Here are the best ways to spend your valuable free time this weekend. Want more options? And lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the best events in town.
Thursday 14 September
37th Annual Grape Festival
The 37th annual GrapeFest features a variety of events over four days, including the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic, live music from superstars David Lee Murphy and Carney and Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips fame, vendors, artisans, a kids zone, and the Midway Carnival. And pickle ball. And more. The festival takes place Thursday through Sunday in historic downtown Grapevine.
Friday 15 September
Pearl Jam in concert
Legendary rock band Pearl Jam doesn’t tour often these days, and their 2023 tour includes just five cities, with Fort Worth being one of them. One of the original grunge bands to emerge from Seattle in the early 1990s, Pearl Jam had a great run for 20 years before slowing down in the early 2010s. They released their eleventh album, Gigaton, in 2020, but another promised new album has not yet materialized. They will play the second of two shows (the first was September 13) at Dickies Arena.
Broadway Presents at Bass Small, rough grain
If you were in your teens or twenties in 1995, Alanis Morissette’s album Small, rough grain It will probably speak to you in a big way. The rawness of the songs and Morissette’s distinctive voice made it one of the classic albums of the 1990s. That album inspired this Broadway musical, “a thrilling production about a perfectly imperfect American family” based on Morissette’s world-changing music. There will be five shows through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.
Presented by Hip Pocket Theater Old and on the way
Old and on the way is a nostalgic look back at the early days of the youthful dream of Hip Pocket Theater, brought to life by the elders of the little tribe who squabbled together by Doug Ballentine, Diane Simmons, and Molemo!. Molimo! Now one of the last living members of the original group, this show aims to be both a tender remembrance of the past and a tragicomic look at the final days of an aging hippie. There will be three shows through Sunday at the Hip Pocket Theatre.
Hyena featuring Tim Meadows
A special weekend of comedy kicks off at Hyena’s in downtown Fort Worth with actor, comedian and writer Tim Meadows, who will perform two shows on Friday. Meadows was one of the longest serving cast members Saturday Night Livewhere he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. He has become a reliable actor in both films and television.
Saturday 16 September
Tarrant Regional Water District presents Trash Bash
At the Tarrant Regional Water District, thousands of volunteers remove litter throughout the community and local waterways. Volunteers can help clean up from 8 to 10 a.m., then celebrate their hard work at the after party from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at one of four locations: Trinity River, Cobb Park, Eagle Mountain Lake and Cedar Creek.
Wedgwood Historical Society Parade of Homes
The Wedgwood Historical Society will present its third annual Show of Homes, the Historic Wedgwood Home Tour. The event will feature four mid-century homes, in different styles. Guests will check in at a separate location, then tour the homes in any order they desire. Lecturers will be stationed outside and throughout the interior of homes to provide information.
AIA Fort Worth Homes Tour
More homes will be featured on the AIA Fort Worth Homes Tour, an annual showcase of outstanding residential architecture designed by local licensed architects. It’s the only city-wide self-guided tour of elite homes in and around Fort Worth. The one-day tour showcases a variety of home styles, types and sizes, and features a mix of projects, including new homes, renovations and additions.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art Presents “Trespassers: James Proske and the Texas Prairie”
There are less than one percent of native prairies in all of Texas. This interest in conservation is the impetus for more than 20 new works created by artist and naturalist James Prosek. “Trespassers: James Prosek and the Texas Prairie” features a new, large-scale silhouette palette, one of Prosek’s signature working styles. watercolor photographs of plants collected during his travels; and clay trompe l’oeil and bronze sculptures of wildflowers. The exhibition will be on display until January 28, 2024 at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
Shack Pass All-Star Festival
DJ Diesel (aka Shaq) is taking his touring live event series, Shaq’s Bass All Stars, to the next level with his first large-scale music festival. With a lineup personally curated by the NBA Hall of Famer, the festival will feature more than 15 Shaq stars, including Alison Wonderland, Sullivan King, Kai Wachi, Crankdat and more across two stages at Panther Island Pavilion. Along with music, the festival will also host Texas-favorite Shack’s food trucks, interactive brand activities and photo moments.
The Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth presents Modern by Moonlight: Otsukimi Festival
In recognition of the rich legacy of Tadao Ando, architect of the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth, the museum will celebrate Otsukimi, the annual Japanese festival that honors the fall moon and the coming season. Guests can throw a lantern into the reflecting pool to create an ethereal glow and a stunning backdrop for the event. In addition to Modern’s special exhibitions, the event features live entertainment by Dondoko Taiko, Nik Parr, The Selfless Lovers and The Dirty Shirts. Japanese-inspired food and drinks crafted by Café Modern will be available throughout the evening.
Hyena displays Goldthwait’s bobcat
Hyena’s big weekend continues with Bobcat Goldthwait, whose career dates back to the 1980s, when he had one of the most recognizable voices in comedy. He’s ditched that unusual way of speaking, but his stand-up still features funny bits about politics, divorce, bankruptcy, and his career as a writer and filmmaker. He will perform twice on Saturday.
Chicago in concert
If it seems like Chicago is constantly touring, that’s because it is. The band has been touring every year since their debut in 1969, and has never missed a year. Three of the original band members – keyboardist/vocalist Robert Lamm, trumpeter/vocalist Lee Loughnane, and trombonist James Pankow – are still going strong today, still releasing new music, and putting out new music. I was born for this moment in 2022, making them the first American rock band to chart the Top 40 with albums in six consecutive decades. They will play at Will Rogers Hall.
Bruce Wood Dance presents Homecoming 2
Homecoming 2 Featuring a trio of dance acts, starting with Bruce Wood The only way through is through, a timeless embodiment of relentless determination. It also includes Wood’s lively and groovy 70s tribute, Polyester dreamsSet to music by Gladys Knight, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye and more. Joey Bollinger blue Rounding out the evening. The production will take place at the WE Scott Theater at Arts Fort Worth.
Arctic Monkeys in Concert
For a long time, English rock band Arctic Monkeys were bigger in their native UK than on this side of the pond. Their albums would sell well in the United States, but would never come close to the No. 1 spot they enjoyed in their home country. That changed with their 2013 album, I beWhich – depending on the force of the hit “Do I want to know?” – It is the best-selling album to date. They will be playing Dickies Arena in support of their 2022 album, The Car.
Casey Donahue at the party
Country singer (and Burleson native) Casey Donahue had great success on the national music scene, charting four consecutive albums in the top 10 on the Billboard Country charts in the 2000s, including a No. 3 spot. Party all night. He returns to the city to support his 2022 album, Built different. He will be playing in Billy Bob’s Texas.
Sunday 17 September
The Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth presents Robert Motherwell: Pure Painting closing day.
Sunday will be the last day to watch Robert Motherwell: Pure Painting, the first show in more than a quarter-century that fully examines the mastery of Motherwell, a key figure who shaped post-war art. Organized by guest curator Susan Davidson, the exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth features a selection of visually engaging works selected from across the artist’s long and influential career, highlights the subsequent major series that defined his oeuvre, and offers new insights into his development as an artist .
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