Say goodbye to 2017 and hello to some excellent entertainment

Robert Earl Keen at Bass Hall

1 It’s a wonderful one-two musical punch this weekend on one of the best stages in town. First up, the Quebe Sisters, the three Dallas fiddlers who are North Texas favorites, followed by the evening’s star, Keen, on his annual Christmas tour, which ends in Fort Worth. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bass Hall. Tickets are $55-$88. Bass Hall is at 525 Commerce St. 817-212-4280; www.basshall.com

New Year’s Eve: A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald

2 Love to dress up on New Year’s Eve but still want to be home well before midnight? The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has just the ticket: this jazzy evening featuring Grammy Award-winning singer Carmen Bradford and equally lauded conductor Lee Musiker. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Bass Hall, 525 Commerce St. Tickets are $38-$93. 817-665-6000; www.fwsymphony.org

‘Lady Bird’ at Magnolia at the Modern

3 You don’t often get to say “indie film” and “smash hit” in the same sentence, but here it is. This little movie from writer-director Greta Gerwig about a California nurse (Laurie Metcalf) dealing with life and a rebellious teenage daughter (Saoirse Ronan) has drawn near-constant raves. It screens 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and noon, 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St. Tickets are $9. 817-738-9215; themodern.org

Walt Wilkins’ birthday party

4 The Texas Hill Country singer-songwriter travels north to celebrate a milestone with an intimate crowd in Fort Worth. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m. Friday at Fort Worth Live, the space upstairs at the Red Goose Saloon, 306 N. Houston St., in downtown Fort Worth. Tickets are $15 through Ticketfly at https://www.ticketfly.com/. Need more information? Call the Red Goose at 817-332-4745.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

5 Two kinds of people are interested in this: college football fans (specifically, Ohio State and USC fans) and people who are worried about the kind of traffic headaches an event like this creates on I-30. Truth. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium. The tailgating parties — at Arlington’s Richard Greene Linear Park, as well as restaurants and bars in the area — begin much earlier in the day. Reserved tickets, $150 apiece, were still to be found at ticketmaster.com this week.

Toadies at Billy Bob’s Texas

6 These hometown favorites always pull a big crowd, and at Billy Bob’s, there’s a big place to hold them all. The Fort Worth band is sure to haul out all the darkly skewing favorites, including “Tyler” and “Possum Kingdom.” The show starts at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $16-$30. Billy Bob’s is at 2520 Rodeo Plaza, in the Fort Worth Stockyards. 817-624-7117; www.billybobstexas.com

‘Out With a Bang’ hike

7 An annual tradition at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, this hike helps folks ease into their good intentions — as well as the new year. The hike is led by a naturalist and is appropriate for all ages; it can run about an hour to an hour and a half. It’s $5 plus admission to the refuge ($5 adults, $3 age 65 and older, and $2 for ages 3-12). Meet at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Hardwicke Interpretive Center, and dress for the weather. The refuge is at 9601 Fossil Ridge Road, Fort Worth. 817-392-7410; www.fwnaturecenter.org

Division Brewing’s second anniversary party

8 The little brewery known for its adventurously flavored beers — hibiscus, cantaloupe, cucumber and mint chocolate (No, not all in one brew, you savage!) — kicks off its third year with a celebration 4 p.m.-midnight Sunday. Admission is $20. Live music by Gypsy Sun Revival, the Infamists and Marianna’s Web and special barrel-aged ales will be on tap. The brewery is at 506 E. Main St., Arlington. 682-276-1276; divisionbrewing.com

Dale Watson

9 Here’s a name that promises a honky-tonk music good time, something that Watson has been delivering for ages. The Texas singer with the superb gray pompadour isn’t biding 2017 goodbye but he is saying hello to another holiday weekend in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Catch his show at 9 p.m. Friday at Lil’ Red’s Longhorn Saloon. The club’s at 121 W. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth. 817-740-0078; www.longhornsaloonfortworth.com

Human ball drop at the Texas Theatre

10 There are many fun parties to be had around North Texas this weekend, but only one of them promises a “human ball drop” at midnight: the New Year’s Eve celebration at Dallas’ Texas Theater. Here’s hoping no humans are harmed in the making of this merriment. Doors open at 8 p.m. Sunday; the show, including live music and burlesque, begins at 9. Admission is $25-$45, and it’s 21 and older only. 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas. 214-948-1546; thetexastheatre.com

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Say goodbye to 2017 and hello to some excellent entertainment."