THE ORIGIN STORY

The Near Southside has long been home to some of Fort Worth's greatest music assets - from bygone venues like Madhatters, Axis, M.A.S.S. and Shipping & Receiving to today's celebrated listening rooms like Tulip's FTW and The Cicada. Far beyond the formal music clubs, you can hear Fort Worth's local musicians across the district at our record stores, restaurants, bars, breweries, coffee shops, recording studios, galleries, and in the soundtracks of films made in the district. In fact, Fairmount porches have been known to serve as music venues as frequently as our Near Southside festival stages have. Celebrated artists like Leon Bridges, T Bone Burnett and Ornette Coleman all have Fort Worth roots, among so many others. 

Music is in the DNA of the Near Southside.

In 2024, Fort Worth's music community was faced with a difficult reality. You've likely heard about the shuttering of several of the Fort Worth's great music rooms - Twilite Lounge, Lola's, The Isis, and The Post at River East. While many of these venues weren't located in the Near Southside, they were still important to the music community and economy that calls the district home. As each closing announcement rolled out, our team became increasingly compelled to lean in to supporting our remaining venues and the many musicians who call Fort Worth home. Live local music needed something in the win column and we were eager to help.
 

Enter our very first season of LOST 'N SOUND, founded in 2024 as 4-event music series hosted in South Main Village. The idea behind Lost 'N Sound was a simple one - transform businesses throughout the village into one-day music venues hosting established and emerging local musicians across genres. Community members were invited to enjoy the performances while exploring both traditional music venues and unexpected spaces like architecture offices, art galleries, retailers, recording studios, and film studios hosting stages. All performances were free to enjoy, and all musicians were paid by the venues for their set. The free Lost 'N Sound shuttle allowed patrons to hop on-and-off at dozens of participating South Main Village venues with markets, food, music and more on each event day. 

So free music and free transportation? How does it work, you ask? Well, the answer is fairly simple. Sponsors helped to underwrite the costs of event materials, promotion, the shuttle and the development of online event tools to organize the festival. Special thanks are due to Trinity Metro, Nicole Dawson State Farm, and Valliance Bank for their early support. Additionally, more than two dozen Near Southside businesses committed to hiring local musicians at their own expense. These venues were either hopeful that increased event-day sales would off-set the cost of music booking or they were making a philanthropic investment in supporting Fort Worth's music economy and culture. For most venues, it was a combination of both motivations. Many venues were also formed creative partnerships to secure sponsors or financial contributors to help underwrite the costs of music booking and production.

With partnership, our inaugural Lost 'N Sound season produced than 200 performances for over 100 participating musicians. We expanded our community's music repertoire across genres, supported emerging talent, and introduced new stages in unexpected venues. The first four Lost 'N Sound events helped to bolster Fort Worth's music scene during a vulnerable time. Thousands attended the events to explore new music and businesses, creating patronage and investment for Fort Worth's musicians and small businesses. 

With eyes on 2026, we're planning for two big events for the second season of Lost 'N Sound. South Main Village businesses are asked to begin making plans for Saturday, April 25 and Saturday, November 21. Musicians, please stay tuned for an opportunity to either update your existing musician profile or create a new one for the season ahead. Sponsors, we're excited to talk with you about opportunities to support the 2026 season of Lost 'N Sound. From season-long presenting sponsors to stage sponsors, we're eager to talk to you about partnership. Contact megan@nearsouthsidefw.org to discuss.

Learn More

VENUES BOOK AND HOST LOST 'N SOUND MUSIC!

Venues are defined as any South Main Village business or property wishing to participate in Lost ‘N Sound by hosting live music on an event day that have formally registered with the event. Venues are responsible for booking their own music and coordinating their own music production needs. Venues are also welcome to offer other programming in addition to live music. Lost ‘N Sound management supports all participating Lost ‘N Sound venues with marketing and event coordination. Participating as a venue is free of charge at this time for all South Main Village properties.

Venues must be located in the Near Southside's South Main Village area to participate.

South Main Village is defined as any business located south of I-30, east of I-35, west of Hemphill, and north of Rosedale.

Lost ‘N Sound is asking South Main Village businesses to partner with the event as official venues. As a venue, we ask that you book and pay for your music and production (stage and sound) for this first season. Remember, lighter is better. There is no requirement to build a formal stage or to go overboard of big production like lights, stage banners, etc. And, while we certainly wouldn’t discourage this, it’s also not necessary to book high-profile and expensive touring musicians as your headliners. Smaller, lighter, cheaper fun is the big goal. We want as many musicians as possible to have an opportunity to play at Lost ‘N Sound. We’re asking that all participating venues offer free admission to the public on Lost ‘N Sound day. Yes, this makes it hard to recoup your investment in hiring bands, on this one specific day. For some, such as bars and restaurants, it is possible to recoup some of the money via increased sales and we know that means there is pressure on LNS management to turn out crowds to support you on event day. For others, Lost ‘N Sound is more likely your gift to the community or a marketing effort for your business, as if you were hosting an open house or client party. Either way, we are extremely grateful for your investments in helping get Lost ‘N Sound started.

TYPES OF VENUES

• MAIN STAGE VENUE Locations that are open to the public on a daily basis for walk-up retail purposes such as restaurants, bars, live music venues, bakeries, and other retail storefronts.

• BACK STAGE VENUE Locations that are typically not open daily to the public for walk-up retail traffic. These locations include recording studios, film studios, office spaces, churches, salons/spas that require appointment, residences, apartment community clubhouses, or public spaces that aren’t commonly activated. These are the special spaces that the public does not expect to see live music except for Lost ‘N Sound day.

• MARKET VENUE Locations that are willing to host a market, such as businesses with large parking lots or those with vacant land, can be matched by Lost N Sound management with one of our market coordinator partners. These trusted market producers provide a professional service of opening a call for market vendors, curating carefully those who are accepted, and organizing all market load-in and set-up on event day. If you would like to be matched with a market, please selection this venue type for your participation. Alternatively, if you have an EXISTING a partnership with a market coordinator and you would like to privately make arrangements with that partner to host a market on your property on Lost 'N Sound day, you are most welcome to do. We will promote your market as part of Lost 'N Sound day, so long as you provide all details prior to the event submission deadline.

VENUES ARE ASKED TO BOOK MUSIC AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE. At this time, Lost 'N Sound is not able to book music or production for Lost 'N Sound Venues but we do offer lots of support. Think of Lost 'N Sound as Third Thursday for music . . . on steroids!

VENUES, LOG IN TO APPLY!

MUSICIANS, APPLY NOW!

Any musician playing original music, defined as music composed by the performer, is welcomed to apply for booking consideration. Musicians of all genres are welcomed to submit booking requests.

MUSICIANS and music industry professionals, we are asking for your investment in this new event. Lost ‘N Sound is an effort to rebuild Fort Worth’s music patronage, connecting new fans to your music in an easy, approachable, community-centered event that puts you front and center. As you can see above, we’re asking venues to go out of their way to host music, pay for music, promote music. We’re hoping that Lost ‘N Sound will expand the reach of traditional venues and also raise the awareness of music’s value for non-traditional spaces where live music is rarely seen. We also feel confident that by inviting all business owners in South Main Village to book music, experiment across genres, and take risks on booking a less-familiar artist we can broaden the music ecosystem and provide more opportunity for all of Fort Worth’s talented music professionals.

So what are we asking for specifically? Be generous when and where you can – remember, these venues are all offering free admission to see your performance so the old model of cover fees will not be their way to recoup expenses at Lost ‘N Sound. Please be considerate of this when pricing your performance. Encourage other musicians to apply and participate – we hope that the music community will see this event as their own, one where businesses are rolling out the red carpet to host music for the benefit of the musician and Fort Worth’s music scene at-large. Your partnership is appreciated to help get this new local music showcase started. Please contribute however you can.

More than anything we want to thank you for your interest in playing Lost 'N Sound.

MUSICIANS ARE ASKED TO FILL OUT A MUSIC PROFILE.

YOUR PROFILE IS PUBLISHED IN THE LOST 'N SOUND MUSIC DIRECTORY WHICH PARTICIPATING VENUES USE TO BOOK MUSIC FOR LOST 'N SOUND DAY.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PLAYING LOST 'N SOUND

WE'VE GOT BIG DREAMS FOR 2026 AND . . .

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Lost ‘N Sound is seeking sponsors and partners to help with financial and production needs for this fairly new music festival. Our 2025 season was a huge success, with more than 40,000 viewers accessing our map and thousands of music patrons in attendance across South Main Village at each of our 2025events.

We are hopeful that you'll consider supporting our 2026 season, which is already in planning. As sponsors and partners come forward, we will work to match sponsors with venues for the 2026 season. With the concept now proven, and a successful 2025 season under our belts, we're eager to grow this new signature event for South Main Village.

Securing funding is critically important as we bolster this emerging event. With partnership, we can put more artists on stages, expand our community's music repertoire across genres, support emerging talent and bolster Fort Worth's music scene with patronage. 
 

Lost ‘N Sound is a new event that will be produced by a familiar team. While we don’t have many years of Lost ‘N Sound data to offer you as proof of a good investment, you can rely on our reputation as dedicated partners with a knack for creating events that deliver big value. We’re asking for you to invest in Lost ‘N Sound, both for the immediate returns offered at each event as your sponsorship is promoted but also for the long-term benefits of being a founding partner that helped to launch one of Fort Worth’s most noteworthy events. Your sponsorships will go directly to promoting the event, putting local musicians on the stage, and keeping small locally-owned businesses front and center. Your sponsorship is a community partnership and you’re investing in the business owners, musicians, and places that make the Near Southside so special. We thank you!

Email Megan to discuss

SPONSORSHIPS:

Businesses and individuals wishing to offer financial support to Lost ‘N Sound are invited to join the team as sponsors. For the 2026 season, sponsors will be matched with participating venues via Lost ‘N Sound management and upon the mutual agreement of the sponsor and the venue.

SEASON SPONSORS: Lost ‘N Sound Season Sponsors enjoy premium marketing benefits with logo placement on Lost ‘N Sound advertising, event signs, and posters for both events of the season. These overarching sponsors are credited for providing the financial support that makes the Lost ‘N Sound season possible. Season Sponsors are tagged in all Lost ‘N Sound social media posts as well as logo inclusion on all print and digital advertising.

SEASON - Presenting Sponsor - SOLD TO NICOLE DAWSON STATE FARM. Three cheers for this community hero!

SEASON - Supporting Sponsor (2 available) AVAILABLE, $6,000 FOR SEASON RECOGNITION AS SUPPORTING SPONSOR

Print marketing benefits include logo recognition on poster, printed promotional materials, and all general-event social media posts.

Digital marketing benefits include tags in all general-event social media posts for Near Southside and Lost 'N Sound pages, listing as an official sponsor on the Lost 'N Sound website, logo inclusion in all digital promotional graphics (hundreds of them my friends) and four dedicated posts for your company which you can think of as paid advertising.

Cultural benefits. What do we mean by this? Well in simple terms, this means that your company or organization will be seen as a major supporter of local music, small business, and free public experiences. It's our job to help tell the story of how your company has come to the rescue and invested in this emerging Fort Worth event. And we are eager to do so.

On-site activation. Participating Lost 'N Sound venues open their doors to allow season-sponsors the opportunity to table, promote, and connect with festival goers. Specific locations are subject to approval of venue owner and can be coordinated directly with megan@nearsouthsidefw.org ahead of event day.

FULL-SEASON STAGE SPONSOR - Offered at $3,500 for both events of the 2026 season – Stage Sponsors partner with a single participating South Main Village venue for the entire Lost ‘N Sound spring- and fall-event season. This “stage takeover” partnership allows the venue and the sponsor to establish a full-season collaboration for stage branding, music booking, and promotional efforts to designate the venue as the official music house of said sponsor. Benefits of sponsoring a single venue for the season include investments in multi-event talent curation, reusable promotional materials such as on-site signage and stage branding, and the opportunity to establish consistency for brand awareness and targeted marketing. Example: Topo Chico Stage at Distribution Bar

SINGLE-EVENT STAGE SPONSOR $2,000 – Stage Sponsors underwrite the music programming at a participating venue for a single Lost ‘N Sound event. Sponsors will be paired with a participating venue and funds from the sponsorship are used to provide a talent budget for the stage, event promotion, and a stage sponsor listing in the Lost ‘N Sound digital guide. Sponsors and Venues work closely in partnership to plan for Lost ‘N Sound day. Many venues will offer Sponsors an opportunity for on-site presence at their venue during Lost ‘N Sound day and we welcome creative ideas for sponsor activation at venues. Venues are asked to tag and credit their Sponsor in all social media promotional posts related to Lost ‘N Sound for their specific sponsored event date. Lost ‘N Sound management will credit and tag sponsors in posts specifically related to their venue. Single-event stage sponsorships do not include stage branding provided by Lost ‘N Sound however sponsors are welcomed to provide their own branded materials and work directly with their venue for placement approvals.

I'M INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES!

PARTNERSHIPS:

Businesses or individuals wishing to offer in-kind support of talent, professional services, or other valued items that support the production and/or promotion of Lost 'N Sound. Depending on the value of the in-kind contributions, partners may be offered promotional of similar or equal value.

• SHOWCASE PARTNERSHIP – Details of this specific partnership will be established by venue and sponsor. In this unique partnership, an individual or business will partner with a venue to host a curated stage takeover. The Showcase Partner will work directly with the venue to book, promote, and coordinate all production needs for the performances on Lost ‘N Sound Day. Examples of Showcase Partnerships could be a record label hosting a showcase of musicians on their label at a Lost ‘N Sound venue or alternatively, a local musician could coordinate an all-day songwriters showcase of their friends and colleagues. Showcase Partnerships do not require the exchange of sponsor dollars but instead are co-hosting opportunities for venues to work directly with music industry professionals to curate their stage for Lost ‘N Sound. The venue agrees to host the performances and provide resources such as payment, production, etc. The Showcase Partner agrees to secure and curate talent, manage production needs before and on event date, and provide promotional support to the venue. Showcase Partners and Venues should discuss financial contributions and in-kind exchanges to ensure a mutually beneficial opportunity for all. Lost ‘N Sound management does not play a role in the business matters of these partnerships but is happy to facilitate connections.

• DONATION OF SERVICES - If you are a generous person or company who would like to support Lost 'N Sound by offering your services free of charge or at a steeply discounted rate, boy oh boy would we love to talk to you! Services that are in need for Lost 'N Sound venues include music booking, audio equipment rentals, sound engineering, photography, stage equipment and production, lighting, printing, and advertising. Partners who donate in-kind services will be credited for their contributions and offered promotional benefits by Lost 'N Sound management or the venues they are directly supporting.

• MARKET PARTNER - Lost 'N Sound management, working with businesses and property owners in South Main Village is assisting venues in connecting with Market Coordinators to establish a Market Partnership for a few select locations on Lost 'N Sound event days. Some venues have existing relationships with market coordinators and are independently planning for markets on Lost 'N Sound day. All markets must be affiliated with an official registered Lost 'N Sound Venue to be promoted as an official Market Partner. Market Coordinators are defined as established market businesses with an owner who regularly organizes local vendor markets, farmers markets, vintage markets, artisan markets or other curated groups. Participating market vendors would apply directly with the Market Coordinator for consideration. Market Coordinators who are interested in being matched with a venue by Lost 'N Sound management may express interest by completing the "Sponsors & Partners" inquiry form linked below.

I'M INTERESTED IN PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

FOOD VENDORS

At this time, Lost ‘N Sound management is not seeking additional food partners for upcoming events, as we wish to prioritize sales for the existing food establishments in South Main Village. However, private venues might wish to secure a food partner/s for Lost ‘N Sound day. Because we have a robust list of food vendors who have recently applied to ArtsGoggle and Open Streets, Lost ‘N Sound management will use these existing applications for referrals for any venues seeking food partnership. Food vendors are welcome to contact venues directly for partnership inquiries. OVER TIME, we hope that Lost 'N Sound grows to welcome thousands to South Main Village on event day, and when that does occur we'll be eager to launch a food vendor application to invite mobile food vendors into the fun!

Learn More

MARKETS

Lost 'N Sound management, working with businesses and property owners in South Main Village is assisting venues in connecting with Market Coordinators to establish a Market Partnership for a few select locations on Lost 'N Sound event days. Some venues have existing relationships with market coordinators and are independently planning for markets on Lost 'N Sound day. All markets must be affiliated with an official registered Lost 'N Sound Venue to be promoted as an official Market Partner. Market Coordinators are defined as established market businesses with an owner who regularly organizes local vendor markets, farmers markets, vintage markets, artisan markets or other curated groups. 

Market Coordinators that are interested in being matched with a venue by Lost 'N Sound management may express interest by reviewing the Partnership Opportunities outlined above by emailing megan@nearsouthsidefw.org

Market Vendors must apply directly with Market Coordinators for consideration. Market Coordinators will publish their own calls to apply via their own social networks. 
 

Learn More

LET'S GROW TOGETHER

OVER TIME, Lost ‘N Sound management hopes to secure season sponsors to support event marketing and stage sponsors for all participating venues. As sponsors are secured, we will work to match sponsors with venues for the 2026 season. For 2026, we hope to secure all sponsors in advance of the season launch. We will host a happy hour event prior to the season where sponsors will be matched with venues via a sponsor lottery! Imagine a scenario where prior to the happy hour all venues register for the season. Assuming we have 30 participating venues signed up for 2026, Near Southside works to secure 30 full-season stage sponsors. Then, at the happy hour with all partners present, a drawing is held to match all full-season Stage Sponsors with full-season Venues!

Sponsors and Venues then can work together preparing for the season to plan music booking, sponsor activations, branding, promotions, and other fun partnership opportunities. Each year, sponsors could potentially be matched with new venues. As sponsor demand increases, Main Stage Venues could be matched with Main Stage Sponsors and Back Stage Venues could be matched with Back Stage Sponsors – helping to curate the types of sponsors that are a good fit for each unique type of venue but still participating in a lottery-style process for the matchmaking.

We’re asking for your help towards securing the venues and sponsors needed to make 2026 huge!

Learn More

LOST 'N SOUND MANAGEMENT

Lost ‘N Sound is a community partnership in South Main Village produced by Near Southside, Inc. and Near Southside Arts. The Near Southside team has a long history of producing community events such as ArtsGoggle, Friday on the Green, Open Streets, PARK(ing) Day, and various other community festivals and celebrations over the organization’s three decades. Learn more about our organizations below.

Learn More

LOST ‘N SOUND EVENT MANAGEMENT PROVIDES OUR PARTNERS:

• Branding for Lost ‘N Sound, universally used by all partners to create event brand cohesion and maximize event awareness

• Marketing assets that participating venues, sponsors, and musicians have access to use for their individual promotions.

• Advertising such as posters, print and digital ad placement, and social media promotions.

• Event materials including venue signs, shuttle signs, and the Lost ‘N Sound digital guide

• Event coordination to keep all partners working towards a common goal. The Near Southside team (Lost ‘N Sound Management) has an extensive background in music booking, stage production, and event planning. We are happy to lend our expertise and offer referrals or guidance to support your participation in Lost ‘N Sound.

• Music database that all venues can use to browse musician profiles, availability, and fees. This provides interested musicians with exposure to those looking to book music. It also provides venues with an easy tool to source and review music to make booking a cinch.

• Venue scheduling database where all participating venues can submit their music line-ups to avoid cross-booking conflicts and ensure an even flow of programming across all event hours. Venues are then able to see if musicians have already been secured by other participating venues and can potentially identify genres of music that are not being offered elsewhere.

• Free shuttle service operating on an established north/south route will offer Lost ‘N Sound patrons hop-on and hop-off transportation along South Main Street on event day. In partnership with Trinity Metro, the first Lost ‘N Sound shuttle will utilize a dedicated fleet of On Demand (formerly ZIPZONE) minivans.

• Coalition building to encourage all partners to invest in this new signature event for South Main Village that has the potential to become a landmark community festival in Fort Worth.

• Lost ‘N Sound provides an opportunity for local musicians to grow their audience, build partnership with new venues, and showcase their musical talent. Lost ‘N Sound is a non-profit effort founded in support of Fort Worth’s music community. Our goals include fostering new music patronage, demonstrating the value of live music in traditional and unexpected spaces, and offering exposure to musicians across genres and experience levels.

• Lost ‘N Sound aims to support the Near Southside’s South Main Village business and property owners. The creation of Lost ‘N Sound as a South Main Village signature event offers the potential to draw large crowds and bolster patronage. Lost ‘N Sound is built upon the district’s existing culture of small business ownership, arts investment, diversity, and community.

Learn More

PRODUCER

Lost 'N Sound is produced by Near Southside Arts, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, in partnership with sister non-profit organization Near Southside, Inc., in partnership with South Main Village businesses and property owners.

Learn More

NEAR SOUTHSIDE STAFF

Megan Henderson

Cultural Director

Director of Events + Communications

megan@nearsouthsidefw.org



Natalie Atkinson

Events + Projects Manager

natalie@nearsouthsidefw.org

Jeff 'Woody' Wood

Creative Director

Mike Brennan

President

Austin James

Director of Urban Design

Becky Bethel

Business and Office Manager

Near Southside, Inc.

Near Southside Arts

1606 Mistletoe Blvd. Fort Worth, Texas 76104

Learn More

A QUICK WORD FROM YOUR TRUSTY EVENT PRODUCERS!

Thanks for your interest in, and support of, Lost 'N Sound. If you're searching for information that isn't on this website, we need to ask for your patience as Lost 'N Sound is a new event and we're building its bones in real time. We are updating the website as details become available. It's a daily job for this inaugural season so watch for regular updates.

If you want to stay informed of announcements please subscribe to our newsletter.

You can follow Lost 'N Sound on social media at:

Lost 'N Sound South Main on Facebook

@lostnsound_southmain on Instagram

Good reason's to contact us:

• Sponsorships or donations! Oh yes friends, like any true non-profit we are eager to take those emails and promise you'll get a super fast-response.

• Time sensitive requests that will make or break your decision about participating in Lost 'N Sound. If you need to know now, email us and we'll do our best to help answer your question.

• Weird stuff. If your questions relates to something that isn't part of the "traditional event outline above" then let's talk about it now so that we can decide if it is a good fit for partnership.

• Good ideas. Listen, we're smart enough to know that we haven't thought of allllll the good ideas ourselves. So, if you have a solid suggestion to offer Lost 'N Sound, let's hear it. We're growing as we go and we need all the brainpower we can get.

Reach out to megan@nearsouthsidefw.org to chat.

Learn More