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Photo by Trish Rawls

Fredericksburg reigns as the Hill Country’s wine and tourism hub, with both industries pouring millions of dollars into the regional economy. So it’s no wonder, then, that Fredericksburg now ranks among the country’s most “dynamic” micropolitan areas.

A new study from the nonprofit think tank Heartland Forward places Fredericksburg at No. 21 among the 25 most dynamic micropolitan areas in the U.S. The study look at economic data for the country’s 536 micropolitan areas.

A micropolitan area is a cluster of communities anchored by a town with 10,000 to 50,000 residents. Fredericksburg itself is home to about 11,000 residents, while the entire micropolitan area comprises 27,297 people.

According to the study, the key figures for the Fredericksburg micropolitan area include:

  • Per capita personal income of $75,442, the second highest number among the top 25.
  • 2015-20 employment growth of 4.8 percent.
  • 2015-20 growth in GDP (growth domestic product) of 12.6 percent. GDP is a major indicator of economic strength or weakness.

“Close to both Austin and San Antonio, Fredericksburg is a sophisticated small town, a community that welcomes and supports newcomers. The climate is mild, the location and lifestyle ideal, and our robust economic climate is tailor-made for a number of kinds of businesses, which will benefit greatly from all the area has to offer,” says the Gillespie County Economic Development Commission.

Several factors contribute to Fredericksburg’s status as a standout micropolitan area. These include:

  • More than $241 million in direct spending on travel in 2021.
  • Popular attractions such as the LBJ State Park and Historic Site, the National Museum of the Pacific War, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, and Wildseed Farms.
  • A full-bodied wine industry.

Los Alamos, New Mexico, stands atop Heartland Forward’s list of the top 25 micropolitan areas. The West Texas area of Pecos sits at No. 4; it’s the only other Texas micropolitan on the list.

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'Yellowstone' stars to greet fans at Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

Yellowstone news

Yellowstone fans, get your comfy shoes ready - there'll be a long line for this one. Cole Hauser a.k.a. "Rip Wheeler" on Yellowstone, and Taylor Sheridan, the show's co-creator, executive producer, and director of the series, will meet fans and sign autographs at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

The event will take place from 4:30-6:30 pm only on Friday, February 3. Location is the 6666 Ranch booth near the south end of Aisle 700 in the Amon G. Carter, Jr. Exhibits Hall.

According to a February 2 announcement from FWSSR, "fans will have the opportunity to snag an autograph as well as purchase some distinctive Yellowstone and 6666 Ranch merchandise while also enjoying all the features the Stock Show offers."

The event is free to attend (with paid Stock Show admission) and open to the public.

It's the second year in a row for Hauser to appear at FWSSR; in 2022, he and fellow cast mates drew huge crowds.

Sheridan, a Paschal High School graduate, is no stranger to Fort Worth; he lives in a ranch near Weatherford and filmed 1883, the prequel to Yellowstone, in and around Fort Worth. Currently, another spinoff, 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, is filming in North Texas.

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is winding up its 2023 run on Saturday, February 4.

Carter Museum in Fort Worth showcases rare Western photos by celeb shooter

Photography News

Photographer Richard Avedon is best known for his work in fashion and portraits, but the Amon Carter Museum of American Art is showcasing another glorious side.

Called"Avedon's West," it's an installation of select works Avedon shot from 1979-1985 for an exhibit that was commissioned by The Carter in 1979. That exhibit, called "In the American West," was a landmark body of work of 124 photographs.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Avedon's birth, the Carter will showcase 13 of those 124 photographs, several on view for the first time since their 1985 premiere.

The museum-wide installation is on view at the Carter now through October 1.

"We are excited to take part in the national celebration of Richard Avedon’s 100th birthday and to have the opportunity to highlight this influential project, which our museum commissioned nearly 45 years ago,” says Carter Executive Director Andrew J. Walker in a statement.

"Today, Avedon’s 'In the American West' is regarded as a turning point in the photographic canon, challenging conceptions of portraiture and late twentieth-century American life," Walker says. "We are proud to be a part of the history of this monumental project, which is rooted in the Carter’s long-held commitment to working with living artists to tell a broader story of American art."

In 1979, the Carter commissioned Avedon to create a portrait of the region. He spent the next six summers, from 1979 to 1984, traveling to 189 towns in 13 states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming — and into Canada.

He conducted 752 sittings of everyday and often marginalized people - oilfield and slaughterhouse workers, coal miners, students, and service workers - in the same iconic style he used in portraits of celebrities and politicians: against a seamless white backdrop, designed to remove visual markers of place and focus on the individuality of each person.

Each photograph is titled with subject name, location, date, and an occupation. The 1985 exhibition was regarded as a landmark work of portraiture and a definitive expression of the power of photographic art.

Highlights of the works on view in Avedon’s West include the following subjects and commentaries:

Ruby Mercer, publicist, Frontier Days, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 7/31/82 (1982) — This portrait is on view in the Modern America gallery, which highlights the explosive growth of technological advances and urban development in the twentieth century, and artists’ responses to these dramatic transformations. Avedon’s portrait of Mercer not only highlights the role of working women in the West, which is often overlooked in antiquated narratives of the region, but her profession as a publicist emphasizes the business of selling the West as a commodity.

Carol Crittendon, bartender, Butte, Montana, 7/1/81 (1981) — While most western art features male figures such as Euro-American cowboys, "In the American West" expands the narrative incorporating women more fully into the story of the West. Two photographs of Montanan women, including this portrait, are on view in the Legacy Gallery alongside iconic works by Charles Russell, who lived in Montana for over 40 years, broadening the gallery’s presentation of the American West to include other genders and professions.

Blue Cloud Wright, slaughterhouse worker, Omaha, Nebraska, 8/10/79 (1979), Avedon’s portrait of Wright is on view in the America as Landscape gallery, a space dedicated to depictions by nineteenth-century artists of the landscapes of what is now the United States. This positioning allows viewers to confront the reality of the slaughterhouse industry in a gallery that probes the relationships between humans, animals, and land in American national identity.

Rusty McCrickard, janitor, Tracey Featherston, motel maid, Dixon, California, 5/10/81 (1981) — As a photographer who spent his career photographing the powerful and famous, Avedon’s decision to turn his attention toward picturing everyday people in the same monumental style declares their importance and poses questions about class and equality that reverberate today. This portrait, on view in the Opulence and the Everyday gallery, focuses on the artwork that blossomed out of the affluence of the late nineteenth century. The insertion of Avedon’s subjects within the surrounding representations of wealthy socialites further reinforces the artist’s mission to democratize portraiture.

Country music bad boy Morgan Wallen headlines ACM Awards benefit show in Dallas-Fort Worth

Country concert news

Dallas-Fort Worth will be the center of the country music universe on May 11, when the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards are broadcast from The Star in Frisco. As with any worldwide, Super Bowl-level event, there'll be many happenings leading up to it. First up: a benefit concert headlined by Morgan Wallen.

The country music bad boy (and current superstar and reigning ACM Album of the Year winner) takes top billing on "ACM Lifting Lives LIVE: Morgan Wallen & Friends," a fundraiser for Lifting Lives, the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music. The "friends" taking the stage with him include reigning ACM Songwriter of the Year HARDY, reigning ACM New Female Artist and Song of the Year winner Lainey Wilson, ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman, and DJ 13lackbeard.

The show will be held at 7:30 pm Wednesday, May 10 on the golfing green at Topgolf in The Colony. It will follow the Topgolf Tee-Off and Rock On Fundraiser, presented by VGT by Aristocrat Gaming, taking place earlier that day; the concert is ticketed separately from the golf tournament.

Just what does Lifting Lives do? According to a release, "in addition to distributing more than $4 million to date through its Covid Relief Fund, ACM Lifting Lives provides critical support through the Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund, significant annual commitments to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Music Health Alliance, and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, and individual grants to organizations that reach communities all across America."

Now in its fourth year (and first in Texas), the golf tournament brings together artists, industry members, and fans for a golf skills competition and an extended day of live entertainment.

"ACM Lifting Lives does great work providing aid in times of need to folks inside and outside of the music industry,” Wallen says in the release. “My band and I are excited to help them raise funds to continue doing this amazing work.”

Now, for the ticket details, per the release:

  • General Admission tickets to the concert became available to ACM Members, ACM A-List subscribers, 58th ACM Awards ticket holders, and Topgolf Friends and Family through an exclusive presale that started at 12 pm Thursday, March 23.
  • Remaining tickets will be available for a general public onsale beginning Friday, March 24 at 10 am through AXS.
  • Tickets to the benefit concert only are $350 plus service fees.
  • Those who have purchased bays for golf will be able to remain in their bay for the concert, with the bay serving as a suite to watch the show. A limited amount of VIP fan golf bays for the Topgolf Tee-Off and Rock On are available for purchase; email rockon@acmcountry.com.