INSIDE
Old Tales
Roots artist Taylor Craig Mills reimagines some of his older tunes on new EP.
By Anthony Mariani and Juan R. Govea
March
By Stephen Cervantes
Mexican Mix
Everything from birria ramen to American burgers are done right at La Och8.
By Steve Steward
Anthony Mariani, Editor
Lee Newquist, Publisher
Bob Niehoff, General Manager
Michael Newquist, Regional Director
Ryan Burger, Art Director
Jennifer Bovee, Marketing Director
Clint “Ironman” Newquist, Brand Ambassador
Emmy Smith, Proofreader
Julie Strehl, Account Manager
Sarah Niehoff, Account Executive
Stacey Hammons, Senior Account Executive
Tony Diaz, District Manager
Wyatt Newquist, Account Executive
Wendy Maier, Account Executive
CONTRIBUTORS
E.R. Bills, Jason Brimmer, Buck D. Elliott, Juan R. Govea, Patrick Higgins, Laurie James, Kristian Lin, Cody Neathery, Wyatt Newquist, Steve Steward, Teri Webster, Ken WheatcroftPardue, Elaine Wilder, Cole Williams
EDITORIAL BOARD
Laurie James, Anthony Mariani, Emmy Smith, Steve Steward
COPYRIGHT
The entire contents of Fort Worth Weekly are Copyright 2025 by Ft. Worth Weekly, LP. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the publisher. Please call the Fort Worth Weekly office for back-issue information.
Fort Worth Weekly mailing address: 300
Along with restaurants in the Stockyards, Jack Daw Folk Art and Platinum rehearsal space are raising money.
By Elaine Wilder
website: www.fwweekly.com email: question@fwweekly.com
DISTRIBUTION
EASY AS A BEAUTIFUL YARD IS
When it’s time to water your lawn, think 1, 2…zero. Once a week if it needs a little water. Twice a week if it’s dry and hot. Zero if it’s been raining. Make sure your sprinklers aren’t leaking or pointing the wrong way. And try drip irrigation for flowers and shrubs. Visit Water is Awesome.com for more tips.
METROPOLIS
Good Trouble
100+ rallied at recent protest downtown.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY STEPHEN CERVANTES
More than 100 gathered in Burk Burnett Park downtown last Thursday for Good Trouble Lives On, the local iteration of a national day of protest. The title is in honor of civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis on the fifth anniversary of his death at a time when the federal government continues stripping away rights from millions of citizens.
Protesters stood in solidarity with signs invoking resistance and demanding reform while organizers and guests spoke with urgency, spotlighting national concerns like the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, sweeping Medicaid funding cuts, and unconstitutional mass deportations. (There were only a couple mentions of the Epstein scandal currently rocking the White House and the very foundation of Donald Trump’s support.) Speakers also tackled local issues such as the proposed resegregation of Keller ISD and gerrymandering efforts led by Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare.
“In Tarrant County, we are not new to voter suppression tactics. Hello, Tim O’Hare!” said Perla Bojorquez, co-leader of the progressive group Indivisible 12. “Every time we get closer to voting out the good ’ol boys, Republicans find an excuse to gerrymander again and again.”
Local rock singer-songwriter Denver Williams opened the evening with a performance of the “National Anthem” followed by impassioned speeches from co-host of the 817 Podcast EJ Carrion, Keller school district student-activist Heath Shiflett, local Communist Party rep Cassandra Swart, and political organizer Carrington Sneed. Ernie Moran and others also performed. l
METRO
Lege Guide
Texas lawmakers have launched a 30-day special session for consumable THC, flood dangers, new congressional districts, abortion pills, and other conservative priorities.
BY MARÍA MÉNDEZ, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
Texas lawmakers have returned to the Capitol for a second attempt at regulating THC, the psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plants of hemp and marijuana. This comes after Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a planned ban on most
hemp products, which contain THC at lower levels than marijuana, as well as more than two dozen other bills that lawmakers had approved.
Abbott has also called on lawmakers to tackle emergency preparedness in the wake of catastrophic flooding in Central Texas, as well as redrawing the state’s congressional districts and passing conservative priorities such as banning abortion pills.
During their regular legislative session in the spring, state lawmakers passed a bill that would have banned consumable hemp products like vapes, gummies, and drinks that provide a similar high as smoking marijuana. The broad ban would have taken effect in September, if not for Abbott’s veto. He then ordered a special legislative session for lawmakers to regulate the hemp industry and address other bills he vetoed.
The other vetoed bills on Abbott’s agenda range from changes to the criminal justice system to water rights management, but many eyes will be on how lawmakers address a loophole in previous state laws legalizing hemp that allowed the sale of THC products — which spawned an entire new industry across Texas.
Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, who has claimed that THC is driving young people to suicide and altering people’s brains, championed the ban and even threatened to make lawmakers work overtime by preventing other important legislation from advancing if they didn’t approve a ban.
Experts say there are some health concerns, including that THC can be addictive, but they say it doesn’t usually cause widespread psychosis or brain damage.
The hemp industry and its advocates warned the ban could shutter the hemp industry and
Look Again
hinder access to the non-psychoactive CBD and CBG and to medical marijuana for patients in need of pain relief.
Lawmakers did expand the state’s limited medical marijuana program, but medical marijuana dispensaries still hope lawmakers will heavily regulate the hemp industry by putting in place age restrictions and banning synthetic delta-8 THC, which makes up the bulk of consumable hemp products.
A special session lasts up to 30 days, and state lawmakers can work only on the governor’s agenda items.
After facing pressure from Donald Trump’s political team, Abbott has asked lawmakers to redraw some of Texas’ 38 U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.
He also directed lawmakers to focus on these areas following the deadly Hill Country floods over the July 4 weekend:
• Flood warning systems
• Emergency communications
• Natural disaster preparation
• Relief funding for the impacted areas
Abbott also included several high-profile and controversial conservative priorities that didn’t pass during the 140-day regular session, including:
• Banning cities and counties from hiring lobbyists to advocate for them at the Capitol
• Requiring people to use bathrooms that align with the sex they were assigned at birth
• Cracking down on the manufacturing and distribution of abortion pills
During the session, which ran from January through early June, state lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have established a statewide plan to improve Texas’ disaster response. House Bill 13 called for the plan to include “the use of outdoor warning sirens,” like those used in tornado-prone Texas counties, and develop new emergency alert systems. State Rep. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said he would propose legislation to ensure people are alerted with sirens along watersheds instead of notifications on their phones that could be silenced or missed.
How Texans can follow the session
• The Texas Legislature Online: Through the Legislature’s website, you can find bills that have been filed and track their progress. You can easily create a personal list of bills to follow and set up email alerts for updates on legislation. You can also receive email alerts when notices of upcoming committee hearings are posted and can use the website to find links to broadcasts of floor debates or committee meetings in the House and Senate, as well as other resources, such as a glossary of legislative terms.
• The Bill Status Hotline: During the legislative session, you can call 877-824-7038 in Texas to get up-to-the-minute information about a bill’s status, the legislative process, help getting a copy of the bill, and contact information for a lawmaker’s office, according to the Legislative Reference Library. But hotline staff cannot interpret a bill or transfer your call to a lawmaker’s office.
continued on page 7
• The Texas Tribune: You can also keep up with the latest on the Legislature through the Tribune’s coverage.
How can I participate in the legislative process?
• Contact your lawmakers: Texans can share their concerns and personal stories with their elected representatives, which can be the most effective form of advocacy, said Kathy Green, the director of state and federal strategy for AARP Texas who has more than 30 years of experience working in and around state government.
“If you’ve got stories about those actual things that affect your daily life, talk to your leg-
the state’s legislative guide. House committees or subcommittees must also typically post notice for a public hearing held during a special session at least 24 hours before, unless the rule is suspended by a vote of the members on the House floor.
It is more impactful to succinctly speak about your experience than it is to read written testimony or just cite facts, said Luke Metzger, executive director of the advocacy group Environment Texas. But you can also submit written testimony or have someone else testify on your behalf.
It can take time for legislation to come up for discussion in a committee hearing, especially if a hearing is scheduled for after a chamber meets for floor debate, so it helps to be prepared to be at the Capitol for a while.
“Planning is critical, and typically plan to spend the day and stay overnight if necessary,” Zaffirini said.
It can also help to communicate with staff if you need to leave by a certain time, she said.
EASY-TO-
GET-TO EATS
Take a bite out of tra c and parking hassles on the new, FREE Trinity Metro Blue Line! Just find the blue buses circling Downtown Fort Worth every 7 minutes, 7am–7pm, 7 days a week. Then hop on for easy trips to breakfast, lunch, happy hour and more! Plan your trip today at RIDETRINITYMETRO.org/BLUELINE.
March 2–September 7
Alex Da Corte: The Whale is made possible
with
Marks Gallery, Fort Worth Promotion and Development Fund, Henrik Persson, Gió Marconi Gallery, and Sadie Coles HQ.
The Pied Piper, 2019. Neoprene, EPS foam, upholstery foam, staples, thread, polyester fiber, epoxy clay, MDF, plywood. 120 × 120 × 6.5 inches. Courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London. © Alex Da Corte. Image: Karma
SCREEN
Film Shorts
Here’s what opening and playing now in our multiplexes.
BY KRISTIAN LIN
OPENING
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (PG-13) This retro reboot of the Marvel superhero series stars Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the astronauts who acquire superpowers in the 1960s. Also with Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Ralph Ineson, Sarah Niles, and Julia Garner. (Opens Friday)
The Home (R) Pete Davidson stars in this horror film as a janitor who discovers sinister secrets at the nursing home where he’s newly employed. Also with Bruce Altman, Ethan Phillips, Marilee Talkington, Linder Sutton, and John Glover. (Opens Friday)
NOW PLAYING
Ballerina (R) Ana de Armas does a star turn in this spinoff from the John Wick series as a trained assassin who goes rogue when she sees a chance to avenge herself on the people who killed her father when she was a child. In doing so, she incurs the wrath of the Director (Anjelica Huston), who sends John himself (Keanu Reeves) to stop her. The series still sucks at world-building, and director Len Wiseman tries to turn this into another installment of his Underworld series by filming lots of raves with strobe lights popping. The action sequences remain strong as ever, though, with one fight sequence having our ballerina trying to detonate grenades in close quarters without hurting herself and a flamethrower duel that’s an exercise in wretched excess. De Armas’ feminine grace injects some freshness into the series. Also with Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Victoria Comte, David Castañeda, Waris Ahluwalia, Juliet Doherty, Ian McShane, and the late Lance Reddick.
Eddington (R) Ari Aster appears to have gone somewhat deranged from the COVID pandemic. His satirical Western stars Joaquin Phoenix as a New Mexico sheriff who clashes with his small town’s mayor (Pedro Pascal) over masking policy and the George Floyd protests. There’s a whole bunch of other stuff, too, including white supremacists killing cops while wearing Black Lives Matter gear, Native American activists from the reservation bordering the town, and a Christian cult leader (Austin Butler) who definitely thinks that the Epstein report is being buried. Aster has his finger on the pulse of a divided America, but he seems unsure of what he wants to say about
it — this movie suffers from the same bloat as his previous post-pandemic film Beau Is Afraid. This is an excellent 90-minute movie that’s unfortunately buried in a 148-minute running time. Also with Emma Stone, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Cameron Mann, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Amélie Hoeferle, Luke Grimes, William Belleau, and Clifton Collins Jr.
F1: The Movie (PG-13) The best auto-racing film ever made, especially if you see it in a theater with good speakers. Director Joseph Kosinski made you feel the speed and torque of the fighter planes in Top Gun: Maverick, and he uses those same skills to tell the story of a washed-up Formula One racer (Brad Pitt) who’s given one last shot to compete at that level by a desperate former racing teammate (Javier Bardem). The roar of the race cars is so intense that you may walk out exhausted from all the sound energy hitting your body. The subplots about our grizzled veteran mentoring a cocky young teammate (Damson Idris) and romancing the team’s technical director (Kerry Condon) don’t pull their weight, but the script delves deep into racing strategy, and the sound engineering and the cameras mounted on vehicles will make you feel like you’re there on race day. Also with Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, Luciano Bacheta, Sarah Niles, Will Merrick, Callie Cooke, Samson Kayo, and Shea Whigham.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (R) You can’t make me scared of a killer who dresses like the Gorton’s fisherman. I just can’t do it. For this sequel to the 1990s horror franchise, a new group of young people (Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Jonah Hauer-King, Sarah Pidgeon, and Tyriq Withers) inadvertently causes a fatal car accident outside the North Carolina port town. When they fail to own up to it, the slasher in the slicker starts picking them off one by one, and they have to consult the survivors of the previous attacks (Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.) for advice. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) takes over this series, but nothing works — not the murder scenes, not the attempts to incorporate comedy into the film, not the final solution, not the callbacks to the previous movies, and not even the final girl’s bisexuality. The failure here is total. Also with Billy Campbell, Austin Nichols, Gabbriette Bechtel, Joshua Orpin, Brandy Norwood, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Jurassic World: Rebirth (PG-13) More like stillbirth, actually. The series has a new director and a bunch of new stars, and yet it’s still tedious enough to make the last three movies seem like roller-coaster rides by comparison. Scarlett Johansson plays a private contractor who helps get a team of scientists into a dinosaur-populated island for biological samples that could be turned into life-saving medications, only to run into a family stranded there after their boat is sunk by other dinosaurs. Director Gareth Edwards (The Creator) makes the dinosaurs look real enough, but neither the characters nor the action set pieces are memorable in any way. Also with Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Manuel García-Rulfo, David Iacono, Luna Blaise, Audrina Miranda, Bechir Sylvain, Niamh Finlay, Ed Skrein, and Rupert Friend.
Karate Kid: Legends (PG-13) The latest young talent to hit the series is Ben Wang as a teenage Beijing kung fu student who’s uprooted to New York City. The main plot should have been the one where he uses his skills to train the pizzeria owner down the block (Joshua Jackson) to come out of
retirement as a prizefighter, but the film barely expends any effort transitioning to another plot where the boy has to learn from both Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) and Daniel-san (Ralph Macchio) to defend himself from karatekas in a citywide martial-arts tournament. The movie’s attempt to find a unified field theory for martial arts may not work, but it’s still preferable to the xenophobia of the Ip Man series, and Wang (from TV’s American Born Chinese) has charisma to burn. He could carry his own installment of the series, if he was given a better story to work with. Also with Ming-Na Wen, Sadie Stanley, Wyatt Oleff, Aramis Knight, Ge Yankei, Marco Zhang, and William Zabka.
M3GAN 2.0 (PG-13) Too much, way too much. Allison Williams returns in this sequel to the 2023 hit as the inventor who must resurrect her killer robot doll (Amie Donald, with voice by Jenna Davis) to stop a more powerful killer robot (Ivanna Sakhno) who’s gone rogue after being developed by the U.S. government. Writer-director Gerard Johnstone has so many ideas about AI rising up to kill us that his sequel comes out overstuffed, overambitious, and overextended, with satire of libertarian billionaires and clueless feds jostling side by side with M3GAN’s transition to hero and emotional support for the inventor’s niece (Violet McGraw). It all leads to vast expanses of clotted exposition and sentimental crap about family. The Ukrainian newcomer Sakhno makes a good dolllike enemy, but this is well below the original’s concentrated power. Also with Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen van Epps, Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, and Jemaine Clement.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (PG13) This may not be Tom Cruise’s last outing as Ethan Hunt, but it does feel like a farewell to a franchise’s defining star. He has to reunite with his team members to capture the AI currently destroying the world. The result is unfortunately quite a disjointed movie in which Ethan appears to traverse the globe at the speed of light while awkward montages take in all the stars who have graced this series through the decades. The movie’s nostalgia kick does bring back Rolf Saxon as the CIA tech guy whom we haven’t seen since Ethan robbed his office in the original movie, and the stunts feature Cruise hanging off the wing of a biplane as well as a sequence in a sunken submarine that’s excellent suspense. It’s a better goodbye than Jason Bourne got. Also with Hayley Atwell, Ving
Rhames, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Janet McTeer, Tramell Tillman, Mark Gatiss, Greg Tarzan Davis, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Katy O’Brian, Cary Elwes, and Angela Bassett.
Superman (PG-13) The best Superman movie from this century. David Corenswet takes over the title role as Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) leads a social-media crusade to have Superman treated as an illegal alien. Luthor is reimagined for our time as a libertarian billionaire who feels small and insignificant against the Man of Steel’s superpowers, and a highly dysfunctional trio of superheroes calling themselves the Justice Gang (Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, and Isabela Merced) makes a funny foil to Superman. Writer-director James Gunn doesn’t make the most memorable action set pieces here, but he is willing to use fight sequences in an unorthodox way, like when Clark Kent and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) have an earnest conversation about their relationship while the Justice Gang silently battles a kaiju in the distance. The surprising subplots and the grounding in current events makes this welcome. Also with Skylar Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Beck Bennett, María Gabriela de Faría, Sara Sampaio, Zlatko Buric, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Mikaela Hoover, Sean Gunn, Frank Grillo, Anthony Carrigan, Alan Tudyk, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, Angela Sarafyan, Bradley Cooper, and uncredited cameos by Milly Alcock and John Cena.
28 Years Later (R) The third installment of the series is a memorial to those who have died from the plague in real life, which turns out to be not quite enough to carry it. Alfie Williams portrays a 12-year-old boy growing up on an island off Britain’s coast where the people have remained uninfected, but when he hears about a doctor (Ralph Fiennes) who has survived on the big island, he takes his mother (Jodie Comer) to him to find out why she’s getting unexplained headaches and nosebleeds. The young Williams’ performance is good enough to make this work as a coming-ofage story. I just wish it worked better as a zombie movie or as a setup for the next film in the series. This movie reunites director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, and it may be time for a fresh set of eyes on this series. Also with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Edvin Ryding, Stella Gonet, Chi Lewis-Parry, and Jack O’Connell. l
Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) spruces up a friendly robot for display in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Jay Maidment
Though doused in sauce and stuffed with chicken, more pickled onion, rice, and refried beans (which, in hindsight, obviated the side of rice and beans I ordered), the burrito’s pillowy flour tortilla never disintegrated, so you could certainly heft this monster to your mouth as a handheld meal if you really wanted to. I deferred to the comparative daintiness of a knife and fork, but given that I gave my burrito’s interior a couple stiff blasts of salsa piquín out of the squeeze bottle, the sweat pouring from my face probably made me look like I was disintegrating, so I might as well have gotten after that burrito like a cartoon hog that is capable of lifting food to its mouth with its front hooves — imagine what I’d have looked like trying to eat the birria ramen. The chicken in the burrito had a subtle yet noticeable amount of spice, and I can only guess that the spicy ground beef in one of La Och8’s signature dishes packed some real heat.
Other chef specialties include quesabirrias (a pair of fried birria-bearing tacos stuffed with gooey melted cheese and served with consomme, lime wedges, and pickled onions for $9.16), and traditional fare like chimichangas, enchiladas, quesadillas, and tortas with your choice of filling (asada, barbacoa, carnitas, chicharron, chorizo, ground beef, pastor, chicken, or shredded chicken). I’m not sure why these are called chef specialties. They seem pretty common to other Mexican places, and the menu also features less-common dishes like paella mar y tierra (a sumptuous Spanish dish of seasoned rice, shrimp, ground beef, avocado, corn, and pep
rings and bacon and slathered with a tangy, smoky barbecue sauce.
There’s also a gyro taco, a taco pizza, and six signature burgers — La Ocho (the basic burger), the Mexican burger (cheese, guac, jalapeńos), a bacon burger, the shrimp burger (a shrimp patty topped with tomato, a creamy secret sauce, red onion, and lettuce), the Hawaiian burger (comes with a
La Och8 opens at 8:30am, and while you can likely order any of the above that early, you’d be remiss if you passed on the breakfast offerings: Mexican favorites like breakfast burritos, chiliquiles, and huevos rancheros, plus greasy-spoon staples such as breakfast sandwiches (bacon, ham, and/ or sausage with fried egg and American cheese between thick slices of toast) and omelets. Desserts include churros (when available), flan, and fried ice cream. Whether you’re hungry for some quality, no-nonsense Mexican comfort food or want to eat with people who can’t seem to agree on a place to
go, La Och8 has something for just about everyone. Chef Carlos Romo’s willingness to blend different cuisines is inventive without being gimmicky — birria ramen is actually kind of trendy, and it’s not like he just squished a couple of related words together to come up with a new dish. And given the range of La Och8’s items, it’s worth going back multiple times — at least ocho, for example — to try something new. l
There’s also a gyro taco, a taco pizza, and six signature burgers.
The chicken in the burrito had a subtle yet noticeable amount of spice, and the author can only guess that the spicy ground beef in one of La Och8’s signature dishes packed some real heat.
Ate Days of Benefit Eats
While July is almost over and the Central Texas floods occurred nearly a month ago, recovery efforts are still ongoing, and much help will continue to be needed for quite some time. Restaurants in the Stockyards, a rehearsal space in North Richland Hills, and a visual artist in town all (still) have heart.
Fort Worth
A little something called a Labubu is having a moment — if you don’t know what that is, make Google your friend, friend — and Jack Daw is here for it. The Fort Worth artist is selling his version of the fictional character as a 24K-gold-on-paper print. His Labewhews, as he’s calling them, are $100 each, with 100% of the proceeds going to Austin Pets Alive, a nonprofit taking care of displaced pets from the Hill Country floods. “I thought this would be a fun way to help pitch in,” Jack said. “Use your dumb for good.” To see one that Tyler Stevens purchased and framed for her venue, The Cicada (1002 S Main St, Fort Worth, @The_Cicada_FTW), pop in for a drink and a show. If you hate Labubus, but still want to help, donate at AustinPetsAlive.org. To order, visit @ JackDawFolkArt on Instagram.
Stockyards
Thru Thu, Jul 31, essential supplies like canned pet food, diapers, and first-aid kits are being collected in the Stockyards at 97 West Kitchen & Bar at Hotel Drover, H3 Ranch at the Stockyards Hotel, and Hyatt Place
97 West Kitchen & Bar (200 Mule Alley, Fort Worth, 682-255-6497) serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, as well as brunch 8am-2pm on weekends. The new brunch menu features sweet
and savory à la carte shareable dishes made with locally sourced ingredients. Reservations are recommended via OpenTable.com.
The Hunter Brothers’ H3 Ranch at the Stockyards Hotel (109 E Exchange Av, Fort Worth, 817-624-1246) grills with hickory wood and offers a wide variety of proteins. Beyond steaks, there’s also chicken, spit-roasted pig, rainbow trout, ribs, and more. H3 is open 11am-10pm daily for lunch and “supper.” Reservations aren’t required, but if
you’d like to secure your spot, call the restaurant or use OpenTable.com.
Before or after your meal at H3, mosey on into adjoining Booger Red’s Saloon, named in honor of the legendary Texas bronc-busting champion Samuel Thomas Privett (1858-1926). With National Tequila Day upon us, consider Booger Red’s signature Anita-Rita Margarita, named for a Hunter brother’s daughter. Made with premium tequilas, lime juice, and secret ingredients, including extract from select Serrano peppers, Anita-Ritas are prepared by the batch and aged in an authentic still atop the bar. They’re served on the rocks in a frosted 18-oz schooner (with or without a salted rim). Or be a tourist in your own town and try the popular Buffalo Butt Beer. Crafted in small batches, this slightly hazy brew is named after a common prairie sight that William Hunter believed could only be forgotten after an ice-cold beer. At Booger Red’s, Buffalo Butt Beer is served in an iced bucket of 12-oz bottles.
If a staycation is on your mind, Hyatt Place (132 E Exchange Av, Fort Worth, 817-626-6000) offers a breakfast bar, an espresso bar 24 hours a day, and bistro-style burgers, sandwiches, salads, and shareable appetizers that can be ordered from room service.
North Richland Hills
Platinum Music Complex NRH (7301 NE Loop 820, North Richland Hills, 682-540-3019) is hosting its Flood Disaster Relief Benefit noon-11pm Sat, Aug 2, and 11:30am-7pm Sun, Aug 3, with live music hourly by nearly 20 bands over the two days. Plus, meet special guest Austin Berber from Lioness and Yellowstone. Food trucks and vendors like Springtown’s Smoking with Papa BBQ (@ SmokingwithPapa) will be on-site, and a portion of their proceeds will benefit the flood victims. Admission is proof of a donation of any amount to the GoFundMe account 564ccf24. For the complete list of bands and food truck info, visit Facebook.com/PlatinumMusicComplex/events as the date approaches.
Note: It’s recommended to contact the businesses directly or check their social media and websites for the most current information on their involvement in flood relief efforts as some initiatives may have already concluded or may be ending soon.
By Elaine Wilder
97 West Kitchen & Bar’s new brunch menu features sweet and savory à la carte shareable dishes made with locally sourced ingredients.
Courtesy Hotel Drover Barbecue is on the menu at the flood benefit show at Platinum in early August.
Courtesy Smoking with Papa BBQ
Fort Worth’s Jack Daw is selling 24K-goldon-paper prints of his take on the recently trending Labubu, benefiting Austin Pets Alive. One print is on display now at The Cicada.
Tyler Stevens
Steaks and Anita-Ritas at H3 Ranch. ’Nuff said.
Courtesy Hunter Brothers’ H3 Ranch
MUSIC
Back to Go Forth
Taylor Craig Mills and his rootsy folk sound return officially.
BY ANTHONY MARIANI AND JUAN R. GOVEA
It’s been a long time, but Taylor Craig Mills is back. For the rootsy singer-songwriter’s new EP, he rerecorded three older songs of his, plus he added a new track.
Mills will celebrate the release of Go Forth on Fri, Aug 1, with Jeremy Hull on upright bass and fellow Fort Worth singer-songwriter Jacob Furr on guitar. Joe Bill Rose from Fort Worth cowpunks Holy Moly will open the evening.
Mills is glad to be back.
“I took a break, started a family, and it’s been beautiful,” he said. “It’s time to start getting back out there.”
The EP was recorded by Ryan Tharp and Clint Kirby at 7013 Studio (Red Shahan, Austin Mead, Scott Copeland) on the West Side. The old material comes from Mills’ 2012 debut album, Don’t Ever Look Back Twice. The EP brims with some of the songwriter’s most personal songs, with tales of love, loss, and addiction taking center stage.
In the title track, a little motherly advice goes a long way, while lessons are also learned on “Rollin’ Stone Boulevard” and “Dealin’ with the [Love, Trouble, and Sin].”
“This project is about revisiting songs I’ve carried with me for years but from a place of deeper perspective and a wearier voice,” Mills said.
The new track is “Bottles Away,” about coming to terms with recurring addiction and “confronting your demons and deciding if you’re going to aim to misbehave or change,” Mills said.
The singer-songwriter is psyched to share his handiwork. “Writing music for myself is cathartic. It’s about what these songs can do for someone in the crowd. … I’m not saying my music is all encompassing and will change lives or the world. In the end-all moment, if what I’ve done in writing music can help somebody, then that’s the end-all goal.” l
Taylor Craig Mills
Bill Rose at The Post,
Mills: “Writing music for myself is cathartic. It’s about what these songs can do for someone in the crowd.”
Juan R. Govea
Mills: “It’s time to start getting back out there.”
Juan R. Govea
NIGHT & DAY
Twice the Weeks, Twice the Fun
BY ANTHONY MARIANI AND JENNIFER BOVEE
With next week’s Night & Day themed out with animal-oriented happenings as part of our third annual Creature Comforts edition, we’re alerting you — and in some cases reminding you — about events going on now thru the month’s end. Enjoy the rest of your July!
From 6pm to 9pm, TX Whiskey Ranch (2601 Whiskey Ranch Rd, Fort Worth, 817-840-9140) is celebrating summertime with
an indoor screening of 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation. Accompanied by their children (Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall), dad Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and mom Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park. Tickets are $10 at TXWhiskey.com and include your first cocktail. No one under the age of 21 will be permitted, including kids and babies, so get a sitter and make it a date night. Oh, and you’ll need to bring your own chair.
Texas artist Jon Flaming, known for his modern interpretations of cowboys and cowgirls, has curated this year’s Texas Juried Exhibition at Artspace111 (111 Hampton St, Fort Worth, 817-692-3228). The Love Texas Art Foundation supports the awards with a total of over $15,000 awarded to the best works as selected by juror Flaming, and the $10,000 Edmund Craig Memorial Award will include the opportunity to exhibit at the gallery in a separate solo or group exhibition sometime before the year’s end. The opening reception and awards ceremony are 6pm8pm today. Regular gallery hours are 11am-5pm Tuesdays thru Fridays and 11am-2pm Saturdays. The show will be up thru Sat, Aug 23.
At the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St, Fort Worth, 817-738-9215), there’s still time to catch their stellar twin exhibitions. Up now thru Sep 7, The Whale gathers more than 40 paintings, several drawings, and a video from Alex Da Corte’s vast, multilayered, pop culture-loving oeuvre, while Feeling Color, featuring the brilliant handiwork of two pioneering Afro-Caribbean titans, Aubrey Williams and Frank Bowling, will be up thru today.
Running today thru Sun, Aug 3, at Bass Performance Hall (525 Commerce St, Fort Worth, 817212-4280), the Tony-winning musical comedy Shucked will tell the tale of an unlikely hero, an unscrupulous con artist, and a battle for the heart and soil of a small town. Maizy and Beau are getting hitched when the corn that protects their small community starts to die. The town needs answers. But who will dare to venture beyond the borders of Cob County? Tickets start at $50 at BassHall.com.
At Amphibian Stage (120 S Main St, Fort Worth, 817-9233012) today thru Sun, Aug 17, it’s Thanksgiving, 1973. Two immigrants meet cute and go through the highs and lows of budding romance in Lloyd Suh’s comedy The Heart Sellers, one of the Top 10-produced plays in the country in 2024. With the theater’s pay-what-you-want program, this could be a very affordable outing. See the ticket options at AmphibianStage.com.
Tonight marks the opening night of Fort Worth Library’s Amped-Up Music Tour, in which local artists play gigs at various library branches. Pop-rockers The Jaybirds will perform at Summerglen Library (4205 Basswood Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-392-5970) with openers Caravan. Learn more at fwpl.info/ AUMTJaybirds.
Don’t worry,
Whiskey
WEEKLY LISTINGS CLASSIFIEDS
Free Will Astrology
By Rob Brezsny
ARIES (Mar 21-Apr 19)
Life is giving you a big wink and saying, “It’s playtime!” You can start this fresh phase by making a list of all the experiences that bring you fun, recreation, and entertainment. I hope you emphasize these pursuits in the coming weeks.
TAURUS (Apr 20-May 20)
You are capable of seeing vast truths, but only if you pause, quiet the ambient noise, and look during the dark. This approach should embolden you to use your intelligence in new ways. Stillness and silence will be conducive to your deep explorations. Night will be your ally.
GEMINI (May 21-Jun 20)
Are you wild enough to relinquish naïve fears and hopes so you can see the raw truths blooming right in front of you? Maybe you weren’t mature or bold or crafty enough to accomplish these heroic feats before, but you are now.
CANCERIAN (Jun 21-Jul 22)
Allow your emotional intelligence to guide you. You have the precise blend of aptitudes necessary to coax beauty to grow from vulnerability.
LEO (Jul 23-Aug 22)
Soon, you will be encouraged to explore frontier territory that offers unexpected help. Next, you will demonstrate your understanding that freedom is never permanent but must constantly be reinvented.
Aries, it’s play time!
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sep 22)
The coming weeks will be prime time for you to honor and celebrate that prayer, Virgo. As you bless, you will be blessed. Let the art you make remake you. Let the magic you give become the magic you are.
LIBRA (Sep 23-Oct 22)
Your craving for beauty will not just coexist with but synergize an affinity for messy fertility. This is a time for sacred synthesis. Don’t dilute. Integrate.
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21)
Slough off layers of illusion, outmoded fantasies, and self-images soaked in others’ longings. As you let go, do so not in bitterness but in a joyous quest for freedom.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21)
I’m hoping that the Season of a Thousand Feelings hasn’t confused you. I’m praying that you have maintained a measure of composure and aplomb while navigating through the richest emotional flow you’ve experienced in many moons. You will look back at this bustling interlude as a gift that will take a while to harvest completely.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19)
Your natural inclination is to be practical, take action, and get things done. But for now, your main superpower will be listening to everything. Let your attention be so complete that the world softens and speaks to you about what you really need to know.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20- Feb 18)
In my astrological opinion, you are ready to graduate from the University of Senseless Suffering. It’s time to get your diploma and treat yourself to a vacation. I’m not saying you will never again experience pain, of course. But, you are forever finished with at least one of your arduous lessons
PISCES (Feb 19-Mar 20)
Eternal change is your destiny. I invite you to ruminate eagerly on this truth, Pisces. Hopefully, it will help you let go of any hyper-perfectionist urges you might have. It will inspire you to see that the plan you made a while ago may need revision—not because you were wrong, but because you have grown.
EXPANDED HOROSCOPES
For unabridged versions of the horoscopes above by Rob Brezsny, go to FreeWillAstrology.com.
BULLETIN BOARD
For local listings, products, and services, flip to page 20 and check out the back cover!
