On Saturday, the Near Southside will come alive as the Trauma Ray Carnival kicks off at noon, featuring a vibrant mix of heavy shoegaze music, food, drinks, and thrilling ollies. This free event, organized by Magnolia Skate Shop at Fire Station Park Skate Plaza, primarily serves as a community celebration while also spotlighting the band’s latest EP, titled Carnival.
“Since it’s our event, I guess we feel pretty good,” remarked Uriel Avila, the frontman of Trauma Ray. “I just wanted to give back to Fort Worth and put the event together for the bands and things we care about in our area.”
The lineup for the day also includes performances by Empty Shell Casing, Ozone, Defcon 1, and Spurred. Attendees can look forward to food trucks like Kelly’s Onion Burger and enjoy a dunk tank, mini carnival games, and various local vendors showcasing their offerings.
Magnolia Skate Shop owner Bobby Wilson, who successfully raised around $80,000 in 2022 for the construction of the neighborhood’s first dedicated skate plaza, emphasized the local focus of the event. “The Trauma Ray Carnival is a for-locals-by-locals kind of event, just trying to do something sick for our Fort Worth community,” he stated.
Having played at the shop’s grand opening eight years ago, Trauma Ray has since been busy touring while continuing to write and record music. The band, which consists of Avila, bassist Darren Baun, drummer Nicholas Bobotas, and guitarists Jonathan Perez and Coleman Pruitt, has amassed over 243,300 monthly listeners on streaming platforms. Their new EP, Carnival, follows their 2024 LP Chameleon and various earlier projects dating back to their formation in 2018. The EP was recorded by Mario Cernadas and mixed and mastered by Corey Coffman, and was released in February by Dais Records, the independent label based in New York and Los Angeles.
While Carnival retains the band’s signature heavy and hypnotic sound, it introduces a unique, nightmarish funhouse atmosphere, showcasing the band’s evolution beyond their traditional cosmic themes. “At first, I thought [Carnival] was gonna be really bad and rushed, and now I feel like it might be my favorite thing we’ve ever done,” Perez shared in a press release.
Avila further noted that Carnival represents the most collaborative effort they’ve had, with each member contributing their influences in a distinct and non-imitative manner.
The Trauma Ray Carnival Details
The Trauma Ray Carnival will take place at Fire Station Park Skate Plaza, located at 1616 Hemphill St, Fort Worth. The event starts at noon and has no cover charge, featuring performances by Trauma Ray, Empty Shell Casing, Ozone, Defcon 1, and Spurred.
