FORTRESS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES PHASE 1 OF 2019 LINEUP

FEAT. HEADLINING HOMETOWN PERFORMANCE FROM LEON BRIDGES

GA & VIP TICKETS ON SALE NOW

-- THIRD ANNUAL MUSIC FESTIVAL RETURNING APRIL 27-28 TO FORT WORTH, TEXAS --

-- FULL LINEUP TO BE REVEALED IN EARLY 2019 --

FORT WORTH, TX (OCTOBER 29, 2018) – Fortress Presents, in partnership with the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, is excited to unveil the Phase 1 music lineup for the third annual Fortress Festival, taking place in Fort Worth’s Cultural District on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 & 28, 2019. The second phase of the lineup will be announced in January of 2019. Earlybird GA and VIP tickets are on sale now at www.fortressfestival.com, starting at just $79.

Taking place in the highly renowned Cultural District of Fort Worth and in partnership with the internationally acclaimed Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fortress Festival will again offer music-lovers – both locally and from across the country – a boutique festival-going experience celebrating music, art and culture. Fortress Festival’s ultimate goal is to provide the North Texas area with a festival comparable to any other major metropolitan area while pushing the overall festival-going experience into new and creative frontiers for attendees of all ages. Similar to last year, the event will be entirely housed within the spacious lawn adjacent to the Will Rogers Coliseum and will include two outdoor main stages featuring non-overlapping sets to ensure fans are able to catch every minute of each main stage performance.

ear’s event will be headlined by two-time Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Leon Bridges, a longtime resident of Fort Worth and who continues to perform in support of his sophomore album, Good Thing, which was released this past May to rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Fortress Festival marks the first large concert performance in his current hometown of Fort Worth.

Another acclaimed national act set to perform is

Per festival tradition, Fortress Festival will also look to tap a variety of acclaimed music talent from across the state of Texas to perform at the upcoming fest, including Dallas’ own acclaimed hip-hop lyricist Bobby Sessions, who was recently signed to Def Jams Records and who just released this past July his latest project RVLTN: The Divided States Of AmeriKKKa; The Bright Light Social Hour, a psychedelic rock band from Austin who just released Missing Something, a five-song EP meant to serve as a lead-up to the band’s rumored upcoming album following 2015’s Space Is Still the Place; rapper/singer Abhi the Nomad, who currently resides in Austin and recently released his latest album, Marbled, after first successfully securing a U.S. Talent Visa along with a major record label deal earlier this year; and Lubbock-based singer-songwriter Red Shahan, who released his sophmore album, Culberson County, this past March and was was named to Rolling Stone’s list of "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know" this past February.

Other notable local performers include up-and-coming emcee Adrian Stresow (Dallas, TX); female-led garage rock foursome Sailor Poon (Austin, TX); Oak Cliff’s newest indie-rock sextet Luna Luna (Dallas, TX); psychedelic rockers The Cush (Fort Worth, TX), who released The Isle of Man EP this past February; and punk rock group War Party (Fort Worth, TX), who released their latest album, Pure Destroyer, this past August and which is rumored to be the final project from the acclaimed local band.

The Phase 1 music lineup for the third annual Fortress Festival is included below. Phase 2 of the music lineup will be announced in early 2019, and is set to include a second headliner and several more national touring acts.

Leon Bridges **

Tank and the Bangas

Bobby Sessions

The Bright Light Social Hour

Abhi the Nomad

Red Shahan

Adrian Stresow

Sailor Poon

Luna Luna

The Cush

War Party

** Denotes headlining performance

A limited supply of Earlybird two-day GA tickets are on sale now for just $79 at www.FortressFestival.com. Two-day VIP passes are also available for purchase online for $189, offering ticket-buyers the utmost festival-going experience at the lowest available price, as all ticket prices will increase once Earlybird tickets are all sold (or in January 2019). VIP perks include exclusive events, preferred viewing areas, free parking, expedited entry, exclusive food and drink offerings, dedicated lounges and restroom facilities, discounts on Modern merchandise, memberships, and programs, and additional amenities that will be announced in the months ahead. Continuing the tradition set in the inaugural year, all festival passes include FREE access to the Modern’s internationally acclaimed art galleries during the festival – including extended hours each day of the event.

Fortress Festival was created and continues to be 100% independently produced by Fortress Presents, a Fort Worth-based independent production and promotions company founded in 2016 by North Texas natives Alec Jhangiani and Ramtin Nikzad, whose former accolades include helping to establish the Lone Star Film Festival and the Lone Star Film Society in Fort Worth. The Fortress Presents team last year expanded its staff and diversified its offerings beyond the flagship festival to now include a diverse portfolio of branded events along with event production and marketing services.

Fortress Festival would like to thank their 2019 partners who have helped make this third annual event possible, including presenting partner The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, as well as Seagram Company Ltd., Don Julio Tequilas, Deep Eddy Vodka, Visit Fort Worth, Common Desk, Higginbotham, The Bomb Factory, AlphaGraphics, and UNT Health Science Center.

Stay tuned as additional festival details will be announced in the coming months, including the full music lineup, single-day tickets, and the full event schedule. For more information, please visit www.FortressFestival.com. Make sure to follow Fortress Fest on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FortressFestivalTX, as well as on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat at @FortressFest for updates and special promotions. The Festival’s official hashtag is #FortressFestival2018.