FORT WORTH, Texas — As Steve Steward preps the bar for the day at the Boiled Owl in Fort Worth, heavy on his heart is his community – one he fears is seeing less support, and as a result, is forcing the shut down of music venues across North Texas.
As recently as this week, several venues and bars in the metroplex announced they would be closing their doors.
Hank’s Texas Grill in McKinney shared on its Facebook page that it will close following a final event on New Year’s Eve. After three years in Deep Ellum in Dallas, Thunderbird Station said it closed its doors on Nov. 28. On Nov. 26, Downtown Cowtown at The Isis (Isis Theater) in Fort Worth announced it closed its doors, effective immediately. On Nov. 30, Twilite Lounge, also in Fort Worth, announced Dec. 5 would be its last day of operation.
Additionally in Fort Worth, the latest on the chopping block is Lola’s, which shared on Dec. 5 that its last day was on Nov. 29.
Most venues rely on a mix of happy hours, events and live music patrons to bring in crowds. Most venues also blame slower business and overall higher costs of goods for shutting down.
Steward also suspects building owners play a part – but can’t deny the obvious: people just aren’t showing up for live music like they used to.,
“I don’t know that live music resonates with people in their early twenties than it would have with the previous generation,” Steward said.
“My hope is that young people today who are playing guitar or making dance music on their laptops of whatever, however it is they make music and show their friends, that they’re still doing that,” Steward said. “I hope they keep it up and get a start into this scene.”
Sam Anderson and his band, Quaker City Night Hawks, got their first start at Lola’s. Anderson said the myriad of venues closing is jarring. Still, he says, he understands the local music scene is not what it once was “five or six years ago.”
“There’s not a lot of expendable income,” Anderson said. “So one of the first things you cut out is entertainment. You have groceries and bills.”
This week, Steward wrote a column for Fort Worth Weekly about the recent venue closures.
He said, in part:
“The news [of Lola’s closure] followed Twilite Lounge’s equally dismaying announcement last week of its own closure, and in both instances, the reactions of those venues’ many fans and regulars were a mix of heartfelt sympathy, grateful tributes, and variations of “Why can’t this city keep music venues open?”
“To that last part, I hope you know that it is not the responsibility of any city to keep music venues open, and if you posted a comment ascribing blame for the venues’ shuttering to the literal municipal government that is the City of Fort Worth, Texas, I appreciate your anguish, but, please, stop posting stuff like that. Municipalities are not liable for the survival of rock ’n’ roll clubs. The people who live in a city are.”
Steward and Anderson agree – they hope the closing of these local music venue staples in DFW shakes the public, encouraging them to support local entertainment, performers, and venues to keep what’s left of their close-knit community of talent alive.