Memorial Day weekend brings a couple of big events to Fort Worth, including the annual PGA tour stop and an electronic music festival. Other choices include two new art exhibitions, screenings of an acclaimed new film, a symphony concert, three country music concerts, a celebration of a film icon, and a screening of a London theater production.
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, May 23
Charles Schwab Challenge
The annual stop by the PGA Tour in Fort Worth, the Charles Schwab Challenge will feature some of the best pro golfers in the world. Participants include defending champion Emiliano Grillo, local hero Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, Brian Harman, Keegan Bradley, and more. The tournament goes through Sunday at Colonial Country Club.
Friday, May 24
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents Rebecca Manson: "Barbecue"
Rebecca Manson's first solo museum exhibition, "Barbecue," is a site-responsive installation that both distills and magnifies core elements central to Manson’s work. Comprised of thousands of individually crafted ceramic leaves, flowers, a barbecue grill, and assorted detritus that swell into piles, "Barbecue" allows for moments of self-reflection. The mounds, some standing over six feet high, are piled against the walls of the ellipse, creating a path inviting visitors to explore the space. The exhibition will remain on display through August 25.
Magnolia at the Modern: The Old Oak
The last pub standing in a once-thriving mining village in northern England, The Old Oak is a gathering space for a community that has fallen on hard times. When a group of Syrian refugees moves into the floundering village, a decisive rift fueled by prejudice develops between the community and its newest inhabitants. The formation of an unexpected friendship between the Old Oak's owner and a young Syrian woman opens new possibilities for the divided village. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents "Dvořák’s Eighth: Dvořák and Chopin"
Dvořák's eighth symphony is perhaps his most melodic, from the rhapsodic first movement to the electrifying finale. Czech conductor Tomáš Netopil has paired the symphony with one of Dvořák’s lively Slavonic Dances, originally composed as piano duets to earn some cash early on in his career. Finally, pianist Lukáš Vondráček takes to the stage for Czech-tutored composer Chopin’s first piano concerto, written at the tender age of 20. The concert will have three performances through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.
Lee Brice in concert
Before Lee Brice started putting out No. 1 albums like 2014's I Don't Dance, he made his name writing hit songs for other stars like Jason Aldean, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, and Blake Shelton. He's doing just fine writing for himself now, releasing five albums, most recently 2020's Hey World, and scoring with hits like "Hard to Love," "Drinking Class," "Rumor," and "One of Them Girls." He'l play at Billy Bob's Texas.
Saturday, May 25
John Wayne: An American Experience presents John Wayne Day Birthday Bash
John Wayne: An American Experience in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards will celebrate the 117th anniversary of Wayne’s birth, as well as the museum’s new expansion. Guests can play corn hole and dummy roping, have chain-stitching done on items purchased at John Wayne Stock & Supply, and enjoy samples from Gold Handle Coffee and Duke Spirits. There will be movies screened inside John Wayne Stock & Supply, each introduced by a member of the Wayne family, including Stagecoach (1939), Rio Bravo (1959), and True Grit (1969). The event takes place on both Saturday and Sunday.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents "Drawn to Nature"
"Drawn to Nature" highlights the Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s works on paper holdings from the 18th through the 21st centuries. Celebrating both historical and modernist artworks, the exhibition presents depictions of nature from the first investigations of the American landscape by European American artists to modernism’s use of up-close observation of nature as a way of rendering the real world through abstraction. The exhibition will be on display through September 29.
Ubbi Dubbi Festival
The annual Ubbi Dubbi Festival is a two-day event featuring performances by over 40 electronic music artists, including Alison Wonderland, Dabin, Le Youth, RL Grime, Troyboi, Align, Crankdat, Kaleena Zanders, Sabai, Tobehonest, and more. The festival takes place at Panther Island Pavilion on Saturday and Sunday.
National Theatre Live: Dear England
Joseph Fiennes plays Gareth Southgate in Dear England, James Graham’s gripping examination of nation and game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can’t England’s men win at their own game? With the worst track record for penalties in the world, Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt, to take team and country back to the promised land. The play, which was filmed live on stage at the National Theatre in London, will screen at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Shenandoah in concert
Fueled by Marty Raybon’s distinctive vocals and the band’s skilled musicianship, Shenandoah became well known for delivering such hits as “Two Dozen Roses,” “Church on Cumberland Road,” and “Next to You, Next to Me,” as well as such achingly beautiful classics as “I Want to be Loved Like That” and the Grammy-winning “Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart” duet with Alison Krauss. They'll play at Billy Bob's Texas.
Sunday, May 26
Jake Worthington in concert
Like a lot of singers in the 21st century, country singer Jake Worthington is an alumnus of a reality music competition. Worthington appeared on the sixth season of The Voice in 2014, but despite placing second to Josh Kaufman, he didn't release his first official album until 2023. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas in support of that album, which features the hit single, "State You Left Me In."
The Ubbi Dubbi Festival is coming to Panther Island Pavilion.
