Your guide to the 2011 Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival

by Brenna Rushing

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This year's lineup brings everything from a disco cover band to a legendary country singer's daughter.

Fort Worth's Main Street Arts Festival is here again. Along with all of the artists' booths and carnival style food, there are hours of live music planned. Local and national acts fill up the multiple stages, bringing a balanced diversity to the festival, which runs from Thursday, April 14 through Sunday, April 17.

If you're headed that way, also check out their iPhone app.

Here are some acts worth seeing:

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Rebecca Henricks

Thursday kicks off the artsy weekend with standout guitarists and soulful ladies in the lineup. Bettye LaVette is one of the nights' headliners, bringing in her rolling and soulful voice to smooth the crowd out. Continuing in the jazz theme is the Dallas sextet band Fingerprints. They're closer to the classic jazz sound that true fans can appreciate, with funky bass lines to sweeten the deal. Rebecca Henricks is a Southern-style country singer with a Southern belle charm to match. Her twangy bluegrass songs will help remind everyone what Fort Worth stands for.

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Better Than Ezra

Friday brings one of the best sets of the weekend, Better Than Ezra. The veteran rock group knows how to put on a show. Then there's Domino Effect, the cover band who knows how to get everyone up and moving to their eclectic blend of disco, pop, and hip-hop tunes. Here's one for the curious: The Navy mid-South Premiere Blues band consists of two bands made up of members from the U.S. Navy who tour across the Mid-South region performing rock and blues music. The band Freedom is the edgier and louder rock group, while Blues City Horns adds a cultured swag.

On Saturday, a long-awaited reunion of funk band Phyrework is scheduled. The Earth, Wind, and Fire-inspired group recorded and toured from 1976-1987 and recently reunited for the festival. Rosanne Cash, the celebrated daughter of Johnny Cash, will close out the night with her guitar in hand. Hopefully, her newest album, The List, titled after the list of the "100 Essential Country Songs" that her incomparable father gave her, will be heavy in the set. In the same time slot is Ozomatli, the Los Angeles band which infuses salsa with hip hop. If a musical sampling is what you're craving, Saturday is best.

Photo by John Michael Flores

Steely Dan tribute band Naked Lunch

Sunday is a widespread lineup, stretching the musical spectrum even further out for the closing day. Glitter Rose, the fiesty 24-year old country singer from Fort Worth, opens the gates with her rumbling chords. The always-lively cover band Naked Lunch helps keep the music of Steely Dan alive. They have been performing for 11 years, without an end in sight. Joe McBride follows up the afternoon with his inspiring key-playing and vocals. He lost his eyesight as a teenager but never strayed from his desire to perform. His contemporary style speaks to all audiences, and will be worth the sweltering heat of the afternoon.

If any other bands from the festival pop up on your radar, let us know!