A few weeks ago, the Cicada was ready to file its own obituary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The small, independent music venue on\u00a0South Main Street\u00a0in Fort Worth had weathered plenty since opening in 2021. But this summer, co-owner Tyler Stevens and her husband, John, faced a storm that seemed impossible to weather: a sudden and unexpected rent increase, dwindling crowds, and a broken air conditioner amid a sweltering summer. For a place built on community and creativity \u2014 a haven for singer-songwriters, poets, burlesque performers, DJs, and anyone looking for a place to belong \u2014 it felt like the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, after looking at everything, I was kind of ready to give up,\u201d Tyler\u00a0recalls. \u201cIt felt like the walls were closing in, and I wasn\u2019t sure if we could keep going.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her employees took the initiative to organize the “Save the Cicada ” benefit themselves and surprised her with it during a particularly low moment, encouraging her not to give up. She responded by agreeing to see how things would unfold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The benefit turned out to be a watershed moment. For two nights, local musicians took over the stage, and the venue\u2019s regulars \u2014 a mix of artists, friends, and loyal patrons \u2014 showed up in force. \u201cI was incredibly thankful and surprised at the people who came out and the bands that they were able to procure and some of the sponsors,\u201d Tyler says. \u201cIt was a really, really great day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The community\u2019s support continued beyond the initial benefit. About a week later, she posted again, sharing that while the benefit had gone well, they still needed more support and were close to their goal. This prompted even more donations, reflecting the passion people had for keeping the place open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This outpouring of support caught the attention of Tom Martens,\u00a0Vice President of Creative Film and Music for Visit Fort Worth,\u00a0and Joe Morrison, an attorney with Mullen & Mullen Injury Law Firm in Dallas. The pair connected with Tyler soon after the crisis broke and recognized the venue\u2019s importance in the local arts scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we heard from Tyler and just the social media post about the potential of losing another music venue, we just couldn\u2019t let that happen,\u201d Tom says. \u201cEvery local band is somebody\u2019s local band, and we need that opportunity for them to be the next big thing. But you’ve got to start somewhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joe agrees. \u201cIf you\u2019re a young band, you have to have somewhere to go play, right? Otherwise, you can\u2019t go from\u2026 some people can go viral with a mixtape, but the odds of that are even smaller than just a band reaching a certain point anyway.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mullen & Mullen, the firm behind last year\u2019s\u00a0JAMBALOO\u00a0Music Festival, saw an opportunity to support venues like the Cicada year-round. They partnered with Visit Fort Worth to create the\u00a0JAMBALOO\u00a0Venue Prize \u2014 a $20,000 annual grant awarded to one independent DFW-area venue starting in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Cicada is the first recipient,\u201d Joe says. \u201cIt fits with the ethos of what we\u2019re trying to do \u2014 support independent venues and local artists.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tyler calls the grant a lifeline. \u201cI\u2019m still kind of absorbing what this means. It\u2019s a wonderful opportunity to get what we needed to take us out of the danger zone and put us back to where we can have a fighting chance again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
From the beginning, the Cicada aimed to be more than just a music venue. Tyler had experience running Tin Panther, a previous venue that closed due to real estate challenges and the pandemic. When the space on South Main opened up, Tyler jumped on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to swoop the place up,\u201d she says. \u201cI had a couple of people ask me, \u2018What makes you think you can do a music venue in the same place that just failed?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018I\u2019m trying to do something more than a music venue.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That \u201csomething more\u201d means a\u00a0third space\u00a0\u2014 a place to gather beyond home or work, a place that hosts live shows but also art nights, plant swaps, dog adoption markets, and more. The venue is open every day from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and hosts jazz on Sundays, as well as multiple band bills on Fridays and Saturdays.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Cicada\u2019s stage serves as a sanctuary for original voices \u2014 from avant-garde DJs to touring indie acts and local jazz collectives. Tyler notes that smaller bands often struggle to find performance spaces in Fort Worth. She says losing another stage would be a major blow for local musicians, as\u00a0few venues\u00a0offer a true show experience beyond a makeshift PA in a small bar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside, the vibe is casual and inviting \u2014 with mismatched chairs, low lighting, local art on the walls, and a small stage raised just enough so every attendee has a clear view. The bar feels like an integral part of the room, rather than its focal point.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tyler dreams of expanding the music calendar beyond Fridays and Saturdays. \u201cI would love for the community to start coming out more. The more that you guys come out, the more music that we can afford to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She also wants to deepen collaboration with local visual artists, paying them to create murals and merchandise, and giving back to the community that\u00a0has supported the Cicada so fiercely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future is all about continuing to support the community that supports us and giving back in whatever ways we can,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Fort Worth\u2019s music scene evolves, the Cicada\u2019s survival reminds us how much local venues matter \u2014 as incubators for art, culture, and connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe almost gave up,\u201d Tyler says. \u201cBut we\u2019re still here. And now we have a chance to build something stronger.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A few weeks ago, the Cicada was ready to file its own obituary.\u00a0 The small, independent music venue…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":86415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,12043,64,7550,7371,7372,11878,46437,10763,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,51561],"class_list":{"0":"post-86414","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arts-and-culture","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-finances","12":"tag-fort-worth","13":"tag-fortworth","14":"tag-live-music","15":"tag-south-main","16":"tag-stephen-montoya","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-top-story","19":"tag-tx","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa","26":"tag-venues"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114903601859959760","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}