A little over a year ago, when three local music venues — Lola’s, Twilite Lounge, and the Post — shut down seemingly all at once, I really felt like Fort Worth’s music scene had reached the end of an era. In particular, Lola’s was a major, load-bearing pillar of the live, original music community, and while Twilite and the Post weren’t around as long (17 years), their calendars offered fans a lot of really great shows built on both local and touring acts. In the case of Twilite, it was home to a solidly growing local standup-comic scene promoted by Claws Out Comedy, and the Post’s singer-songwriter-centric shows drew packed crowds for people looking for an intimate concert experience. Without those spaces, I wondered, would people’s interest in live music wither away completely?
The answer was resoundingly no. My perception, certainly frosted by a number of personal variables — advanced age, shifts in listening habits, diminished capacity for going out, and more — was that in addition to the separate closures of three venues, the other problem was that the people who keep music scenes vibrant and fresh, i.e., musicians and live music fans old enough to drink at a bar but not yet at the age where hangovers become exponentially worse, were just not interested in playing or watching live music. Turns out I was very much wrong. Just because some clubs closed doesn’t mean that all clubs closed. The Cicada and Tulips FTW are very much alive and well, for example, and the DIY shows put on by the folks behind Horus Hall in the Stockyards have breathed a lot of life into a scene that seemed to have gotten kind of stale. Same for Southside Preservation Hall. Plus, young people form new bands all the time, and nowhere in town seems to have their finger on that pulse better than Doc’s Records & Vintage, where regular events like Record Store Day in April, Doctober Fest, and November’s Thanks-Mas party feature a lot of new acts from across North Texas.
Doc’s is certainly an epicenter for local music fans, and as a nontraditional venue, it’s one of the rare spots to host all-ages shows. Offering a space for all-ages shows, I think, is something more retailers ought to try, which seems to be part of the Near Southside’s Lost in Sound concert series, in which businesses along South Main Street throw their own DIY events in April, May, June, September, and October. Overall, these monthly concerts give a lot of local musicians — many who have never played a place like The Cicada or Tulips — a chance to perform in front of new faces. The events also show businesses that showcasing local talent brings people through their doors. While some of these venues happen to be bars, a lot of new artists can finally get some exposure to people who might not be old enough to see them play otherwise.
And since I’m on the subject of new artists, there probably isn’t a better time than the current moment to pick up an instrument or whatever else one might make music with and just figure out how to do it. We already exist in a politically charged environment, and as American life hurtles forth into the unknown brought upon by the first Musk administration, I expect there will be a lot of inspiration for protest music, probably on a minute-by-minute basis. I’m not saying the next Bob Dylan, Kendrick Lamar, or Bikini Kill is working on songs within the county limits even as we speak, but anything is possible, and if you fancy yourself as having something trenchant and impactful to say over some barre chords or backing tracks, please keep at it and tell your friends to show up when you play onstage. A year ago, I may have been half-baked when I thought local music was in decline, but it’s up to local musicians to keep making their art happen, and it’s up to the rest of us to be there and support what they’re doing. I feel like a supportive music community is something that can help get us all through the next four years. Please play your shit loud and often.
