News And Info

Thanks to Nash Manufacturing in Fort Worth local Boy Scout camps just got a lot more exciting!

Nash Manufacturing recently secured a license to distribute Margaritaville water recreation products and in turn, Margaritaville will be the official sponsor for Rockin’ the River and Fort Worth’s Fourth this summer!

That means all the old tubes for Rockin’ the River needed a new home and we’re happy to announce they’ve found one with the Boy Scouts of America Longhorn Council! The tubes will be used at various locations including summer camps at Worth Ranch, weekend camping facilities and activity centers. “We are very happy and appreciate this very much!” said Charles Schmidt of Fort Worth, Worth Ranch Camp Director. “They’ll be heading out to Worth Ranch in Palo Pinto County this summer and taking a lot of Boy Scouts and adults down the Brazos River!”

For more information about Nash Manufacturing visit:

Want to be a part of the coolest birthday party in town? Then volunteering at PantherFest featuring Slide the City is what you’re looking for! Come enjoy a beautiful June day while we party it up for Fort Worth’s birthday the only way we know how: one epic birthday bash complete with a 2,000 ft. water slide, local craft beer, local bands and musicians and, of course, delicious local noms.
If that wasn’t enough to get you to sign on the dotted line then maybe a free pass to the SOLD OUT water slide will sweeten the deal.* That’s right, we’re giving all volunteers their time in the sun on the giant slip-n-slide with a free pass just to say thanks for giving us a hand! Plus you’ll get atotally rad volunteer t-shirt.

If you love parties, good food, great beer and the best people watching on the planet then sign up for volunteer at PantherFest featuring Slide the City!

For more information or to sign up contact Lraeder@slidethecity.com

The following shifts are available for volunteers:
Friday, June 5  
2:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Saturday, June 6 
3:00 am – 8:00 am
5:00 am – 10:00 am
8:00 am – 1:00 pm
12:30 pm – 5:30 pm
5:00 pm -10:00 pm
9:30 pm – 1:30 am
*Passes to the slide will be given on the day of the event

Valentines Day has passed and while we’re willing to let the fact that you didn’t buy us flowers slide, it’s time to show us some love. Fort Worth, Texas Magazine is currently accepting submissions for their “Best of 2015” issue and there are a few categories we think we would be great for. So consider this our shameless plug to ask you to take a few minutes and nominate us in the following categories:

• Best Festival
• Best Live Music Venue
• Best Outdoor Music Venue

Hey trail users– September is going to be a busy month at Panther Island Pavilion. To help you have an enjoyable trail experience we’ve created two detours that will allow you miss the crowds at Panther Island Pavilion and continue on you run, walk to ride! Start familiarizing yourself with them now, they’ll be in place next weekend for the Clearfork Music Fest and many more this fall.

Lace up your lederhosen and start practicing your yodeling skills, Oktoberfest Fort Worth is right around the corner. The three-day festival will be held from September 25-27 at The Shack at Panther Island Pavilion. The celebration will include authentic German food, music and most importantly—beer. The event is proudly presented by Spaten but there will be a variety of other fall and Oktoberfest craft beers served as well.

There will also be activities programmed throughout the festival such as bier barrel rolling relays, stein hoisting competitions and young professional group Olympics, a dachshund race on Saturday and more.

To kick-off the last day of the event we’ve partnered with Fort Worth Running Co to produce a 5k timed race, 1-mile fun run and/or 15-mile bike ride Saturday morning. Participants are welcome to sign up for a single event or extra-adventurous athletes can combine the run with the bike ride. Registration includes free admission to the event on Saturday, a free glass bier stein and two free drink tickets. We even timed the race to end right when the gates open to the festival at 11:00 am.

Check out OktoberfestFW.com for more info and be sure to sign up for the Panther Island Pulse to stay up-to-date on all the latest news and events at Panther Island Pavilion.

For the past several years, Mike and the Moonpies have been making a name for themselves as Austin Texas’ premier honkytonk band. With the growing regional popularity of their 2012 release “The Hard Way,” radio single of the same name and a rigorous regional touring schedule, they’ve recently taken the entire Texas music scene by storm. The Moonpies have delivered some of the most unforgettable performances in recent years in venues like Gruene Hall and Luckenbach. They have also gained a cult-like following in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and all throughout the Midwest.

Mike and the Moonpies maintained a rotating cast of musicians from ’08-’10 before solidifying the current lineup of Kyle Ponder, Preston Rhone, Zach Moulton and Catlin Rutherford. In 2011, with the addition of John Carbone on piano, the Moonpies moved to a new honkytonk in east Austin, The White Horse. That was where they carved out their niche. While playing a blend of original material from their debut album ‘The Real Country,’ and covering songs by their Austin predecessors like Doug Sahm and Jerry Jeff Walker, The Moonpies built what would become one of the most infamous residencies in recent Austin music history. That same year, the band was also made waves to a nation-wide audience thanks to an offer to participate in the touring concert, Barnstormer IV.

In 2012, the band self-released ‘The Hard Way.’ A ten song original album that showcased the tightness and maturity the band had developed over the past year. The following year would prove to be an eventful one for the band. The Moonpies started to open for larger acts in the Texas music scene and were gaining praise from bands like Eleven Hundred Springs and Hayes Carll.

While on a run with Austin icon Ramsay Midwood through Tennessee, the Moonpies reached out to a Nashville and Austin based booking agency, Red 11 Music. After seeing the band live, Red 11 decided to help The Moonpies spread their music to a wider audience. Since then, Mike and the Moonpies have maintained a rigorous touring schedule supporting acts like Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Turnpike Troubadours and the legendary Johnny Lee. They have also had the opportunity to headline at iconic venues such as like Luckenbach TX, The Broken Spoke, John T. Floore Country Store and Oklahoma City’s famous Wormy Dog Saloon. For the past year, they have been making a film documenting their life as a regional touring band and writing and recording a full length album. Both the film and album will be released in 2014. With tales of their on-stage antics, genuine songwriting and dedication to playing real country music are spreading like wildfire; The Moonpies are on the path to becoming a household name in Texas music.

Uncle Lucius takes rock-n-roll from its deep roots and pushes it onward, putting their own authentic interpretation on the essential elements of R & B, blue and country. They pride themselves on producing live shows that are a sacred and energetic experience, with a belief that this is still the truest form of communication with their fans. All four members grew up in different parts of Texas, each finding their way to Austin in an attempt to pursue music full-time. The band is made up of Kevin Galloway on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Hal Vorpahl on bass, Mike Carpenter on lead guitar and vocals and Josh Greco on drums and percussion. Uncle Lucius can usually be found on the highways and back streets of the U.S., playing renowned venues like B.B. King’s in NYC, to the Maple Leaf in New Orleans, and back home in Austin  at Threadgill’s World Headquarters, The Continental Club,and Antone’s.

The Yoga Project Fort Worth Studio holds regular stand up paddle board yoga classes twice a week on Fridays & Sundays at Panther Island in Fort Worth.  Friday classes start at 11:30 am, and Sunday classes are at 1:00 pm. Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga classes are 90 minutes long, the cost is $30, which includes the board fee.  Life preservers are available with each board.  Be sure to dress for sun and water and arrive 10-15 mins early.

While he’s played his share of honkytonks, Jinks is far removed from the ubiquitous Texas/Red Dirt artists normally listed on C&W marquees. His songs harken back to the outlaw sound of Waylon Jennings, sung in an honest, whiskey-wracked baritone.

While still unquestionably country, Jinks’ music has developed into a more personal, singer-songwriter style. “The first record I did was very Nashville,” he said. “I didn’t know what else to do. I’d just come off the metal scene, and I didn’t know what country scenes were — I just started covering songs I liked, and that had a pretty big Nashville feel to it.”

Jinks typically writes alone, though he has collaborated with Hippie Wallace, and on Jinks’ fourth album, 30, he partnered with Sam Anderson (Quaker City Night Hawks, EPIC RUINS) for a track.

His second album moved away from pop-country gloss, and by Less Wise, he became comfortable with a stripped-down live-record vibe, using his road band to flesh out a suite of more authentic songs. “I wanted that record to be more ‘what you see is what you get,'” he said.

As a songwriter, Jinks has always drawn from personal experience, but with 30, he tried to write better “story songs.” His drive to advance his songwriting is informed by the skills of his peers. “It’s tough,” he said, “because I want you to feel like you’ve lived a song in order to believe it, but I’ll also look at guys like Jason Eady –– he can write a song that’s so good you don’t know where he came from, but you don’t care because it sounds real. I just want to be a better storyteller.”

The Damn Quails started as a a weekly jam session at The Deli in Norman, Oklahoma. Looking back, the fact that the band began so organically, could be considered somewhat of a miracle. At the epicenter of these weekly jams was Bryon White and Gabe Marshall. Both had been playing music in the Oklahoma area for some time, and when these two forces collided the harmony between them was undeniable. Some would say that it is hazardous to put two guys on stage that can write, sing, and play guitar. As everyone knows, egos can get in the way. This wasn’t the case with Bryon and Gabe. Their singing, songwriting, and guitar playing utilizing both electric and acoustic guitars, meld together in such a way that it’s hard to tell where one starts and the other stops.

The early jam sessions started drawing all sorts of characters. Musicians with all types of instruments showed up and word soon spread as the Monday night shows were packed with music fans eager to watch the proceedings unfold. You never knew what was going to happen, and that, after all, was the point.

Some of the musicians became more and more regular and the semblance of a band was formed. A guy known only as Biggie showed up with his harmonica. Luke Mullenix played the bass and Thomas Young became the resident drummer. In addition to this a multi instrumentalist named Jon Knudson came with a variety of instruments including, keyboard, resonator guitar, saxophone, and mandolin to name a few. These guys became the core of what became The Damn Quails. Others drifted in and out, always welcome, after all, the more musicians the bigger the sound.

At this point, Oklahoma Legend, Mike McClure took notice of the band. Mike was at the forefront of the Red Dirt movement as the lead singer and songwriter of The Great Divide. He went on to produce countless records including many by Oklahoma’s favorite sons Cross Canadian Ragweed, Turnpike Troubadours, Stoney LaRue and many more. Mike knew that he heard the real deal in The Damn Quails, and they soon began work on their first record “Down The Hatch”.

“Down the Hatch” was released on October 25th, 2011 and received rave reviews from across the country. The record spent many weeks on the National Americana Chart, and has had several top 20 singles on The Texas Music Chart including “Fool’s Gold” “So So Long”, and “Me and The Whiskey”.

Touring behind “Down The Hatch”, The Damn Quails developed quite the reputation for their live performances. Combining the sounds of folk music, country, Americana, and rock ‘n’ roll, the band has developed an extremely loyal and well listened following. What the band is doing isn’t being done by anyone else. This is a band that is strictly in it for the music and with miles of road ahead of them, we are all lucky that their plan is to make as much music as possible for many years to come.

Starting today the section of trail marked on the map above (between the two pedestrian bridges at Panther Island Pavilion) will be narrowed to one lane to assist with construction in the area. Please use caution when traveling though this area as trail traffic might be more congested than usual. Things will be back to normal on Friday!