H.Profile Fort Worth chef Tim Love has big ideas. But unlike most of us, he’s not afraid to challenge them, and thus the first-ever Fort Worth Music Festival & Conference took place in just his five months. The first edition of what will become his one of North Texas’ premier music events will feature big-time music acts all weekend alongside emerging Texas artists, agents, managers and promoters in Stockyards. I ran around.
Ai is a regular at music festivals. From Lollapalooza in Chicago to Austin City Limits in Austin and her SXSW. So expanding his new Tannahill’s Music Hall while promoting all his other Stockyard Music venues seemed a natural fit. Last October, he approached his Live Nation partner with the idea, and co-creator of the festival, he’s assembled some of the industry’s best talent, including Larry Joe Taylor.
“Have you heard of Larry Joe Taylor Fest? … Then you haven’t met My Texas yet,” continues the Josh Abbott Band song.
Taylor is a singer/songwriter who began hosting gatherings in the small North Texas town of Mingus in 1989. Today, Taylor and his family host the largest privately owned outdoor music festival in Texas. This six-day event of his is known as Larry Joe Taylor His Texas Music Festival, sometimes simply called the LJT. That famous fest is now located at Taylor’s 380-acre Melody His Mountain Ranch in Stephenville and also hosts several other live music events throughout the year.
‘I did a million festivals,’ says Tim Love paper city Fort Worth. “I, Larry Joe Taylor and his son Zach started planning in October. I just picked a festival date in December. It doesn’t take long to put something like this together.” .
“But we’re really happy with how it turned out and the response we’ve gotten so far. It’s been an overwhelming success.”
The atmosphere at the Fort Worth Music Festival & Conference was relaxed. There are no large venues to navigate. There are no long lines at Porta Poti. Don’t be overwhelmed by souvenir stalls and commercial gimmicks. In other words, not your typical 2023 music festival.
Instead, being there felt like a relaxing day touring the vibrant, artistic and upscale neighborhoods, where the sounds of live music wafted through the air. One with the best shopping and dining options around every corner. With a 1-day or VIP pass, you could flash the ribbon on your wrist to enter the venue and hear the band all day long. With some shows overlapping, festival-goers chose when to leave one concert and head to the next.
I met a couple from Dallas who spent a weekend in Fort Worth enjoying Cowtown’s hotels, restaurants, and museums around town.
Discovery Zone at Fort Worth Music Fest
“The whole point of this festival is to discover new artists, promote Texas musicians, and showcase all that Fort Worth and Stockyards has to offer,” says Love. The next few years will see these emerging artists become future headliners.
“The Stockyards is a truly unique venue because of all the attributes we have in the neighborhood,” Love says. “Festival-goers can take it in at their own pace. You can catch a show and eat at the White Elephant, go to another show at the Love Shack, do some shopping and have a cocktail before another show.”
The first edition of the Fort Worth Music Festival was held primarily at Love’s own Stockyards venue due to tight time constraints. Tannahill Music Hall, White Elephant Saloon, Love Shack (with Hotel Drover Barn and Billy added). Bob’s Texas). In the future, it is planned that the festival will utilize other venues.
“We have eight venues next year,” says Love. “And our long-term plan is to expand beyond Stockyards to other music venues around the city. Please understand
“We knew we were going to have a problem in the first event, so we had to fix it quickly along the way.”
Before the headaches and first-year jitters of other business visits, Love felt the need to control hosting in her space. to avoid. But most importantly, unforeseen problems can be fixed on the fly without the need to convene a committee. so that you can pivot quickly.
In fact, Love’s “all ships rise” mentality already seems to be paying off. Rather than being upset by the burgeoning festival, many businesses in the Stockyards seemed excited about the added tourism and the showcase it provided.
Beyond country music
The first edition of the Fort Worth Music Festival turned out to be made up of country artists (throwing in some folk and bluesy acts), but there are no plans for the future. This is not a Fort Worth country music festival. Upcoming Fort Worth Music Festival events feature a variety of musical genres.
Country music heavy is how this year’s lineup burgeoned at such short notice.That said, it was A line-up.
Headliners for this inaugural Fort Worth Music Festival include Josh Weathers, Texas Independence Day Jam with Ray Wiley Hubbard, Michael Martin Murphy, Dave Perez, Larry Joe Taylor, Gary It included P. Nunn, Roger Krieger, Treaty Oak Revival, and Stoney LaRue. a bit.
The Gary P. Nunn show was held inside The Barn at Hotel Drover. It was pure fun with the two steppers spinning their boots and scooting in front of the stage. Later, fans folded his arms and swayed from side to side as Nunn sang the “Friends for Life” anthem. This is the kind of atmosphere people go out to a small town for the weekend to find out. It was like a little taste of Gruene Hall here in Fort Worth.
On the music conference side of the equation, a surprisingly large audience in its first year brought together managers, agents, live music industry executives and the hospitality department to discuss what works and why. There were networking opportunities, workshops. Love expects conferences to expand as well.
“There’s a lot to learn about the music business,” he says. paper city Fort Worth. “We feel it’s essential to developing Texas talent. This conference is a big part of what we want to grow.”
The Texas music scene is on fire. Fort Worth Music Festival & Conference wants to help artists establish and grow their careers while luring them to Fort He Worth, a city that has proven to be hungry for live music.
There are many more.
