Music and rodeo events will take center stage in Fort Worth this weekend. Choices include a big fair featuring rodeo competitions and concerts, another rodeo event with a headlining concert at the end, an anime festival, a well-known comedian, and four other concerts across the musical spectrum.

Photo courtesy of Buffalo Rome

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. If you want more options, check out the calendar for an even longer list of the city’s best events.

Thursday, August 21

North Texas Fair & Rodeo
The North Texas Fair & Rodeo in Denton enters its second and final weekend, featuring concerts, rodeos, livestock shows, kid & fun zones, attractions, and more. Headlining performers over the final four days include Ian Munsick, Randall King, Uncle Kracker, and Los Pescadores Del Rio Conchos. The fair takes place through Sunday.

Friday, August 22

Bulls, Bands, and Barrels with Hudson Westbrook
Bulls, Bands & Barrels is a premier western sports competition and live entertainment experience, bringing together rodeo and live music fans. The event will feature competitive bull riding, barrel racing, bullfighting, and a live concert featuring Hudson Westbrook. The event takes place at Cowtown Coliseum.

Anime at the Modern Film Festival
The 2025 Anime at the Modern Film Festival celebrates the Japanese anime genre with films that are visually stunning, richly imaginative, and poetic in their storytelling. The festival will feature two films by Naoko Yamada, one of Japan’s leading anime directors, including the award-winning classic, A Silent Voice (2016), and her newest feature film, The Colors Within (2024). Three additional films highlight the range and depth of 21st-century anime. Screenings take place through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Improv Arlington presents Bill Bellamy
Using his experiences growing up in Newark, Bill Bellamy started doing stand-up while he was a student at Rutgers University. His long comedy career has led to multiple roles in both television and movies, including Love Jones, How to Be a Player, Any Given Sunday, and Insecure. He also hosts the podcast Top Billin’ With Bill Bellamy. He’ll perform five times through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

Whitey Morgan and the 78’s in concert
While the vast majority of country bands emerge from the South, occasionally a popular group can emerge from another music-heavy city like Detroit. Whitey Morgan and the 78’s have released four albums since 2008, most recently Hard Times and White Lines in 2018, their highest-charting release. making the top 20 on the Billboard Country charts. They’ll play at Billy Bob’s Texas.

Saturday, August 23

Casa Mañana presents The Music of Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles became a nest of creativity in the 1960s and ’70s, immortalizing artists like Joni Mitchell, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, and The Mamas and the Papas, who called the neighborhood home. The Music of Laurel Canyon will feature songs of the era performed by Buffalo Rome. The one-night-only concert takes place on the mainstage at Casa Mañana.

Jackyl in concert
The rock band Jackyl has been around since the early 1990s, fusing hair metal and southern rock for a sound all of their own. They made their biggest impression with their first two albums, with their highest-charting hit being “Push Comes to Shove.” They’ve continue to release new music every few years, with their most recent album being 30 Coming in Hot in 2022. They’ll play at Billy Bob’s Texas.

Sunday, August 24

Anuel AA in concert
Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA may not quite be on the level of his fellow countryman Bad Bunny, but he’s getting there. Each of his first five albums came in at No. 1 or No. 2 on the Billboard Latin chart, demonstrating an enduring popularity with his core fanbase. He’ll perform at Dickies Arena in support of his new album, Real Hasta La Muerte 2.