In duel of Fort Worth arts festivities, Clint Black wins attention on opening night
Three musical artists were performing in downtown Fort Worth on Thursday night, but ask most anybody there and they only knew of one: Clint Black.
Black was in the Sundance Square Plaza for the Fort Worth Art Fair, a response by management of Sundance Square to its complaints that the Main Street Arts Festival, both of which are happening this weekend, didn’t give enough attention to local artists.
But in a strange twist in the tale of Fort Worth’s dueling arts festivals, the Nashville-based country musician was competing for listeners with more local bands Prophets and Outlaws and the Joey Green Band. And with hundreds in his audience, he was getting the most attention by far.
Dallas-born Prophets and Outlaws, set up outside the Fort Worth Convention Center, had about 45 people listening to its set. The Joey Green Band, which has Texas roots, attracted about 20 about two blocks from the plaza and one block from the old courthouse.
Despite the feud between the Fort Worth Art Fair, this being its inaugural year, and the Main Street Arts Festival, back for its 37th year, most people who spoke to the Star-Telegram couldn’t tell the difference. If they even realized there were two separate festivals happening at once, they said the transition from the Main Street Arts Festival was seamless.
The change in downtown compared to the weekend before, though, was bigger than tents in the middle of a blocked off Main Street and a stage in the plaza. Even on a work day, Main Street was packed with people browsing photos, paintings, jewelry and other artwork displayed in the tents.
The plaza was crowded as it used to be when Sundance Square hosted movie nights there before the pandemic. Couples danced to Black’s live cover of “Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard. The air was thick with the scents of fried foods, barbecue, beer and the occasional whiff of cigar smoke or musky cologne sprayed on a little too heavily.
Crowds in the plaza started off thin when Black and his band took the stage at 8 p.m. but swelled steadily until around 8:30. As the sun went down, the number of people paying attention to the six-piece band on the stage went up.
Folks listening to the live performance regularly walked out of the plaza to the drink and concession stands on 3rd Street and 4th Street, part of the Main Street Arts Festival, to buy a bottle-shaped can of Miller Light or a corn dog or funnel cake before crossing festival lines with the beverage or snack to rejoin friends singing along to Black’s originals or another one of his Haggard covers.
The battle of the bands and the feud between festival and fair will continue through Sunday, with both organizations hosting artists and musicians every day.
Fort Worth Art Fair’s musical lineup includes headliners Ledisi on Friday, Steve Miller performing with other notable artists Saturday and Lara Latin with local dancers on Sunday, each starting their respective sets at 8 p.m. in the plaza.
Main Street Arts Festival will have at least two bands closing out the event each night: Tanner Usrey and Del Castillo at 9 p.m. Friday; Jonathan Butler, Panther City Riots and Josh Weathers on Saturday at 9 p.m.; and Ram Herrera and Brave Combo at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.