As 2017 comes to a close, you can celebrate in many different ways in and around Fort Worth. You can take in one of the year's best movies, see some top grade college football, catch one of four concerts featuring Texas musicians, get one last glimpse of a notable art exhibit, or bring in the new year with two high-profile events.
Below are the best ways to spend your last weekend of 2017. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Friday, December 29
Magnolia at the Modern presents Lady Bird
Lady Bird is Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut, excavating both the humor and pathos in the turbulent bond between a mother (Laurie Metcalf) and her teenage daughter, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan). Both Ronan and Metcalf give highly affecting performances in CultureMap's No. 1 movie of the year. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl: USC vs. Ohio State
Bowl season in Dallas-Fort Worth wraps up with the 2017 edition of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. Even though it won't have any say in who will win the national championship, the bowl game at AT&T Stadium will feature a stellar matchup between the USC Trojans of the Pac-12 Conference and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference.
Eli Young Band in concert
Denton's Eli Young Band has experienced tons of success since their debut album in 2002. They moved to Nashville in 2011, and hit it big with their subsequent album, 2014's 10,000 Towns, which went to No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart. They'll play their annual end-of-the-year show at Billy Bob's Texas in support of their latest album, 2017's Fingerprints.
Saturday, December 30
Robert Earl Keen in concert
Robert Earl Keen and his band will get you into the holiday spirit by performing the tongue-in-cheek holiday favorite, “Merry Christmas From The Fam-o-lee,” and other Keen standards, new renditions of classic holiday hits laced in bluegrass, and much more. Keen, who has written songs for music superstars including George Strait, The Dixie Chicks, The Highwaymen, and Nanci Griffith, will play at Bass Performance Hall.
Toadies in concert
The prolific nature of the Toadies over the past 10 years makes it easy to forget that there was a point in time when the Fort Worth band had ceased to exist. But after reforming in 2008 following a seven-year break, they've released five albums in nine years, including 2017's The Lower Side of Uptown. They'll play at Billy Bob's Texas.
Sunday, December 31
Kimbell Art Museum presents "Casanova: The Seduction of Europe"
Sunday is the final day to take in the Kimbell's four-month exhibition celebrating one of history's greatest lovers. The exhibit explores the 18th century across Europe, bringing together paintings, sculpture, works on paper, furnishings, porcelains, silver, and period costume that were in done in tribute to Giacomo Casanova.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents New Year's Eve: A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
Grammy Award-winning singer Carmen Bradford, a household name to many and one of the greatest jazz vocalists alive today, joins the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra to ring in the New Year at Bass Performance Hall. Grammy and Emmy award-winning conductor Lee Musiker leads this singing, swinging celebration of the “First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald.
Ritz & Wonders: The Greatest Show on NYE
Something brand new comes to Fort Worth courtesy of this 1920s-themed circus experience, featuring immersive, vintage-inspired acrobatic, aerial, and magic performances every half hour and an under-the-big-top champagne countdown. The event, taking place in the Foundry District, will also feature a DJ set by Ronnie Heart and Pop Boy Etc, an art installation by Jay Wilkinson and Brandon Pederson, and food trucks like Beignet Bus and Gepetto's Pizza Truck.
Randy Rogers Band in concert
If you're a fan of the Red Dirt country music scene, you've gotten to know the Texas-based Randy Rogers Band in recent years. They've released three albums in the past two years, including two with fellow Red Dirt artist Wade Bowen. They'll close out the year at Billy Bob's Texas in support of their two 2016 albums, Nothing Shines Like Neon and Watch This.
Toadies will play at Billy Bob's Texas on December 30.
Leslie Knope star of "Parks and Recreation" is credited with creating Galentine's Day.
Danny Feld/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank