catch big-budget blockbusters, for years, one had to drive the dreaded route to our neighboring city to catch an independent flick or Oscar-worthy hair-raiser. Thanks to the soon-to-be-open Grand Berry Theater, located in The Foundry District, the days of being left in the dark on ambitious cinema are behind us. Founded — and kind of built — by couple Jimmy and Brooke Sweeney, this DIY project is set to open to the public on Sept. 14 with a showcase of six short films by local filmmakers. Ultimately, the theater hopes to promote community and understanding through a diverse catalog of movies. Future screenings include “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” “The Farewell,” “Midsommar,” and, on Oct. 1, the Grand Berry Theater will screen the first episodes of local filmmakers the Reyna Brothers’ docu-series, “The Bizarre.”
20. Amphibian Stage Productions
The gorgeous Bass Performance Hall shows “Hamilton.” Amphibian Stage Productions, a quaint theater on South Main Street, shows “Gutenberg! The Musical!” Neither is greater than the other. Amphibian carefully curates its content, choosing performances that push barriers, incite conversations, and engage audiences. Founded in 2000, Amphibian is a nonprofit theater where local actors go to cut their teeth and audiences go to experience an innovative live performance. In 2003, the theater was home to the U.S. premiere of “The True History of the Tragic Life and Triumphant Death of Julia Pastrana, the Ugliest Woman in the World,” which the actors performed in pitch black. Julia Pastrana, who was often billed as “bear woman” for her circus sideshow acts, was a Mexican native exploited throughout her life and, ultimately, mummified for profit following her untimely death. The production inspired a campaign to repatriate Pastrana’s remains to her home country, where she received a Catholic burial.
21. Eddie Vanston
Eddie Vanston, who once called Dallas home, eventually ventured out west, where crumbling architecture in Fort Worth’s Near Southside caught his fancy. Vanston revamped these historic buildings, which are now home to mixed-use spaces, condos, and more. While developers have more recently flocked west of Highway 360, Vanston beat them all to the punch and has been redeveloping buildings in the Fort for over a decade. Not one for the spotlight, he prefers to shine it on others via Shipping & Receiving, a bar he owns that also serves as one of Fort Worth’s live music cornerstones.