Fort Worth Weekly // April 24-30, 2024

Disc golf has quietly gone from pastime to pro sport.

Now’s a great time to revisit your old faves.

Dear Jerry Jones, your NFL draft roadmap is inside.

The Cut Throat Finches Unraveled during the pandemic but have persevered. BY STEVE STEWARD

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 6-9:00 PM

RAISED RIGHT MEN | CLASSIC COUNTRY

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 5:30-9 PM

VELVET LOVE BOX | ACOUSTIC ROCK

SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 11 AM-2:30 PM

TOMMY LUKE TRIO |

Par 4/20

From a hazy pastime, disc golf has become some serious stuff.

By Juan R. Govea

Cowboys Mock Draft

It’s NFL Christmas, and we’re prognosticating Dallas’ picks.

By Patrick Higgins

Thoughts Unraveled

Darkness, addiction, and the pandemic informed the Cut Throat Finches’ new LP.

Morgan Mercantile celebrates five years IRL biz with a throwdown Saturday.

By Steve Steward

By Steve Steward

Basket Cases

Disc golf is no longer just a pastime, and Fort Worth is home to several vibrant courses and leagues.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JUAN R. GOVEA

Now that spring is here, it’s time to hit the links. No, not Colonial or Rivercrest. #fancy We’re talking the chain-links.

Disc golf around town has never been more popular. There are myriad reasons why Fort Worthians are picking up Frisbees and throwing them at “holes” made of chains, but a lot of the local players I talked to think it’s mainly because of the exercise, the fun, and the joy of seeing a plastic disc fly hundreds of feet no matter a player’s age.

Whatever explanation, we’re just glad to see people enjoying nature and moving their bodies. And putting their screens down for a sec.

Fifty-seven-year-old Brian Mace knows the deal. He started playing disc golf in 1991. A competitor and promoter from 1998 to 2008, he made a living from the sport as an event operator. He’s done it and keeps doing it simply because he loves the sport.

“It’s here for everyone,” Maces said.

Thirty-seven-year-old Crystal Haggerton, who’s been playing for 15 years, loves the sport because it’s fun and also because she enjoys the outdoors and spending time with friends. She’s also proud of her and husband John Haggerton’s work at Gateway Park these past five years. The Haggertons, who also help maintain Z Boaz Disc Golf Course, organize Sunday

Shelby Moore at Z Boaz Disc Golf Course: “I went out of my comfort zone and decided to start Chicks Chasing Chains … and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Ideal Discs opened in May 2015 to “provide the best plastic and customer service,” they say.

Gateway Dubz, a weekly bring-your-ownpartner doubles match at Gateway Disc Golf Park, and are working with Mace to expand Gateway to two 18-hole courses.

“I love the game,” 38-year-old John said.

Along with a few dozen courses, North Texas is home to several retailers, including Ideal Discs in Haltom City. Co-owners Cory Myrick, Luke Robinson, and Jesse Widelipz agree that business has been slow recently, but they see newcomers all the time, quite a few of them women.

“Disc golf is a male-dominated sport just like basketball or any other sport really,” Crystal said. “Women are still working and will continue to work towards growing their sport respectively. It’s difficult for women no matter what sport you play, in my opinion.”

North Texas is home to seven ladies’ leagues, including Saucer Sisters and Chicks Chasing Chains.

Multiple courses in town and throughout North Texas host tournaments “all the time,” Crystal said. “The disc golf scene is booming, and I don’t expect it to slow down anytime soon.”

She and husband John keeps it simple: “To newcomers, I say just get out and enjoy the game and nature.” l

Shelby Moore was playing a tournament in Waco when she met a couple women who ran the original Chicks Chasing Chains in Houston. That’s when Moore realized Fort Worth didn’t have a ladies’ group. “I went out of my comfort zone and decided to start Chicks Chasing Chains [here] four years ago, and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

continued on page 5

Discs, like the ones here at Ideal Discs in Haltom City, range in size and curve, starting with a long-distance driver and followed by a mid-range disc and, for short layups, a putter. The co-owners say they see newcomers at their shop almost daily.

Crystal Haggerton doesn’t play a lot of tournaments, but she and husband John Haggerton are the two “Gatekeepers” of Gateway Disc Golf Park. She simply loves the game and has played regularly for the past 15 years.

(From left to right) Amber Montijo, Shelby Moore, Michelle Peacock, and Lauren Selim are part of Chicks Chasing Chains, an all-women disc golf group whose Facebook page lists 291 members. Anywhere from 10 to 25 women play every Sunday at Z Boaz Disc Golf Course.

Look Again

Happy Hour in the Kimbell Café

EVERY FRIDAY, 5–7 pm

Live music | Beer | Wine | Food

Admission to the permanent collection is always free.

View the full schedule of exhibitions, events, and programs at kimbellart.org

Support for the Kimbell is provided in part by Arts Fort Worth and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Head, possibly a King (detail), Ife, 12th–14th century, terracotta with residue of red pigment and traces of mica. Kimbell Art Museum, AP 1994.04

Brian Mace managed the installation of Z Boaz Disc Golf Park and is working with the City of Fort Worth and Crystal and John Haggerton to create two 18-hole courses at Gateway Park.

One of three owners of Ideal Discs in Haltom City, Luke Robinson believes his is the oldest shop of its kind in North Texas.

Andrew Elizalde usually plays Z Boaz with brother David Elizalde, and both say they enjoy the outdoors and the exercise.

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES:

Holcim - SOR, Inc., has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for renewal of Registration No. 121990, for an air quality standard permit for concrete batch plants, which would authorize continued operation of a concrete batch plant located at 12270 Bod Drive, Aledo, Tarrant County, Texas 76008. Additional information concerning this application is contained in the public notice section of this newspaper.

(From left to right) Crystal Haggerton, John Haggerton, and Brian Mace take a short break at the eighth basket at Gateway Disc Golf Park.

Eric John Benge, who will be 50 in May, said he’s been playing disc golf off and on since 1992. “It’s great exercise and keeps me out of the bars and whatnot. It helps feed my competitive nature.”

STUFF

2024 Draftstravaganza

After a quiet offseason, a make-it-or-break-it year now hinges on a make-itor-break-it draft.

BY PATRICK HIGGINS

This Thursday evening, it’s NFL Christmas! The league’s annual three-day selection superdrama kicks off in Detroit, and I’m practically vibrating with anticipation. With another Cowboys season inevitably ending in the manner to which we’re accustomed and with the Taylor Swift Bowl well in the rearview, the intoxication of relevant football content is enough to penetrate even the heady buzz of the Mavs and Stars beginning (hopefully) long playoff runs. Pigskin junkies like me will ride the high of this weekend all the way to training camp in August.

As diehard donners of the silver and blue, we need it. It’s been four long months since the most embarrassing playoff loss in Cowboys franchise history. Shortly thereafter, owner/ GM/sire to litigious fun babies, Jerral Wayne Jones stood red-faced in front of reporters and declared unequivocally that he and his team would be “all-in” next season. The more gullible among the fanbase immediately began salving their freshly open wounds with visions of a virtually invincible 2024 roster bolstered by an army of incoming superstars. Would we sign the league’s rushing leader over the last half decade in Derrick Henry? Or trade for cornerback Trevon Diggs’ All-Pro wide receiver brother Stefon Diggs? Might we shore up our weak run defense with the likes of wrecking-ball tackles Chris Jones or Christian Wilkins?

Should have known better. There’s a higher probability that the State of Texas bans assault rifles and enacts a single-payer healthcare system funded by taxing carbon emissions and legalized marijuana sales than there is the Cowboys ever tossing money at coveted NFL free agents.

As we’ve come to learn, Jerruh had a completely different idea of “all-in” than the one that might immediately come to mind. As opposed to the flashy, open-collared high roller sitting behind a wall of chips buying a pot with an outsized bet, Dallas has approached the offseason more like the humble weekend warrior pushing in his last handful of meager reds, praying there’s a miracle coming at the river to make something of the 2 and 7 he’s holding,

pleading with all divinity that he’s not about to be forced to leave Vegas, go home, and tell his wife that Junior’s college fund is now sitting in stacks in front of the pinky-ringed gamester across from him at the table. It’s one last hand to stay in the game.

The offseason moves, or lack thereof, seem to suggest that instead of loading up, Jerry is cutting bait. The front office seems committed to no one. The potential exodus from the team includes a lot of big-time contributors, including a first-ballot Hall of Fame left tackle, a former Defensive Player of the Year CB, a Pro Bowl linebacker, Pro Bowl running back, the starting center, a No. 2 wide receiver, and four players from the defensive line. The entire coaching staff and quarterback Dak Prescott are also lame ducks, sitting on expiring deals. Not to mention two pending free agent superstars — WR CeeDee Lamb and future highestpaid-defensive-player-in-the-NFL, pass rusher Micah Parsons — are also currently without extensions. Jones seems to be taking a long hard look at his team and thinking, “I’m done. It’s all happening this year with what we got, or ain’t none of ’em gonna be here the next!”

A repeat of last season looks like it could lead to a complete blowup of the team, taking the damned thing down to the studs and rafters.

This roster has more holes than the plot of Seasons 7 and 8 of Game of Thrones, and the team doesn’t have near enough picks to fill them. As it stands, they don’t even have a selection in the Fourth Round. That pick was swapped for Trey Lance, apparently to sit on the sideline holding a clipboard for Prescott. (That is, of course, until the Cowboys’ stubborn brass let Dak go in free agency to win Super Bowls in Miami for $55M/year next season.)

It’s going to take Jerry finetuning his good ol’ boy Arkansas wildcatter dealmaking to fill all these empty roster spots.

Fortunately for him and his kin, this intrepid reporter has the blueprint for the Joneses to follow. I’ve spent a shameful amount of time over the last few weeks avoiding family and responsibilities, applying red string to tacks, and poring over countless draft-weekend scenarios, and, employing the NFL Mock Draft Database, I have finally come up with the ultimate plan that ticks all the empty roster boxes. Bet on it.

Round 1

Consensus is that offensive line is the top need for Dallas, and there’s a glut of top-end O-line talent that should stretch to the end of the round. This affords the Cowboys the ability to trade back in hopes of filling some of the broad gap in selections they currently have between Pick 87 in the Third Round and Pick 174 in the

late fifth. Luckily, Kansas City, through their representative, Taylor Swift, calls and offers Pick 95 in the third for Dallas to drop down to 32. KC throws in 159 in the fifth to make it almost dead even, according to the trade chart. There’s a gamble as some great offensive linemen, like Georgia tackle Amarius Mims and Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, are still on the board, but the trade haul is too much to pass up. We pull the parachute, drop to 32, and end up selecting Kingsley Suamataia. Coming in at a massive 6’6”/324 lbs., the BYU Cougar is one of the most athletic tackles in the class. While center is probably the bigger need, Suamataia ensures Tyler Smith can stay at left guard, the position for which he seems most naturally suited, and the left side of the O-line will be secure for the next 10 years. Rumor has it that Suamataia is potentially our pick even if we stay at 24.

Pick 1/32: Kingsley Suamataia, tackle, BYU

Round 2

I’m not sure I’ve seen a more unanimous selection among the draft hive mind than Texas running back Jonathon Brooks to Dallas at Pick 56. The star rusher is coming off an ACL tear, but the Cowboys’ surgeon, Dr. Dan Cooper, performed the repair and has the best insight into his recovery. The pick fills a top need for the ’Boys and continues the high risk/high reward approach the team historically takes in the Second Round. Jerry loves a first-round talent sitting in the Second Round because of injury or off-field issues. Brooks has the potential to be the team’s next Ezekiel Elliott.

Pick 2/56: Jonathon Brooks, running back, Texas

Round 3

Now, with two selections in the third, we’ve got a crack at four players in the Top 100. Just as Brooks is meant to aid the running game on the offensive side of the ball, the defense needs help stopping the opposing running game. This draft class is decidedly thin at run-stuffing 1-techniques, so a tackling-machine linebacker is the next best thing. Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace can step into an LB rotation, with free agent Eric Kendricks and last year’s redshirt rookie DeMarvion Overshown there to help shore up the middle of the field.

Pick 3/87: Trevin Wallace, linebacker, Kentucky

Before our selection at 95, the New England Patriots ring us up and offer their picks near the top of the fourth and fifth rounds to drop back again. Pick 137 in the fifth is a great compensation for dropping just eight spots to 103 at the top of the fourth.

Round 4

At the beginning of Day 3, we look to replace the departed Michael Gallup. One of the deeper positions in the draft, wide receiver stretches into this range with Day 2 talent. Washington’s Jalen McMillan is a suitable option to take Gallup’s old spot in both size and skill set. He should be an upgrade over the little we’ve seen from Jalen Tolbert so far.

Pick 4/103: Jalen McMillan, wide receiver, Washington

While we snagged O-line help in the first, the middle of the line is still a hole, and there’s a blinking light at the position still on the board. Arkansas’ Beaux Limmer is big, athletic, and super-smart, just the last piece needed to turn the line from a liability to the team’s best strength. And we all know Jerry will have a hard time letting a Razorback slip past him. We package two of our stockpiled fifths (137 and 174) to Houston and move back into the fourth at 127, picking up a middle sixth (189) in the process, to draft Dallas’ center of the future.

Pick 4/127: Beaux Limmer, center, Arkansas

Round 5

Another deep position in this class is cornerback. With the departure of Stephon Gilmore and slot corner Jourdan Lewis on just a oneyear deal, defensive back is a sneaky need for the Cowboys. Hailing from Cornerback U, a.k.a. Florida State, Jarrian Jones has speed (4.38 forty!) and sticky coverage ability. New DC Mike Zimmer will be salivating over this player this late in the draft, especially because the other side of the ball has had so much attention.

Pick 5/159: Jarrian Jones, cornerback, Florida State

Round 6

With most of our biggest needs filled and two picks in this round, it’s time to go hunting for traits. Long and athletic, Troy University edge rusher Javon Solomon has high upside and is a steal at 189, and we add some beef up the middle of the defensive line with LSU tackle Jordan Jefferson at 216.

Pick 6/189: Javon Solomon, edge, Troy

Pick 6/216: Jordan Jefferson, defensive tackle, LSU

Round 7

Not to feel left out, Bones Fassel gets an item on his shopping list as we spend Pick 233 on a special teamer who doubles as linebacker help with Mississippi State’s Nathaniel Watson. Zim also nabs another player to mix in at safety with Ohio State’s Josh Proctor to close out the Cowboys’ draft at 244.

Pick 7/233: Nathaniel Watson, linebacker Mississippi State

Pick 7/244: Josh Proctor, safety, Ohio State l

NIGHT&DAY

The annual Thin Line Festival this weekend in Denton includes documentaries, music, and photography, but I’m most excited about the movies screening completely free and primarily at Campus Theatre (214 W Hickory St, Denton, 940-382-1915, free tix at ThinLine.us). Here are some of the titles you can see there now thru Sunday, plus a few other big-screen ideas for your consideration.

24

Wednesday

Before heading to Denton for (almost) everything below, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St, 817-738-9215) is screening a classic. At 2pm, Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor star in 1958’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, based on the Tennessee Williams’ play of the same name. Tickets are $5 at TheModern.org.

The first film of the Thin Line festival is No One Asked You at 6:30pm. Comedian and disruptor-extraordinaire Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show) and her team, Abortion Access Front, crisscross the country to support abortion clinic staff and bust stigma. Pop-culture icons and next-gen comics fuel this 6-year road film activating small-town folks to rebuild vandalized clinics and exposing corrupt politicians, domestic terrorists, and media neglect as the race to the bottom ensues. A bold call to action reminds us that when the patriarchy burns down, joy will prevail.

Breaking the News screens at 9:15pm. It’s about a group of female LGBTQ+ journalists working to buck the white-male status quo by launching a news startup to ask who’s been omitted from mainstream coverage and to find ways to include them.

At 4pm, it’s An Open Door, about Dr. Temple Grandin, who champions the humane treatment of livestock, autism rights, and inclusive neurodiversity.

Thursday

A Photographic Memory screens at 6pm.

It’s an intimate, genre-bending portrait of a daughter’s attempt to piece together a picture of the mother she never knew, who was an avant-garde journalist. Uncovering the vast archive that Sheila Turner Seed produced, including lost interviews with iconic photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Cecil Beaton, Bruce Davidson, Lisette Model, and others, the film explores memory, legacy, and untold stories.

At 8:30pm, see Lesvia. Since the 1970s, lesbians worldwide have flocked to a paradise island in Greece, where they sometimes create tension among local residents while creating their own community.

Screening at 11pm is the final film of the evening, Artists: Depression Anxiety & Rage, by Lydia Lunch and Jasmine Hirst. For this movie, Lunch says that she and Hirst spent the past two years interviewing musicians, artists, and writers about their lifelong struggles with mental health. “The roots of depression run deep.” It’s at Rubber Gloves (411 E Sycamore St, Denton, 940594-2207) rather than Campus Theatre like the rest of the festival’s features. Following the screening will be a comedy and spoken-word segment with Lunch.

Friday 26

At 3:30pm, Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes follows the life of the well-known activist and bandleader and his struggles and triumphs from the Jim Crow years to jazz and modern hip-hop.

Screening at 9:30pm, Nobody May Come is about Valerie Sassyfras, a 68-year-old multi-instrumentalist from New Orleans with musical roots in Cajun and zydeco. Along with the accordion, she plays the mandolin and has some dance moves that all blend together into something called swamppop. Known as The Sass, she achieved viral fame after one of her videos appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She was then invited

No One Asked You encourages people to “kick the government out of your pants.” I couldn’t agree more! See this documentary at the Thin Line Festival on Thursday.

to compete in America’s Got Talent. She has a lot to say about reality shows.

You can also check out Remembering Gene Wilder at the Modern (3200 Darnell St, 817-738-9215) 4pm, 6pm, or 8pm Fri, 5pm Sat, or noon, 2pm, or 4pm Sun. As part of the Magnolia at the Modern series, this movie about the legendary actor includes hilarious clips and outtakes, never-before-seen home movies, narration from Wilder’s audiobook memoir, and interviews with friends and collaborators. Tickets are $10 at TheModern.org.

Saturday 27

Pedro, an aspiring social worker who is a blind undocumented immigrant, navigates obstacles as he tries to obtain a college degree and a health-care job in Unseen at 10am. Through experimental cinematography and sound, this film reimagines a cinema accessible for blind/low-vision audiences while exploring the intersections of immigration, disability, and mental health.

Screening at 12:15pm is Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi, in which the internationally acclaimed composer and songwriter performs at locations associated with the Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. Then, Into the Spotlight screens at continued on page 19

Start your afternoon at the Modern with a Wednesday screening of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Courtesy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Courtesy Astral Studios

STUFF

Fort Worth It

Morgan Mercantile celebrates five years in a brick-and-mortar spot in SoMa with a party Saturday.

BY STEVE STEWARD

A local apparel retailer and designer is throwing a five-year-anniversary party 4-8 p.m. Saturday, and it’s a big deal because this apparel/design company is independently owned in a world of Amazon, Target, and Old Navy.

And it doesn’t exist only on a screen.

Located on South Main Street in SoMa between Panther City Tattoo and Tarantula Tiki, Morgan Mercantile began as something of a side hustle for the husband-and-wife team of co-owners Kala and Chance Morgan — Kala was working as general manager for a local restaurant while Chance was logging hours at a print shop by day and by night rocking as frontman for one of the biggest indie bands in North Texas, Burning Hotels.

Five years later, and Morgan Mercantile will celebrate good times come on at the South Main MicroPark (105 S. Main St.) with a new seasonal line, a DJ, tattoo booth, free booze, and more. This dreams-docome-true category of success is the result of a lot of hours, effort, and fortunate timing.

There’s also the matter of the Morgans’ vision, in which they design the kind of clothes they themselves would want to wear, which turn out to be wildly popular, because the kind of clothes they’d want to wear

are inherently cool. Of course, that vision doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Per all those hours and effort, Chance was out whizzing around town in the shop’s van when I dropped by the store to chat, but Kala filled me in how they transformed their weekend pop-ups into a brand that’s turned into a recognizable part of contemporary Fort Worth culture.

“Chance started Morgan Mercantile in 2015,” Kala said. “We got married in October of that year, and he told me that summer that he wanted to branch out and do his own thing. He’d been working at Merch Haus, a print shop in Aledo. We got married, and two weeks later, he had everything he needed to start — the branding, the LLC, his clients — and he hit the ground running.”

Morgan Mercantile’s shirts then, as now, were Fort Worth-centric, their seasonal releases heavy on panthers, cacti, and other Cowtown- and Texas-specific graphics, printed in retro-referencing fonts on new old-stock vintage-style shirts. For three years, the Morgans made a name for their brand at pop-ups and other events until they got the idea that the demand for a brick-andmortar store was there. Kala said they signed their lease on the South Main spot in 2018.

A brick-and-mortar location was “kind of like a little bit in the back of our minds, and then one of Chance’s vendors told him about a space that was opening. … It ended up being something that wasn’t going to work out, but that sparked our curiosity, like, ‘Hey, let’s look around.’ ”

Chance contacted local commercial real estate specialist Jordan Johnson for help in finding the right space.

“We looked at a few spots … that didn’t have the foot traffic we were looking for,” Kala said, “but then Jordan told [Chance] about a spot on South Main he had. Chance went to look at the spot, and he called me at work and said, ‘I’ve signed a lease.’ ”

At the time, Kala was GM at Barcadia, the long-shuttered arcade-themed bar and grill in the West 7th corridor. “In my head, I was like, ‘OK, I can probably run the bar and run the shop, no problem. I think I was a little cuckoo to think that, but then [Barcadia’s owner] called me and said, ‘Hey, I think we’re in trouble.’ ”

Due to a stack of owed bills and high rent, Barcadia was going to close.

“I think it was the universe saying that was the perfect opportunity to get out,” Kala

apparel for special events, but pretty much, we try to stick to our seasonal drops.”

Putting out quality merch designs that are eye-catching without gimmick or unnecessary flash is part of staying in one lane, and it’s also why the Morgans’ clients include Lone Star Beer, TX Whiskey, Billy Bob’s Texas, and Nickel City, among many others. The Morgans’ reach is subtle but all over the place. In the way that owning a JackDaw Folk Art print is kind of an unofficial “Fort Worth thing,” if you don’t have a Morgan Mercantile shirt or hat in your closet, you probably know someone who does. And you should probably invest in one pronto.

said. “We closed Barcadia in December of 2018, got through the holidays, and started building [the Morgan Mercantile shop] in February of [2019] with [carpenter] Pat Adams. They worked together designing the space, and all of us put our effort into it, and in April, we opened.”

Apart from a couple of “wish we would have done that differently” lessons and the Quixotic quest to predict what designs and cuts people will clamor for, Kala said that their success has been pretty organic. With their clean, vintage-inspired graphics that lean into the Panther City part of Fort Worth’s heritage, the Morgans’ apparel has been a huge hit, especially with visitors.

“We get a lot of tourists, especially now that Fort Worth is getting a lot of press,” Kala said. “A lot of people from Dallas come by, too. So do people who are staying downtown for conventions. And for the eclipse, it was bonkers.”

The Morgans know what sells and know what looks good, and they are wary of chasing one-offs and flash-in-the-pan trends. “We’ve learned through the years … we want to stay in our lane. We’ve done some

I asked Kala if she and Chance ever thought Morgan Mercantile would have that kind of impact in Fort Worth, or if they were just trying to make shirts people would like. “Obviously, there’s a dream or a hope that it would [resonate]. You do something like this, it’s taking a risk, hoping you can reach a few people. The first time I saw one of our T-shirts out in the wild was probably about a month after we opened, and I just tripped out. Looking back, it seems so silly, but I was at Target when I saw it, and it was someone I didn’t know, wearing one of our most simplistic designs. And I called Chance, and I was so giddy. I was like, ‘I’m looking at this girl in the produce department, and I’m freaking out because she’s wearing one!’ It felt so cool, and to this day, I still trip out when I see people walking down [West] Magnolia [Avenue], anywhere, wearing our shirts, so when someone comes in and tells me a story about how they were in London and saw someone wearing a Morgan Mercantile shirt … that feeling will never get old.”

No doubt Kala and Chance will be enjoying that feeling on Saturday — Morgan Mercantile is also releasing their spring and summer lines in conjunction with the party — as well as a well-earned good time.

“I thought it would be fun for the anniversary to be, you know, semi-themed, so there’s kind of a circus theme,” Kala said. “It’s not going to be fully in your face with clowns and shit.”

It’s the kind of party you hope you get to throw for your friends one day. As I looked around at the sunny, tasteful Texan aesthetic on display, it occurred to me that Morgan Mercantile is as good a representation of being from here as you could hope. l

Morgan Mercantile’s Kala Morgan, with husband Chance Morgan: “When someone comes in and tells me a story about how they were in London and saw someone wearing a Morgan Mercantile shirt … that feeling will never get old.” Nate Goins

EATS & drinks

Comfort Food

A lot is new, but old haunts still charm.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY EMMY SMITH

Before I moved here over a decade ago, I used to come visit my sister, who got to Texas about eight years before me, and she’d always take me (and later, my now-husband) to the places she clearly thought of as “the local’s guide to Fort Worth.” We’d go to the Modern or the Botanic Garden, enjoy the novelty of grabbing a drink at a grocery store (Central Market), and, yes, even visit the then-pretty-rundown Stockyards. One time we even had old-timey photos taken.

I could tell my sister was enjoying playing tour guide as we sipped $3 happy-hour margaritas downtown on the rooftop of

Reata (310 Houston St, 817-336-1009), that she was proud to show off her adopted hometown. And as you can see, her itinerary worked so well that my husband and I ended up moving here.

A lot has changed since then. Downtown has seen countless businesses come and go, and Reata will be relocating soon. My sister herself bounced off to Houston a few years after my husband and I settled down here. The Stockyards have been revitalized to the point that locals actually want to hang out there — unironically — but, as I found while playing tour guide with some out-of-town company who had never visited here before, some things haven’t changed at all. My sister’s trusty itinerary still slaps, especially when it comes to Fort Worth’s notoriously fickle food scene.

All the places she took me to back then are, comfortingly, still around, still representing the city’s Big Three — barbecue, burgers, and Tex-Mex — and still satisfying out-of-towners and locals alike.

Upon our friend’s arrival, we immediately headed to the Reata rooftop for those $3 happy-hour margaritas. It was brutally humid out, so the cold drinks, perfectly balanced between tart and sweet, hit the spot as we snapped a couple of rooftop photos for the ’Gram.

Soon we headed to dinner at Railhead Smokehouse (2900 Montgomery St, 817738-9808). I understand this decision may be controversial and that there are numerous, newer establishments that are objectively better, but for nostalgia’s sake, I wanted to continued on page 19

Rodeo Goat’s Cheese Fries Surprise is as good as you remember.

Eats & Drinks

continued from page 17

stick to The Itinerary. Plus, most of the newer joints we frequent (Panther City BBQ, Hurtado) don’t serve the ice-cold schooners of beer out-of-towners love to marvel at, and the menu’s unchanged, no-frills attitude is refreshing. I was excited the pulled pork was on special, as the item is not easy to find around here, and our guest absolutely devoured the brisket and sausage Railhead has perfected over three decades. Though not our usual type of crowd, we didn’t feel out of place among fellow sportsball watchers at the bar as we chowed down.

The next day, we visited two breweries, and while Panther Island and Martin House are not technically stops on my sister’s original plan, they’ve both been around about as long as I’ve lived here (2014 and 2013, respectively), and The Itinerary can only be improved by including them. Martin House was even hosting a 4/20 party, and our friend was excited to try their Power House THCa seltzer (“Let It Grow,” April 17).

We rode those good vibes straight to my favorite stop on The Itinerary: Rodeo Goat (2836 Bledsoe St, 817-877-4628). I will not tolerate any criticism of this gem save its regrettable location in the West 7th corridor. I can still remember the first time my sister took me here, and all the times I visited thereafter, and all the times I met her for lunch when we both lived here, and each time, the Cheese Fries Surprise, the Moon Tang, and whatever burger I felt

like choosing on those days (most recently, the classic Whiskey Burger) were as good as the ones before. That nothing has been altered inside the four walls of this OG gourmet-burger joint (except the headto-head burger battle, which rotates out monthly) is the ultimate comfort in a world of soul-crushing uncertainty. We know

anyone we bring to Rodeo Goat will love it, too, and though the parking situation is as bad as it was over a decade ago, it’s a small price to pay — literally — for a standout of a local restaurant.

For our friend’s last day in town, we headed north to show off the new-and-improved Stockyards. Settling into some Adirondack

chairs on the enormous Astroturf lawn of Second Rodeo (122 E Exchange Av, Ste 340, 877-517-7548), we enjoyed house-made brews while listening to acoustic tunes from the singer-songwriter du jour.

Then it was time for the last stop on The Itinerary. Nope, not Joe T. Garcia’s. We headed a little farther up Main Street to Los Vaqueros (2629 N Main St, 817-624-1511). I remember my first visit way back in 2005. It was the first time I ever saw fresh tortillas and butter come out along with the chips and salsa. It’s had my heart ever since (yet I hadn’t been in years).

Joe T’s has the sprawling garden, but Vaqueros’ historic brick building and gardens have their own Old Mexico charm. They’ve added string lights to brighten up the interior, and the walls are lined with historic photos touting the restaurant’s place in Fort Worth’s storied history. The food is classic, well-executed Tex-Mex — just what tourists want — and the best part is we didn’t have to wait in a 2-hour line for a table.

Fort Worth is a city in flux. Once purple politically, it now feels redder than ever. Beloved bars and restaurants have closed seemingly nonstop since the pandemic. When you don’t have time or budget to go out all the time, it’s tempting to want to try out new restaurants and bars, especially if they are reviewed favorably in this paper, but I had the time of my life living out a decade-old “local’s guide to Fort Worth,” and I’d recommend it to anyone. Think about a place you haven’t been to in a while and pay them a visit. The more things change, the more we need these stalwart establishments to stay the same. l

The coldest beers in town can still be found at Railhead Smokehouse.

continued from page 13

2pm. This feature follows a North Texas theatre troupe with mental disabilities determined to write, rehearse, and perform their 11th annual original musical during the 2021-22 season.

Love to the Max, about teenager Max Briggle, who loves cats, his trampoline, and singing at church, is playing at 5pm. No biggie, but Max is transgender, and that’s why the government of Texas is targeting the whole family. This film is about their everyday lives but also their preparations for “a midnight escape from a rising tyranny in their home state that threatens to tear them apart.”

The final film of the festival screens at 3:30pm. Shot over several years, Música! shows students at the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory of Music — known for training the best young Cuban musicians — embarking on their professional careers. Even this prestigious institution in a musically rich culture suffers from its nation’s political isolation. Enter: Horns to Havana, a volunteer organization of U.S. artisans that makes regular pilgrimages to Cuba to deliver strings and other essential supplies and conduct instrument-repair workshops.

In honor of May the Fourth Be with You Week, Birdie’s Social Club (2736 W 6th St, Fort Worth, 817-888-8914) wants to test your Star Wars knowledge at a free event. Starting at 6:20pm, you can register to compete for a chance to win a $100 Birdie’s gift card at Trivia Tuesday Teams and costumes are encouraged. Also, enjoy $6 margaritas (frozen or on the rocks), $2 off tacos, and free parking at the lot off 5th Street. (Look for the windmill.) N&D

Also screening at 5pm is Fallout, which follows three individuals experiencing illnesses after exposure to environmental contamination from a nearby U.S. Army Ammunition Plant, and Nationals, about the Haudenosaunee U21 lacrosse team on their journey to the world championships.

However, my pick for 5pm is + Fontaine. This film tells the story of two drag icons from the past and present who share a legacy of self-expression and freedom: Cynthia Lee Fontaine of Drag Race and Vander Clyde “Barbette” Broadway (1899-1973), an American female impersonator, high-wire performer, and trapeze artist born in Texas.

From the early pioneers to the present day, Shaggy and Sean Paul create a coherent account of dancehall music as a New York immigrant evolution of shared identity and as a cultural bridge between Jamaica and New York in Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall at 7:30pm.

At 10pm, Something Divine Ray Cappo, frontperson for Youth of Today, who, at the height of his straight-edge band’s popularity, decamped for India to become the monk Raghunath. What entails is the confluence of two opposites: hardcore punk and spirituality.

At 10:30am, start the final festival day with the experimental film You: Part II about people attempting to break ground in the field of Radical Autoethnographic Meditation.

How can individuals who are blind and visually impaired play baseball? Find out by watching Thunder Rolls: The World of Blind Baseball at 1pm. The film traces the Indy Thunder Beep baseball team in their quest to win a world championship.

Well, Nat Geo got to me again. Just as Taylor Swift dropped her double-album last weekend, the network

by Paul Rudd, Secrets of the Octopus can now be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu for a limited time.

premiered its latest octopus-oriented documentary with some epic Eras Tour-inspired art. Directed by James Cameron and narrated

Stream Secrets of the Octopus on Disney+ or Hulu. Courtesy Nat Geo

MUSIC

Pulling the Strings

On Cut Throat Finches’

Unraveled, long darknesses and big choruses go together just fine.

BY STEVE STEWARD

Coming out May 14, Unraveled is Cut Throat Finches’ fourth album and the band’s first release in four years, which is notable given that the indie-rockers managed a record every year in their first three years of existence. It’s also notable in that Sean Russell, the principal songwriter on the previous albums, relied on his bandmates a lot more to help him finish songs. In the past, he wrote about love, self-respect, and holding fast through tough times, but Unraveled was written in 2020 and, as a result, is darker than anything that’s come before. It’s cynical even, the result of five people trying to make something beautiful together despite all the ways their lives were ripping at the seams.

The band’s last release, the EP In Event of Moon Disaster, looked for hope in an imaginary tragedy in which the astronauts on NASA’s mission to the moon never made it back, so it’s not as if Russell’s songs are all sunshine and good vibes. But in general, he was excited about that release — at least until COVID canceled live music. “We released Moon Disaster in 2019, right before the pandemic hit, and that was a bummer.”

Russell, never one to sit still for too long, began working on new material. As 2020’s autumn fell, the Cut Throats started recording but in the segmented, socially distanced, piecemeal way that typified such endeavors that year. “We were hopping around different studios. … We were trying to record in short spurts during the day, like get in and out, don’t hang around too long.”

The band recorded at Modern Electric with John Pedigo, at BPL with Todd Pipes, and at Niles City with Joel Raiff. Russell and company finished the record with Taylor Tatsch (Maren Morris, Flickerstick). “We enjoyed the recording process, but some of the technical aspects were not great” from tracking in four different studios. “We just finished recording, like, six months ago, but everything that happened in between just slowed us down.”

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Russell said that he and his bandmates each had their own battles, though they didn’t really see how their pandemic struggles seeped into the music until later. “I guess we didn’t really realize [the recurring theme] until we got to the end of recording. The underpinning of all these songs and what stretched [recording out] was what was going on in our own lives.

“This was an album where it was like an absence of reflection,” Russell continued. “It was us trying to take ourselves out of the situation while we were writing, but the reality was there was a lot of discussion of our own addiction problems, our own mental health issues.”

As 2020 turned into 2021 and so on until now, that way life sort of curdled, or fell apart, or took a treacherous, rocky path.

“I don’t want to speak for everybody in the band … but that bounceback, the roaring ’20s that were supposed to happen after the pandemic, never came,” Russell said. “Our addictive nature and mental health problems got worse, and we also had a lot of tragic shit going down.”

Drummer Draya Ruse got into a terrible car accident after delivering her first child in 2020 — and that was only a couple of weeks after getting over a bout of COVID back when catching it was possibly fatal. “They went to the hospital just a week after getting COVID that I gave them,” Russell said.

Russell, unfortunate enough to catch the virus himself, had unwittingly spread it to Ruse and others at a socially distanced election-watching party. “We were on a back porch, all spread out, and people still got it. I felt terrible about it.”

Besides Ruse’s crash, Russell said his compatriots experienced job losses and the deaths of family members. “It was a dark time, and I really feel like, looking back, I can see where we planted some of those feelings in the lyrics.”

Along with the external darkness, Russell found himself suffering a spiritual

crisis. The track “Calling Me Out” has a line about trying to get “clean from the outside in,” and while Russell said that song is about not living up to who he wants to be, it’s also “just dealing with my own rejection of church and religion, dealing with that part of my life. It’s so ingrained that it’s hard to walk away from.”

Russell’s ear for melody jumps in the direction of the ’80s Britpop he grew up with, but the song’s melancholy, country-nodding shuffle is a doleful, midtempo march, like having to be a pallbearer in a hurry. The push and pull of melody versus mood is the sound of a person coming to grips with the fact that life was once one way and now it is no longer that. Russell and I talked about Christianity and how the New Testament is essentially just guys writing letters to their friends and also how a lot of Christians don’t want to think about what they’re reading and how his band has forced him to untangle a lot of previously entrenched beliefs that are no longer so black and white.

For all that heavy stuff, however, the album still soars with hooks — lead track “Bad Habit” reminds me of Stone Temple Pilots’ “Sour Girl,” with its melody that kind of sounds like a person being surprised yet unemotional at finding out a lover has been unfaithful. “Call Me Back” is a breezy banger that, in the context of the rest of the album’s darkness, feels like being at a party that was fun until it wasn’t, and now you’re looking for an excuse to go home. Throughout, you still get Russell’s big choruses, which is a good thing because it makes you listen harder for the tonal valleys that follow the melodic peaks. And while the tragedy and bewilderment engendered by the pandemic might have been difficult for the Cut Throat Finches to live through, it has made for some palpably real feelings. Unraveled might be about people coming apart, but it sounds like a band coming together to make their best work yet. l

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Russell: “This was an album where it was like an absence of reflection.” Chickering Project

CLASSIFIEDS

Texas Commission on environmenTal QualiTy

NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF APPLICATION AND INTENT TO OBTAIN AIR QUALITY STANDARD PERMIT REGISTRATION RENEWAL AIR QUALITY REGISTRATION NO. 121990

APPLICATION. Holcim - SOR, Inc., has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for renewal of Registration No. 121990, for an air quality standard permit for concrete batch plants, which would authorize continued operation of a concrete batch plant located at 12270 Bod Drive, Aledo, Tarrant County, Texas 76008.

AVISO DE IDIOMA ALTERNATIVO. El aviso de idioma alternativo en espanol está disponible en https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/air/newsourcereview/airpermits-pendingpermit-apps.

This link to an electronic map of the site or facility’s general location is provided as a public courtesy and not part of the application or notice. For exact location, refer to application. https://gisweb.tceq.texas.gov/LocationMapper/?marker=-97.53591,32.718098&level=13.

The existing facility is authorized to emit the following air contaminants: particulate matter including (but not limited to) aggregate, cement, road dust, and particulate matter with diameters of 10 microns or less and 2.5 microns or less.

This application was submitted to the TCEQ on April 9, 2024. The application will be available for viewing and copying at the TCEQ central office, the TCEQ Dallas/Fort Worth regional office, and the Ridglea Branch Library, 3628 Bernie Anderson, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas beginning the first day of publication of this notice. The facility’s compliance file, if any exists, is available for public review in the Dallas/Fort Worth regional office of the TCEQ.

The executive director has determined the application is administratively complete and will conduct a technical review of the application. Information in the application indicates that this permit renewal would not result in an increase in allowable emissions and would not result in the emission of an air contaminant not previously emitted. The TCEQ may act on this application without seeking further public comment or providing an opportunity for a contested case hearing if certain criteria are met.

PUBLIC COMMENT. You may submit public comments, or a request for a contested case hearing to the Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below. The TCEQ will consider all public comments in developing a final decision on the application. The deadline to submit public comments is 15 days after the final newspaper notice is published. After the deadline for public comments, the executive director will prepare a response to all relevant and material, or significant public comments. Issues such as property values, noise, traffic safety, and zoning are outside of the TCEQ’s jurisdiction to consider in the permit process.

After the technical review is complete the executive director will consider the comments and prepare a response to all relevant and material, or significant public comments. If only comments are received, the response to comments, along with the executive director’s decision on the application, will then be mailed to everyone who submitted public comments or who is on the mailing list for this application, unless the application is directly referred to a contested case hearing.

OPPORTUNITY FOR A CONTESTED CASE HEARING. You may request a contested case hearing. The applicant or the executive director may also request that the application be directly referred to a contested case hearing after technical review of the application. A contested case hearing is a legal proceeding similar to a civil trial in state district court. Unless a written request for a contested case hearing is filed within 15 days from this notice, the executive director may act on the application. If no hearing request is received within this 15day period, no further opportunity for hearing will be provided. According to the Texas Clean Air Act § 382.056(o) a contested case hearing may only be granted if the applicant’s compliance history is in the lowest classification under applicable compliance history requirements and if the hearing request is based on disputed issues of fact that are relevant and material to the Commission’s decision on the application. Further, the Commission may only grant a hearing on those issues submitted during the public comment period and not withdrawn. A person who may be affected by emissions of air contaminants from the facility is entitled to request a hearing. If requesting a contested case hearing, you must submit the following: (1) your name (or for a group or association, an official representative), mailing address, daytime phone number; (2) applicant’s name and permit number; (3) the statement “[I/we] request a contested case hearing;” (4) a specific description of how you would be adversely affected by the application and air emissions from the facility in a way not common to the general public; (5) the location and distance of your property relative to the facility; (6) a description of how you use the property which may be impacted by the facility; and (7) a list of all disputed issues of fact that you submit during the comment period. If the request is made by a group or association, one or more members who have standing to request a hearing must be identified by name and physical address. The interests which the group or association seeks to protect must also be identified. You may also submit your proposed adjustments to the application/permit which would satisfy your concerns. Requests for a contested case hearing must be submitted in writing within 15 days following this notice to the Office of the Chief Clerk, at the address below.

Following the close of all applicable comment and request periods, the Executive Director will forward the application and any requests for contested case hearing to the Commissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Commission meeting. The Commission may only grant a request for a contested case hearing on issues the requestor submitted in their timely comments that were not subsequently withdrawn. If a hearing is granted, the subject of a hearing will be limited to disputed issues of fact or mixed questions of fact and law relating to relevant and material air quality concerns submitted during the comment period. Issues such as property values, noise, traffic safety, and zoning are outside of the Commission’s jurisdiction to consider in this proceeding.

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