It's a music-heavy weekend in and around Fort Worth, with the nine music-related events ranging from the Queen of Country to another Cliburn competition to great jazz works performed by a symphony. Other choices include a chance to get some early Christmas shopping done, a new local theater production, screenings of a thought-provoking documentary, and monster trucks.

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 13

Junior League Fort Worth presents Christmas in Cowtown
The Junior League of Fort Worth will present a week full of shopping, food, and time with family and friends at Christmas in Cowtown Holiday Gift Market. Visitors can shop with merchants from all over the country showcasing home goods, jewelry, clothing, children’s gifts, and more. The market goes on through Sunday at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
The Cliburn will present the 2022 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, featuring outstanding, non-professional pianists age 35 and older. Competitors hail from all over the world, representing 19 countries, ranging in age from 38 to 72. The first two rounds run through Sunday at the smaller Van Cliburn Recital Hall, and the Final Round concert takes place on October 18 at Bass Performance Hall with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Damon Gupton.

Tab Benoit in concert with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Tab Benoit is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and guitarist who has built a remarkable 30+ year career on the foundation of his gritty and soulful Delta swamp blues and acquiring a devoted legion of fans along the way. He'll play at Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall alongside The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Amphibian Stage presents The Hollow
On a stormy October evening in 2020, a lonely storyteller arrives at an 18th-century tavern to continue his yearly tradition of performing Washington Irving’s classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Little does he know of the surprises that the night and the ghostly inhabitants of the tavern hold in store for him. Amphibian Stage presents the world premiere of the production through November 6.

Friday, October 14

Magnolia at the Modern: Art & Krimes by Krimes
While locked up for six years in federal prison, the artist Jesse Krimes secretly created monumental works of art - including an astonishing 30-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. Now a free man, Krimes turns the spotlight on people still in prison, asking viewers to question surface representations and recognize overlooked beauty and power. The film, told through original footage and animation, will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Reba McEntire in concert
The Queen of Country will make her way to Dickies Arena as part of her first solo tour in the United States in 10 years. Reba's album releases are always an event: Her latest album of new songs, 2019's Stronger Than the Truth, made the top 5 on the Billboard Country charts, and even a covers album like her new My Chains Are Gone: Hymns & Gospel Favorites has sold extremely well.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents "A Trip to Harlem: Bernstein, Ellington, Gershwin, and Douglas J. Cuomo"
Audiences can experience an elegant evening of jazz in the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's homage to some of America’s greatest music, with works by A-listers like Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, and Duke Ellington. The concert, which will have three performances through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall, will also feature world premiere by noted film, television, and concert music composer Douglas J. Cuomo.

Saturday, October 15

Panther Island Pavilion presents Cody Johnson & Friends
Country singer Cody Johnson is a Texas original who has released eight albums, most recently 2021's Human: The Double Album, his third straight album to reach the top 3 on the Billboard Country charts. He'll be joined by a couple of his musical friends — Randy Houser and Hailey Whitters — at this special festival-like concert at Panther Island Pavilion.

Monster Jam
Monster Jam fans will witness a fierce battle for the event championship, with each skilled Monster Jam athlete tearing up the dirt with gravity-defying feats in 12,000-pound Monster Jam trucks going head-to-head for points in Freestyle, the Skills Challenge, and Racing competitions. Plus, fans can become part of the action by voting for the winner in the Skills Challenge and Freestyle competitions via real-time, in-stadium fan voting on their smartphones. The event takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Whiskey Myers in concert
Country rock group Whiskey Myers has come a long way from their start in the small city of Palestine, Texas. They released their debut album in 2008, and each of their first five albums made it further up the Billboard Country charts, culminating in a No. 1 spot for their 2019 self-titled album. Now they've graduated to bigger venues, playing at Dickies Arena in support of their new album, Tornillo.

Spoon in concert
The rock band Spoon is an Austin original led by longtime bandmates Britt Daniel and Jim Eno. They were mostly a regional band for the first 10 years or so of their career until their 2007 album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, yielded several hits, including "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" and "Don't You Evah." They'll play at Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall in support of their new album, Lucifer on the Sofa.

Sunday, October 16

KEGL's Freakers Ball featuring Disturbed
For years, festival-style concerts like KEGL's annual Freakers Ball were strictly the domain of Dallas-area venues since Fort Worth didn't have any comparable spaces. But the opening of Dickies Arena changed all that, and now heavy metal fans can get their freak on in Cowtown. Headlining the event is Disturbed, who will be joined by Asking Alexandria, Drowning Pool, Dorothy, and New Years Day.

Shovels & Rope in concert
The folk duo Shovels & Rope - aka husband and wife Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst - have been together as a musical act for the past 14 years. Their professional partnership was inadvertent, as their 2008 debut album was meant to be a one-off in between solo projects for the two of them. But they found enough success to make the duo permanent, and now, nine albums later, they'll play at Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall in support of their new album, Manticore.