Music fest news

Full lineup revealed for first-ever Fort Worth Music Festival at the Stockyards

Stoney LaRue is one of the headline performers during the inaugural Fort Worth Music Festival, taking place March 1-4.

Photo courtesy of Stoney LaRue

The full lineup for the inaugural Fort Worth Music Festival & Conference at the Stockyards has been unveiled, allowing fans and industry insiders to set their schedules to get the most out of the event. Many of the names are Fort Worth favorites.

Designed to be a SWSX-style networking conference for aspiring agents, managers, promoters, and emerging local Texas-based artists, the festival - produced by Live Nation in partnership with Chef Tim Love and Larry Joe Taylor - will feature a variety of panel discussions, keynote speakers, networking opportunities, workshops, and live performances at multiple Stockyards venues over the course of four days, March 1-4.

Kevin Fowler will headline a contingent of four performers to kick things off on Wednesday, March 1 at Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall.

Fourteen more bands and singers will take the stage on March 2, featuring big names like Josh Weathers and a "Texas Independence Day Jam" starring Ray Wylie Hubbard, Radney Foster, Michael Martin Murphey, Deryl Dodd, Dave Perez, and Larry Joe Taylor. Also performing that day: Dusty Moats, Saints Eleven, Jacob Armitage, Race Ricketts, Midnight River Choir, Shaker Hymns, and Tejas Brothers.

The March 3 lineup will include 11 bands/singers, with notable performers Gary P. Nunn, Roger Creager, and Treaty Oak Revival. Also playing: Randy Brown, Jake Bush, Nick Brumley & Presley Hailie, Graycie York, Jake Castillo Trio, Prophets & Outlaws, Max & Heather Stalling, and Cameron Wrinkle.

Wrapping things up on March 4 will the largest group of the festival, a whopping 17 bands/singers led by Larry Joe Taylor, Stoney LaRue, and Mike Ryan. Also taking the stages will be Honey, Kerri Lick, Amanda Kate Ferris, Angel White, Jake Odin, Tommy Alverson, Jesse Jennings, Jack Barksdale, Courtney Patton, September Moon, Johnny Falstaff, Jarrod Morris, Davin James, and THEBROSFRESH.

Performance venues will include Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall, Tannahill’s Tavern Lounge, White Elephant, Atico Restaurant and Lounge, Love Shack, The Barn at Hotel Drover, and Billy Bob's Texas.

Fans can now purchase single-day tickets for the live performances on March 2-4, which do not include admission to the panel discussion side of the conference. The standing room only tickets range from $34-$39, with an option for a three-day pass for $79.

The March 1 performances are only available with a full festival badge or VIP all-in ticket, ranging from $199-$549.

The conference's keynote speaker will be Rick Lambert, of Miranda Lambert Management. Other panelists will include artists Josh Abbott, Radney Foster, and Larry Joe Taylor; chef Tim Love; Brendon Anthony of the Texas Music Office, and more.

The full schedule of performers, panels, and venues can be found at the festival website.

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Animal News

Seaquest declares bankruptcy following closure of Fort Worth aquarium

Courtesy photo

One of the many unfortunate critters at SeaQuest Fort Worth.

SeaQuest Holdings, LLC, owner of Seaquest aquariums at shopping malls such as Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth, has filed for Chapter 11 banrkuptcy protection, following a series of investigations into animal cruelty.

The bankruptcy follows the October 2024 closure of the Fort Worth location at Ridgmar Mall, which had been the target of numerous reports of animal abuse and an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States.

The Boise, Idaho-based company claimed less than $1 million in assets, but between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities.

According to court records, Vince Covino is still listed as a CEO and consultant and was paid more than $128,000 between December 2023 and November 2024, despite announcing in August that he was stepping down from his role.

PETA Associate Director of Captive Wildlife Rebecca Smudzinski said in a statement that "SeaQuest’s financial failure offers yet more proof that animal exploitation is a losing business model, as compassionate consumers don’t want to fork over their dollars to look at fish, otters, and birds suffering in cramped, filthy enclosures and forced into stressful public encounters."

Smudzinski said that PETA was calling on SeaQuest "to shut down its remaining locations and surrender the surviving animals to reputable, financially responsible facilities that can finally get them the care they desperately need."

PETA’s ongoing campaign against SeaQuest included numerous complaints filed with federal and state authorities regarding injuries to customers and animal welfare issues, including animals who drowned, were burned, were intentionally deprived of food, or were stomped or crushed to death by customers.

According to an ABC News investigation, SeaQuest was cited more than 80 times in the past five years for issues including human injuries, disease hazards, animal neglect, and animal deaths.

In addition to the Fort Worth location, SeaQuest has closed three other locations in the last two years in Littleton, Colorado; Trumbull, Connecticut; and Stonecrest, Georgia. There are five locations still open in Las Vegas, Layton, Utah; Folsom, California; Roseville, Minnesota; and Woodbridge, New Jersey.

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