This piece is part of our FTWtoday Q+A series. Do you know someone we should interview? Nominate them here.
Fort Worth is overflowing with artistic talent and if you’ve been in the city a while, you’ve likely seen singer-songwriter Jacob Furr with his guitar in hand performing at local venues, like The Post — which gave Jacob his own Furrsday event.
Jacob is known for his folk style of music that incorporates personal struggles and triumphs into each song. He even won Best Songwriter for 2014 and 2015 by Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards (FWWMA). With his upcoming performance at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo on Sun., Jan. 30, we caught up with Jacob and asked him 10 questions about Funkytown’s music scene and what he enjoys most about our city.
Q: Describe your perfect day in Fort Worth in the length of a Tweet (280 characters).
A: I love going to the museums, it’s probably my favorite thing about Fort Worth — I actually used to work at the Kimbell Art Museum and learned some cool secrets about the place. I also like walking my dog along the Trinity River and visiting the Botanic Garden.
Q: Describe Fort Worth’s music scene in three words.
A: I would say historic would be number one. We have connections to all these deeply rooted musical styles and people who changed the world like Ornette Coleman and Townes Van Zandt.
It’s also very family-oriented and diverse — It’s actually more diverse than people give it credit for. I think the reason people miss out on Fort Worth is that everybody thinks it’s just a country music town, but there’s so much more than that.
Q: You can only choose one local musician’s music to bring with you to a deserted island — whose is it and why?
A: Oh, right now, Denver Williams. I love how creative his music is — it’s just so vibrant and fun to watch.
Q: Who are 2-3 other local musicians that have inspired you? Why?
A: I’ve always liked Darrin Kobetich — he’s a fingerstyle guitar player who plays instrumental and he’s been around forever. Hannah Owens is another artist I really like. She just put out an EP that I got to play on and her music style is great.
And my friend Stefan Prigmore — he actually doesn’t live here anymore, sadly, but he did. He was a mainstay in the songwriter scene here for a very long time. His music has always meant a lot to me songwriting-wise.
Q: Where is your favorite place to see live music in FTW?
A: Oh, I can’t answer that. There are too many good places to choose just one.
If I could pick a couple they would be Magnolia Motor Lounge, The Post at River East, and Mass (Main at South Side). Mass is great for live music, the sound and production there is just really good. I think they put on a great experience for people who go to see live music.
Q: Imagine it’s five years from now, and the support for local musicians in Fort Worth has grown exactly as you’d hoped. What would that look like?
A: Five years from now, I would love to see one or two more venues where people could get their foot in the door and start performing. Having a place where people can do open mics and be able to meet other musicians in town would be nice, especially for newcomers who need an introduction into the music industry.
Q: What is some advice you would give to other local musicians trying to get their name out?
A: There are a couple of different local music platforms like Fort Worth Library’s Amplify 817 and Hear Fort Worth that give up-and-coming artists an opportunity to get their music out and become known by locals.
When you look at folks like Grady Spencer and everything he’s doing now, he started right here in Fort Worth and built his way up by building relationships with people and I think that’s an important aspect of the music scene here in Fort Worth, is that we are very much a community and if you put the effort into being part of that community, everyone will rally around you.
Q: What can our readers do to discover more local talent?
A: Go out to shows and see what the music scene is like. Most places in the area have live music five to six times a week which is huge for the industry. It gives us an opportunity to connect with the community and become a sort of family.
Q: How did you get the gig playing at The Post at River East?
A: It all comes back to the community — I have a great relationship with the booking agent there, we’ve been friends for about eight or nine years, and I was able to get a residency. My friend Adrian Hulet — part of the dad’s rock group, DADROCK — also had some connections within the community and was able to book a residency on Tuesdays. They’re a lot of fun so I’d recommend checking them out.
Q: Favorite place to eat in the city?
A: Esperanza’s (2122 North Main St. + 1601 Park Place Ave.) has the best breakfast burritos.
Bonus:
Q: Favorite music store?
A: Dreamy Life Records inside of Mass and Doc’s Records.
You can keep up with Jacob and everything he’s doing around the city on his social media pages + check out his music on his website.
