Everywhere you look in Fort Worth this weekend, there will be something interesting to do. It starts with a big music festival, followed by a motorcycle extravaganza, two local theater productions, a quartet of concerts, two other local festivals, a unique symphony concert, a big comedian, and more.
Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, October 19
Gordy's Hwy 30 Music Fest: Texas Edition
Gordy's Hwy 30 Music Fest, which has taken place in Idaho for the past decade, comes to Fort Worth for the first time, featuring a mix of country, Americana, rock, and red dirt artists, including superstars, established artists, and up-and-coming acts. Headliners include Dierks Bentley, Zach Bryan, Cody Jinks, and Fort Worth favorite Koe Wetzel, joined by other big names like Staind, Gary Clark Jr., Shane Smith & the Saints, The Brothers Osborne, Ashley McBryde, Kolby Cooper, and more. The festival takes place through Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Nitro Circus 20th Anniversary Tour
Nitro Circus comes to Fort Worth with a stacked athlete roster as part of their 20th Anniversary Tour. Leading the charge is Nitro ringleader Travis Pastrana, who will hit the road for his first Nitro Circus tour since 2018. Joining him is moto free rider Axell Hodges, moto athlete Josh Sheehan, and more. The thrills, chills, and mischief will take place at Dickies Arena.
Stage West presents Once Upon a Mattress
By royal decree of the Queen, all princesses must pass a series of tests if they want to marry the hapless Prince. Even worse, throughout the kingdom no one may wed until the Prince finds a worthy wife. Many have tried, all have failed, and the Queen plans to keep it that way. But when a bold and undeniably charming new princess makes a splash at court, it seems the Queen has finally met her match. Stage West will present this co-production with Theatre TCU through November 5.
Lukas Nelson and POTR in concert
Being the offspring of a music legend has its advantages and disadvantages, but Lukas Nelson has managed to forge his own path apart from his father, Willie. He and his band, Promise of the Real, have been together since the late 2000s, releasing eight country rock albums in 13 years, including the new Sticks and Stones. They'll play at Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall.
Amphibian Stage presents The Visit
Amphibian Stage will close their Main Stage season with a darkly comic tale from prolific German writer, Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The Visit tells the story of a wealthy philanthropist returning to her hometown to save it from financial ruin … but the money comes with a deadly request that will test the morals of the town’s inhabitants. The production, brought to the stage in partnership with the University of Texas at Arlington’s Theatre faculty and students, runs through November 12.
Friday, October 20
Art Worth Festival
Art Worth is a festival celebrating the visual arts and classical music. Visitors can enjoy the work of more than 80 artists selected for the exhibition, plus demonstrations of decorative arts disciplines, such as glass-blowing, metal pours, potters' wheel, and wood-turning. There will be classical music performances by area ensembles, from elementary and high schools to TCU's Opera Studio and professional companies. The festival takes place at Will Rogers Memorial Center through Sunday.
Magnolia at the Modern: Joan Baez: I Am a Noise
At the end of a 60-year career, legendary singer and activist Joan Baez takes an honest look back and a deep look inward as she tries to make sense of her large, history-making life, and the personal struggles she's kept private. The documentary will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
The Cliburn presents Homecoming Concert + Party
The Cliburn's Homecoming Concert + Party is a uniquely Cliburn experience, featuring a 10-plus-artist concert event, capped with an afterparty featuring Texas bites and TX Whiskey drinks. Performers at TX Whiskey Ranch will include Anderson & Roe Piano Duo, Angela Cheng, Daniel Hsu, Fei-Fei, Vadym Kholodenko, Dmytro Choni, Joshua Roman, Gabriel Kahane, Thomas Yu, and Seokyoung Hong.
Fort Worth Opera presents La Médium
La Médium (The Medium) revolves around Madame Flora, a fraudulent medium who pretends to communicate with the dead, along with her two assistants, Monica and Toby. Madame Flora begins to experience a series of terrifying events during her seances, including physical contact from an apparition she cannot see. In a desperate attempt to prove her sanity, Madame Flora stages a fake seance with Toby disguised as the ghost of a murdered child. However, the real ghost of the child appears and Madame Flora is driven to the brink of insanity. The opera, which is performed in Spanish with English supertitles, will have three performances through Sunday at Rose Marine Theater.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents "Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky"
Canadian touring group Old Trout Puppet Workshop visits Fort Worth to bring Prokofiev’s colorful Peter and the Wolf to life with large-scale puppetry while the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra performs the score. To open the concert, FWSO Music Director Robert Spano will lead the orchestra in another magical children’s tale: the second act of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet with its striking character dances. The concert will have three performances through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.
NEEDTOBREATHE in concert
Unlike a lot of big rock bands, it took a while for NEEDTOBREATHE to gain a big following. They put out a series of albums and EPs in the 2000s before finally breaking through with 2009's appropriately-titled The Outsiders. The Christian group has been at or near the top of the Alternative and Christian charts ever since, including with their new album, Caves. They'll play at Dickies Arena.
Drake White & William Clark Green: Blow Up Your TV Tour
Country singers Drake White & William Clark Green are joining forces for the Blow Up Your TV Tour. White has released three albums in his career, most recently 2022's The Optimystic, while Green has released six albums in his career, most recently 2022's Baker Hotel. They'll play at Billy Bob's Texas.
Saturday, October 21
Near Southside presents ArtsGoggle
ArtsGoggle is a single-day festival that will feature music performances all over Near Southside, with multiple outdoor stages and other venues. The festival is headlined by Sir Woman, Ben Kweller, and Holy Moly, with almost 30 other acts performing on the outdoor stages. There will also be art vendors, food, kids activities, and more.
Flying Saucer Draught Emporium presents Beerfeast
BeerFeast is a beer-tasting extravaganza where guests can enjoy beer samplings from more than 80 Beerknurd-approved rare and unusual brews from across the globe. There will also be live music from Mike Randall, Jake Quill, and Super Kilo. The event takes place at Flying Saucer Draught Emporium in downtown Fort Worth.
Nate Bargatze: The Be Funny Tour
Comedian and podcaster Nate Bargatze comes to Fort Worth as part of his The Be Funny Tour. In 2021, he released his second Netflix special, The Greatest Average American, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album. Since 2020, he has hosted a weekly podcast, Nateland, whichtackles the meaningless issues that we face day-to-day to give listeners a much-needed mental break from fighting the good fight. After performing once on Wednesday, he'll return for an encore on Saturday at Dickies Arena.
Chris Cagle in concert
Country singer Chris Cagle had a lot of success in the first 12 years of the 21st century, putting out five albums, two of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts. But just when he was at the top of his game, he walked away, retiring to spend more time with his family. He's been back at it since late 2021, so it's clear he's got the bug again. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas.
Dierks Bentley will be one of the headliners at Gordy's Hwy 30 Music Fest, taking place through October 22 at Texas Motor Speedway
