This weekend around Fort Worth will see the return of a country music superstar and a nationwide tour of a Broadway musical. Other options will include several other concerts, the last weekend of a theatre/arts festival, screenings of a musical documentary, a funny comedian, a local theater production and the closing of an art exhibition.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the best events in town.

Thursday July 28

Panther Island Pavilion presents Rockin’ the River
Rockin’ the River is back for an 11th year of music and tubing at the Panther Island Pavilion. The event features a trio of bands playing back-to-back sets starting around 5:15 p.m. on the Coors Light Waterfront Stage, while attendees watch from tubes and other floats on the Trinity River. This week’s performers will include headliner Triston Marez, as well as Austin English and Squeezebox Bandits.

Broadway on bass: mean girls
mean girls is based on the hit film by writer Tina Fey. Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savannah, but nothing prepared her for the vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. Soon, this naive newbie falls prey to a trio of fierce enemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t run into a queen bee without getting stung. The musical will be at Bass Performance Hall until Sunday.

Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art presents “Women with Soul”
In celebration of the “Women Painting Women” exhibit, the Museum of Modern Art Fort Worth is teaming up with Amplify 817 to present a concert featuring the sounds of soul/R&B musicians, Elise Amara and Tatiana “LadyMay” Mayfield. The concert is free, but places are limited. call or visit the museum admissions office for reservations.

Amphibian Stage presents Spark Fest
The final weekend of Amphibian Stage’s annual Spark Fest will feature four more events through Sunday. There will be storytelling performances by five diverse North Texas artists inspired by the prompt from “Reclaiming My Space”; two stand-up comedy performances by Ashley Ray; and a panel on “The Craft and Art of Comic Writing” featuring Paul Varghese, Julia Cotton and Ray.

friday july 29

Magnolia at the Modern: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a journey, a song
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a journey, a song is a definitive exploration of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen seen through the lens of his internationally acclaimed anthem “Hallelujah.” This feature-length documentary weaves together three creative strands: the songwriter and his times, the song’s dramatic journey from record label rejection to chart-topping hit, and moving testimonials from major artists around the world. record for which “Hallelujah” has become a personal touchstone. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth.

Improv Arlington Presents Godfrey
Godfrey, with the singular name, is one of those actors whose face you know even if you don’t know his name. He’s starred in a ton of movies, TV shows, and commercials over the past 20 years while continuing his successful acting career. He will complete five sets through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

KWC Performing Arts presents Look for
KWC Performing Arts will present Look for, a deep musical that examines the digital world and its effects on people’s lives. When getting out of the network seems impossible, can these new online communities be turned into tools for positive change? While it sometimes seems to have become an “All About Me” company, Look for reminds people of the real possibilities of how new technologies can have an extraordinary impact on the world. There will be four performances through Sunday at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center.

Ted Nugent in concert
For millions of music lovers, Ted Nugent has carved out a permanent place in rock and roll history as a guitar-ripping showman. From Amboy Dukes’ breakthrough hit “Journey to the Center of the Mind,” to classics like “Stranglehold” and “Cat Scratch Fever,” Damn Yankees hit “High Enough” and cult classic “Fred Bear,” the Nugent’s no-holds-barred career spans five decades. He will play at Billy Bob’s Texas.

Saturday July 30

Garth Brooks in concert
For more than 30 years, Garth Brooks remained one of country music’s superstars, even when he took a decade off to spend time with his family. He’s released a handful of albums since his comeback in 2014, including the 2020s Fun, but fans will mostly be there for the biggest hits and spectacular show from the nation’s accomplished artist. It will be Garth’s first time at Dallas-Fort Worth in seven years and his first time headlining AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Josh Weathers in concert
Josh Weathers is a Fort Worth-based soul singer-songwriter. He’s spent nearly 20 years perfecting his art of combining songs of hope with high-energy rock n’ soul spectacle. He’s no stranger to the various scenes around Fort Worth, and he released a live album in November 2020. He’ll be performing at Billy Bob’s Texas.

Sunday July 31

The Kimbell Art Museum presents the closing weekend “The Language of Beauty in African Art”
Sunday will be the last day to see “The Language of Beauty in African Art” at the Kimbell Art Museum. The exhibition presents nearly 250 remarkable works from collections around the world, a fascinating art that scholars, connoisseurs and collectors outside Africa have admired for more than a century. It displays an incredible variety of objects, including a range of impressive and powerful sculptures, captivating costumes and masks for ceremonial use, and extraordinary decorative arts.