Fort Worth music — history and the future

by Staff of The Gobblers Knob

Recognize the guy in the middle? Good, now read about the guy on the right.

There is an interesting article in the current issue of FW Weekly. The story of Roy Stamps and his role in the Outlaw Movement as well as the overall music scene of North Texas in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and all the way to his recent death is compelling in that it reads as a “Hard-Luck Forrest Gump” style tragedy. The story, written by Jeff Prince (who at least one time, had a business relationship with the subject) sheds light on Stamps’ darker aspects (drugs, jail-time, absentee father), as well as the fun stories of friendships with the likes of Willie Nelson and Waylon Payne. Due to the story being written by a friend as an extended eulogy of sorts, versus a gritty tale of the music biz’s sinister underbelly, it’s hard to tell whether Stamps was actually a good and decent man outside of the times he was looking to be buddies with musicians, and that’s definitely not for me to judge anyways. Regardless, it’s a good read and a great example of a story that seems to me, to be uniquely “Ft. Worth”.

Live from the Stockyards!

I grew up in Ft. Worth, but moved east to the Big D shortly after high school many years ago. Back then, the music scene in the town wasn’t much to write home about. Billy Bob’s, The Wreck Room, The Aardvark and The White Elephant Saloon, among a few select others, were the primary venues to catch local and even some national shows. That has recently changed and has become quite a live music mecca for the folks that just don’t care to head too far east (Dallas) or too far north (Denton) to catch a band that would typically bypass the Chisholm Trail.

Newer venues such as Lola’s, The Fairmount, Woody’s (not that new), and The Chat Room have joined old school rooms like The Horseman and The Stagecoach Ballroom to showcase revered indie -acts (Fleet Foxes, Dr. Dog, Langhorne Slim), nationally known Country acts (Hank III, Chris Knight, Hayes Carll) and local legends-in-the-making (Doug Burr, 1100 Springs, Telegraph Canyon, Phil Pritchett) in recent months.

Now, the Stockyards will be tightening its live music stronghold on the western part of the metroplex. Lola’s Saloon - Stockyards and The Longhorn Saloon (A historic building which is reopening, actually. I have walked past it a million times and couldn’t imagine why it was dormant - well, now it isn’t.) will be showcasing Country names both big and small in the coming months. So, instead of being forced to see Tracy Lawrence at Billy Bob’s on a Friday night, a Ft. Worthian (?) can catch The King Bucks put on a Honky-Tonk clinic just around the corner.