This summer, Fort Worth lights up with Panther Island Pavilion’s explosive Fourth of July celebration, featuring fireworks, live music, and festival eats. Fans of ’90s alt-rock can catch Sixpence None the Richer’s reunion show, while Broadway lovers won’t want to miss “The Wiz” and “Shucked” at Bass Performance Hall. Rock veterans Goo Goo Dolls and Dashboard Confessional roll into Dickies Arena, and the American Performance Horseman competition brings rodeo thrills alongside Brothers Osborne’s live set. From jazz tributes to powerful new plays, July in Fort Worth is set to be as hot and vibrant as the Texas heat.
July 4
Fort Worth’s Fourth
Nothin’ beats the Texas heat like a heap of fireworks, fried festival foods, live music, and a heck of a lot of national pride. This marks America’s 249th birthday and the 18th year that Panther Island Pavilion has hosted the party.
Panther Island Pavilion
July 11
Sixpence None the Richer
The alternative rock band whose heyday in the late 90s brought us such earwormy hits as “Kiss Me” and a cover of The La’s “There She Goes” comes to Fort Worth after a recent reunion and release of “We Are Love,” the band’s first single in 12 years.
Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall
July 15 – 20
The Wiz
The 1974 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, which would become a 1978 film starring Michael Jackson, is a modern retelling of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz.” The musical was an early example of a Broadway performance featuring an all-Black cast.
Bass Performance Hall
July 16
Goo Goo Dalls with Dashboard Confessional
Two of the biggest rock acts from the late 90s and early 2000s, Goo Goo Dolls and Dashboard Confessional have also shown to possess some staying power. Both groups continue to release new music and headline national tours.
Dickies Arena
July 17
Broncho
The quartet from Norman, Oklahoma, have produced some of the catchiest indie rock songs of the past 10 years and have a developed a big North Texas following. They’re touring behind their fifth studio album, Natural Pleasures.
Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall
July 19
The American Performance Horseman
Nothing tests the relationship of man and horse like reining, cutting, and reined cow horse. And this one-of-a-kind event includes competitions for all three. This Teton Ridge production will include a live music performance from Brothers Osborne.
Dickies Arena
July 26 – Jan. 4
Seven Days: The Still Lifes of Chuck Ramirez
One of San Antonio’s most influential artists, Chuck Ramirez (1962-2010) was known for capturing the beauty of inanimate objects we often dispose of. This exhibit will feature seven still-life photos of half-eaten dishes and haphazardly placed popular food items — a veritable I Spy of trash.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
July 29 – May 3
Shucked
With music and lyrics co-written by Mineral Wells native Shane McAnally, this is a Broadway musical that, despite its subject matter (corn), might hit close to home. Nominated for nine Tony Awards, this writer attests it’s one of the funniest musicals you’ll ever see.
Bass Performance Hall
July 30
Jim Milan’s Bucket List Jazz Band
Despite founder Jim Milan’s death in April 2023, this local outfit of incredible jazz musicians continues to hit the stage regularly at Fort Worth venues in tribute to the band’s namesake, who started the band at the age of 87.
Tulips
July 30 – Aug. 17
The Heart Sellers
A pair of women new to America, Jane and Luna meet for the first time on Thanksgiving Day in 1973 and, as one might say, immediately hit it off. One of the top produced plays in 2024, “The Heart Sellers” perfectly captures the hopes and fears of the immigrant experience.
Amphibian Stage