FORT WORTH -- The split was subtle but noticeable.
If one walked the Will Rogers Memorial Center lawn from end to end Saturday night as the Fort Worth Music Festival drew to a close, a steady demographic shift became evident.
At one end, anchored by the Rahr-sponsored stage, sat -- let's be frank -- hipsters, college-age kids and young families. All were entertained by many of the best bands Fort Worth has to offer, like the Quaker City Night Hawks (which turned in a reliably gritty, fiery performance Saturday); the Orbans (which workshopped a song in progress) and Telegraph Canyon (a mightily talented band with music unbound by genre and utterly perfect for a sunny, cloudless day).
L.A. upstarts Dawes, recently singled out by VH1 as a "band to watch," headlined the Rahr-sponsored stage, rendering glowing, Cali-cool rock of the '70s school anew for the appreciative, sizable audience.
At the opposite end, on the Comerica Bank-sponsored stage, one found a more, shall we say, seasoned audience of retirees, empty nesters and discerning adults who've long since given up trying to keep pace with the Paste crowd. There, the music was no less locally oriented -- Fort Worth pop-rock collective Calhoun sparkled, as did Celeste-based country singer-songwriter John David Kent -- but as the sun slowly gave way to a cool, breezy night, the focus became clearer. Jazz was the animating force behind the remainder of performances -- Fort Worth vocalist Tatiana Mayfield was captivating, as was the evening's final act, Kirk Whalum -- and helped bridge the past and future.
For the revamped festival, formerly Jazz by the Boulevard, it was, by all appearances, a successful and, most importantly, largely painless transition away from rigid adherence to one genre toward a more inclusive, more broadly based event capitalizing on the surging wave of Fort Worth musical talent.
For those who don't patronize Lola's or the Wild Rooster, this festival provided one heckuva coming-out party for bands like Oil Boom, Seryn and the Orbans -- bands with ardent fans, but ones that don't necessarily register with the vast majority of the city's residents.
Hence the evident split -- it would've been too much to completely erase jazz from the festival's DNA and start anew, so a light touch was in order. Hopefully, the Fort Worth Music Festival is not done -- hip-hop, for instance, was nonexistent, as were some of the city's more avant-garde and heavier acts -- but rather will use this year as a springboard.
The city stands on the cusp of something significant, musically speaking. Given the routine marginalizing of local acts by other, more established annual events, the Fort Worth Music Festival could become a premier showcase for one of the state's strongest talent pools. So perhaps in years to come, that divide between the established and the eager-to-prove-themselves won't be as clear, leaving only unity among those who cherish a great live music experience.
Preston Jones is the Star-Telegram pop music critic. 817-390-7713
