Top Dallas Music Stories

Music Features

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  Home By Hovercraft Takes Dallas' Dramatic Pop Tradition Somewhere New

  By Kelly Dearmore

  Home By Hovercraft aren't afraid of going for the big finish. Led by husband-and-wife combo Seth (lead vocals, tuba) and Shawn Magill (piano, vocals, xylophone), the band also comprises Abbey... More >>

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  Whiskey Folk Ramblers Have a New Album and a New Band -- Finally
  By Gavin Cleaver

  It was the summer of 2011, and the Whiskey Folk Ramblers were looking for some new direction. Wanting to keep a tight pace with recording their third album, The Lonesome Underground, the Whiskey... More >>

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  Homegrown Festival Gets Back to its Dallas Origins
  By Megan Morris

  Last year at the annual Homegrown Music and Art Festival, director and producer Josh Florence noticed something out of place. The sun was beating on the Dallas skyline at Main Street Garden,... More >>

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  Killa MC Leads Hip-Hop Collective Brain Gang Into the Future
  By Lee Escobedo

  Killa MC, the brash, proud and highly skilled member of Denton hip-hop collective Brain Gang, enters from behind the curtain in full military regalia and takes his place at the front of the stage... More >>

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  Dale Jones Doesn't Follow the Rubric for Hard On
  By Darryl Smyers

  Decked out in a Mr. Spock costume complete with pointy ears, Dale Jones sits in a vegan restaurant in Oak Cliff and expresses concern about not being accepted by the Dallas music scene. "A lot... More >>

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  The O's Blaze Their Own Trail on the New Thunderdog
  By Kelly Dearmore

  On a typically desolate Monday night in Deep Ellum, John Pedigo of the The O's opens his trunk to reveal dozens of cardboard boxes filled with his group's new CD, Thunderdog. It's a big moment,... More >>

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  One Man's Search for the Perfect Instrument
  By Christian McPhate

  People pick up the guitar for different reasons. Johnny Marr, guitarist of Morrissey and The Smiths, wrote an article for The Guardian called "Why Playing the Guitar Means Everything." In it, he... More >>

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  Texas Psychedelic Trailblazers The Moving Sidewalks Reunite After 40 Years
  By Brett Koshkin

  Forty-three years after forming ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons is trying to unlearn almost everything he knows about music. Everything except the psychedelic foundation he laid with his former group, the... More >>

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  Rap Genius Wants to Expand Our Understanding of Southern Rap
  By Vanessa Quilantan

  Nestled in a residential area off Cesar Chavez Boulevard in Austin was a hidden gem for the hip-hop community at South by Southwest this year. Away from downtown, the Rap Genius Ranch was an... More >>

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  The 11 Busiest (and Buzziest) Days in Texas Music
  By Kiernan Maletsky

  On Sunday night in Deep Ellum, a band called Zechs Marquise headlined Spillover Fest. They played at Sandbar Cantina and Grill, out back on the "beach," flanked by palm trees and on a stage made... More >>

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  There's a Special Place in Dallas' Hip-Hop Heart for Snoop Dogg
  By Vanessa Quilantan

  We here at the Observer are seeing to it that St. Patrick's Day in Dallas will be a deeper, hazier shade of green this year. After the annual Greenville Avenue parade this Saturday, our St.... More >>

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  The Hive Minds Behind 35 Denton
  By Kiernan Maletsky

  The Hive is a gaping 12,000-square-foot warehouse at the edge of the 35 Denton umbrella, situated a few feet from the train tracks on the corner of Bell and Sycamore streets. Next weekend, it... More >>

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  The Class of 35
  By Rachel Watts

  The festival first set up its permanent residence in Denton five years ago. More than 20 musicians from the area have played all four previous incarnations and will be back again this year. We... More >>

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  The 10 Must-See Bands at 35 Denton
  By Brian Rash

  Savage and the Big Beat, 11:30 p.m. Thursday at Sweetwater: A piano-driven operatic rock tour de force, Savage and the Big Beat, out of Denton, are tons of fun. Their newest EP, Love and Hunting,... More >>

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  Your 35 Denton Survival Kit
  By Gavin Cleaver

  The Dallas Observer cannot guarantee you survive 35 Denton, due to the presence of giant amp stacks, drugs, rattlesnakes and sludge metal fans. It can, however, provide you two scientifically... More >>