Fort Worth has its own weekly beach party.
Rockin' the River, the summer tubing and music series along the Trinity River, has become in its second season a great escape from the triple-digit North Texas heat. Starting at 4 p.m. Thursdays in the summer, crowds set sail on the Trinity in tubes for a floating happy hour that brings a bit of that Austin vibe to Cowtown.
The music starts at 5 p.m., with an opening act (Mockingbird Sun plays Thursday), and the headliners (Bart Crow Band) go on at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is free; a tube rental is $5. Coors Light is for sale for a reasonable $2.50 a can, and coolers are provided. (No outside coolers allowed.)
If you don't feel like taking a dip, there is a sandy area, where you can throw down a blanket and take in the scene. On the water, there are floating bars and Aloha Paddleboards -- surfboards that you stand on and paddle like a canoe. They've been a big hit this year for those wanting a different view of the action.
The main-stage concert ends around 8 p.m., but there's an after-party at the nearby Coors Riverfront Ice House, where you can dry off and enjoy an acoustic show or order a bodacious burger from the Fred's Texas Cafe food truck.
Shows include Eleven Hundred Springs (July 19) with Maren Morris; Dirty River Boys with Whiskey Folk Ramblers (July 26); Ryan Turner (Aug. 2) and Johnny Cooper (Aug 9). For more details, go to www.trinityrivervision.org.
