Thursday, September 17
Cowtown GitDown
11:30AM - 7:00PM
Tennessee Brew Works
Fort Worth – The city that brought you Western Swing, T Bone Burnett, Delbert McClinton & Leon Bridges is AMERICANAFEST’s 2025 Spotlight City. Join us for the Cowtown GitDown – grab a drink, bite to eat & discover your new favorite band. Presented by Visit Fort Worth.
Bolton Serunjogi
11:30am
Born in Uganda and based in Fort Worth, Texas, Bolton Serunjogi blends African traditions with Americana and folk storytelling. Raised amid family upheaval, he found resilience and gratitude that shape his songs. A former Kampala breakdancer, he shifted from IT studies to music, embracing ethnomusicology. Now a husband and father, he writes songs of hope.
TRVR?
12:10pm
TRVR? is an independent Fort Worth artist known for introspective, relatable, wholesome songwriting. He found stardom at 16, earning a Top 24 spot on American Idol, and now sells out venues across DFW. Inspired by folk artists like John Denver and Bob Dylan, he champions equality through activism, and has opened for the Jonas Brothers.
Mollie Danel
12:50pm
Fort Worth Weekly's 2026 Female Vocalist of the Year, Mollie Danel is a Fort Worth songwriter on the rise. Since her 2023 debut single "Unveiled," she has built a distinct voice and lyricism. Her June 2026 EP, Sunshine Girl, confronts mental health, loss, and doubt with hope, earning comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Carole King.
Christian Carlos Carvajal & the 300
1:30pm
Christian Carlos Carvajal is a Fort Worth songwriter celebrated for his eclectic sound and authenticity. Drawing on metal, indie rock, and Americana since his teens, his lyrics explore identity and resilience. Known for captivating live performances, he embodies a DIY spirit, collaborating with local artists and pushing genre boundaries through sincere, artistically integrous original music.
Michael Lee & the Wartime Limousine
2:10pm
A Fort Worth native, Michael Lee grew up immersed in the city's blues and soul sound, learning guitar from heroes like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddie King. In 2020 he toured with the B.B. King Band. Since signing with Skylark Soul Co in 2024, Lee has partnered with Silver Skylarks on his upcoming debut album.
Matthew McNeal
2:55pm
Matthew McNeal is a Fort Worth, Texas songwriter crafting a modern analog sound that blurs genre lines. With longtime collaborator Andre Black, he has toured hundreds of coast-to-coast dates and released five studio albums, while running a studio and record label along the way. Together they craft a sound unmistakably representative of modern Texas music.
.Marcel.
3:40pm
Singer-songwriter Brandon Marcel, known as .Marcel., pairs sultry R&B crooning with rapid-fire, rhyme-based prose. His new album .Ruth. is out now, featuring slow-burning tracks and a guest appearance from fellow Fort Worth artist Leon Bridges, showcasing Marcel's genre-blurring range and gift for turning vulnerable, late-night moods into compelling, richly textured songs that linger long after.
Simon Flory
4:20pm
Raised in rural Indiana on fields, church sings, and gravel roads, Simon Flory writes short-story songs steeped in early country, gospel, and classic Nashville. Skilled on clawhammer banjo and fiddle, he cut his teeth in Chicago and the Arkansas Ozarks before landing in Fort Worth, where his career and acclaimed releases like Radioville have flourished.
Abraham Alexander
5:05pm
Academy Award-nominated artist Abraham Alexander is a rising singer-songwriter whose soulful blues, folk, and gospel fusion has captivated audiences. Born in Athens, Greece to Nigerian parents and raised in Fort Worth, he released acclaimed album SEA/SONS in 2023 with Mavis Staples. His song "Like a Bird" earned a 2024 Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
Lincoln Swanzy
5:45pm
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Lincoln Swanzy blends classic Red Dirt storytelling with modern, high-energy production. His breakout single "Sweet Rose" (feat. Maddie Rose) sparked a viral TikTok firestorm of over 100,000 user videos, pushing monthly listenership past 1.1 million. Tracks like "Honest Man" prove his sound is built on raw, three-chords-and-the-truth songwriting.
Cut Throat Finches
6:30pm
Cut Throat Finches, a Fort Worth outfit, built its identity on raw, guitar-driven indie rock before evolving toward alt-country textures rooted in home. Their fifth album, High Horse, leans into twang-tinged guitars and open-road rhythms without losing earlier grit. Fort Worth is a character throughout—unpolished, honest, and lived-in—capturing a band settling into its own identity.
Saturday, September 19
Texas Music Office Texas Take Over
