First-year music festivals can be hit or miss, but we have high hopes for a new one set to debut in Fort Worth next spring.
Fortress Festival, as its called, is billed as a two-day event celebrating music and culture, and though a lineup has yet to be announced, a press release promises "internationally-acclaimed headliners alongside some of today's hottest up-and-coming acts." Its inaugural weekend is April 29-30, 2017.
Normally fans can take much of that jargon with a grain of salt, but here's why we're excited: Fortress Festival is a product of Fortress Presents, a locally-based production and promotion company that's partnered with Margin Walker Presents to bring the event to life. Margin Walker, as you may recall, was founded earlier this year by the guys formerly of Transmission Events, which was responsible for curating Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin for 10 years.
Margin Walker is throwing a brand spanking new festival in the capitol this fall called Sound on Sound Fest, featuring Phantogram, Big Boi, Young Thug, Explosions in the Sky, Purity Ring, Courtney Barnett, Mac DeMarco and more. So yeah, big guns for a first-year event.
Fortress Festival is also partnering with the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth to erect a stage near the reflecting pond. There will be a second stage on the grounds of the Will Rogers Memorial Center. In addition to music, and the event promises to integrate art and culture.
Fortress Presents was founded in 2015 by locals Alex Jhangiani and Ramtin Nikzad, who helped establish the Lone Star Film Festival and Lone Star Film Society.
