Mavis Staples

The Bands Who Have Played Every 35 Denton Talk About the Festival

The festival now known as 35 Denton first set up its permanent residence in the city five years ago. More than 20 musicians from the area have played all four previous incarnations and will be back again this year. We asked a few of them to share their thoughts on the festival and its growth. See a ... More >>

15 Places to Spill Food On Your Beard During 35 Denton

At its inception, the 35 Denton music festival was simply North Texas' answer to Austin'sfamous shitshow, South by Southwest. In its third year, 35 Denton has become a legitimate music showcase, pulling names like Big Boi, The Flaming Lips and Mavis Staples into its funky little downtown square. The ... More >>

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: 25 Years Ago Tonight, The Band Played Fast and Cool

​Earlier today I spent as much time as I could, which wasn't anywhere near close to enough, listening to a song Wilco posted to YouTube late yesterday: the band performing The Band's "The Weight" backstage at the Civic Opera House in Chicago, joined by show-opener Nick Lowe and Mavis Staples, who ... More >>

35 Denton Announces First Round of Acts for 2012 Fest; Bun B and Mountain Goats Top List

​Well, we knew that this year was going to bring on some changes to the festival now known as 35 Denton. And, after the name change was announced back in July, we're now starting to see some. Today, 35 Denton announced its first round of performers -- a total that comes to 17 and features such nam ... More >>

Austin City Limits Goes Mainstream

Welcome to ACL '11: Zilker Warms Up For A Big First Night; It's Already Buzz-Thirty, Dudes.

Pete FreedmanCold War Kids tear down that first-day ACL wall.​Off in the distance, the song of the summer, Foster the People's can't-stop-won't-stop "Pumped Up Kicks," is blasting away over Zilker Park, blaring from the P.A. over at the Google (nee Dell) Stage. There's a marvelous tag-team effort ... More >>

Ten Things You Can Expect to See At Austin City Limits 2011

West Dallas's Relatives, Now Hits in France and Australia and NYC. One Day, Here Too.

Back in March I introduced you to the Relatives, heretofore overlooked Dallas greats better known in Austin than in their hometown. And now they're beloved in France and Australia; New York too. And still, still, Rev. Gean West and brother Tommy and the greatest gospel-funk-rock-n-soul revue in town ... More >>

Watch: Long-Lost Dallas Funkers The Relatives Stomp and Shimmy Through New York City

The Relatives​Over on Unfair Park, Robert's been geeking out, and rightfully so, about The Relatives, the Rev. Gean West's 1960s West Dallas funk and gospel outfit that really, truly, shoulda been contenders but, alas, never were -- not until recently, really, when, of all places, Austin (bastards ... More >>

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Ten Dudes With The Best Facial Hair In The Area Scene

​Seems like these days, hirsute hipsters are everywhere. At 35 Conferette, even, street vendors sold t-shirts sporting the phrase "Keep Denton Beard" beneath a photo that pretty much exactly resembles Good Records manager Chris Penn.We posted a gallery of beards after that event, but why stop ther ... More >>

Kanye West, Stevie Wonder, Arcade Fire and Coldplay Highlight 2011 Austin City Limits Bill

​We had some fun yesterday trying to guess the bill for the 2011 Austin City Limits Musical Festival -- and, hey, we were right about Kanye West, if nothing else. Early this morning, the folks behind the festival announced for full lineup for their end-of-summer offering. And, as expected, the 10t ... More >>

Possessed By Paul James Says 35 Conferette Shortchanged His Pay

Leading up to this year's installment of 35 Conferette, after hearing some pretty salty rumors about bands not getting paid in full in 2010, we were curious as to how the festival would be able to afford to pay this year's acts. After all, this was the biggest festival yet, and with headliners like ... More >>

Last Night at 35 Conferette: Big Freedia Brings Boatloads of Booty, Blows Denton's Mind.

Stephen MaskerBig Freedia wants you to shake your ass.​ Big Freedia7 p.m., Main Stage TwoThere's no doubt an element of empowerment at play within Big Freedia's thumping, bass-heavy offerings of so-called "sissy bounce" hip-hop. Freedia, the self-proclaimed "Queen Diva" of bounce music, is a rarit ... More >>

The Most Awesome Hipster Photo of 35 Conferette Day One (and more)

Danny FulgencioAs Julian Casablancas taught us, you can never have too many sunglasses. See more in our Day One slideshow.​35 Conferette kicked-off last night in Denton with Sarah Jaffe, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Mavis Staples. Steadfast (and midterm exam-exhausted) photographers D ... More >>

Last Night at 35 Conferette: The Biggest Pain of Being Pure at Heart? Realizing That, If You Make Crowds Wait, They'll Leave.

Stephen MaskerThe Pains of Being Pure at Heart​The Pains of Being Pure at Heart7:15 p.m. 7:55 p.m. at Main Stage TwoIf all had happened accordingly, last night's performance from New York's The Pains of Being Pure at Heart would have gone over exceedingly well, with crowds swaying back and forth a ... More >>

Last Night at 35 Conferette: Mavis Staples Keeps Denton Beard (Good God!)

Danny FulgencioMavis Staples​Mavis Staples8 p.m. at Main Stage OneGospel soul legend Mavis Staples took the stage to the whoops and hollers of several hundred people Thursday night in the parking lot behind Wells Fargo, and from the opening notes of the harmony-rich "Wonderful Savior," it was clea ... More >>

Night One at 35 Conferette '11: Thank Goodness For Mavis Staples and Slobberbone, Who Helped Us Forget The Scheduling Problems.

Stephen MaskerSome 35 Conferette attendees bide their time between performances.​Walking toward Denton's Courthouse-on-the-Square on the first night of this year's 35 Conferette, there was little way of knowing what surprises were to come over the course of the fun-filled, and, at times, aggravati ... More >>

The Must-See Acts at 35 Conferette

Picture Show: Kicking Off 35 Conferette with Pains of Being Pure at Heart

All photos by Nick RalloThe Pains of Being Pure at Heart kicking off the night.​A few minutes ago, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart finished up their slightly-delayed set on Main Stage Number Two. It's crisp out here, folks. Crisp.So the night's getting started out here, and we thought we'd kick o ... More >>

Nine Local Acts Worth Seeing at 35 Conferette

​The headliner list for the 35 Conferette is incredibly impressive this year, with big names like Mavis Staples, Big Boi and !!! highlighting the bill. But, among the 200 and counting bands that are playing the festival, there's also a pretty great lineup of local talent. In fact, almost 100 of 22 ... More >>

Show Announcements: True Widow, 35 Conferette Schedule, The Hope Trust, Bill Frisell, KT Tunstall, Portugal. The Man, Black Label Society, Slobberbone & More!

Steve VisneauTrue Widow​It's been three years since local slow-grinding act True Widow released their self titled debut album to local acclaim. But their debut grabbed the attention of Kemodo Records, who signed the band just last year. And now they are poised to release their follow up, the ridic ... More >>

35 Conferette Announces Performance Schedule

​Well, it finally came to pass: Just before noon today, the folks at Denton's upcoming four-day music festival the 35 Conferette (formerly the NX35 Conferette) posted the full schedule of events for their deal -- or, well, at least the night-time goings-on for its third year of existence.No word a ... More >>

35 Conferette Adds A Whopping 135 More Bands To Bill, Including A Whole Slew of Locals

Big things happening today in the world of 35 Conferette -- bigger news, even, than the fact that the-festival-formerly-known-as-North-by-35 now has an actual website to call its own (!). Bigger, too, than the really awesome web teaser/advertisement that the fest's organizers have created to promote ... More >>

Big Boi Joins 35 Conferette's Increasingly Impressive Lineup of Performers

Big news out of 35 Conferette camp this morning -- literally and figuratively, actually -- as the Denton-hosted, pre-SXSW festival has announced that iconic Atlanta rapper Big Boi will join an already crowded and impressive group of performers at this year's third annual go in March.The rapper, half ... More >>

Watch: Dallas Native Norah Jones, 35 Conferette Performer Mavis Staples, Dave Grohl, Steven Tyler, No Doubt and Paul Simon Pay Tribute To Paul McCartney at Kennedy Center Honors

​If you've got, oh, 13 minutes or so to spare this morning, then, please, do yourself a solid and check out the pair of clips we've got posted for you after the jump. They come courtesy of CBS's Kennedy Center Honors coverage, aired last night, where Oprah Winfrey, Bill T. Jones, Merle Haggard and ... More >>

Our Critics' Year-End Top Tens: Noah W. Bailey Picks Swedish Crooner Joel Alme's Waiting For The Bells As The Year's Best

In this week's paper, you may notice a piece including some of our DC9 writers' choices for best albums of the year. But, space being limited, we couldn't run all of our writers' lists. So, thanks to the power of the Internet, we're doing just that, right here.​In-house Americana obsessive Noah ... More >>

The Best National Album Releases of 2010

Our Critics' Year-End Top Tens: Andy Odom Touts Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's "Surprising and Varied" Before Today

In this week's paper, you may notice a piece including some of our DC9 writers' choices for best albums of the year. But, space being limited, we couldn't run all of our writers' lists. So, thanks to the power of the Internet, we're doing just that, right here.​ Denton-based scribe Andy Odom picks ... More >>

Among The Latest Adds To The Growing 35 Conferette Bill: Dr. Dog, Big Freedia, Dan Deacon, White Denim

​After last week's adds to Denton's upcoming 35 Conferette in March (Jessica Lea Mayfield, A Place to Bury Strangers, Nit Jewel) and the round of added performers announced prior to that one (Mavis Staples, Royal bangs, Reggie Watts, Damien Jurado) our take on the growing lineup card, as you might ... More >>

A Couple More Adds For Denton's 35 Conferette: Jessica Lea Mayfield, A Place to Bury Stranges, Reading Rainbow and Others...

​The Denton-hosted, pre-South by Southwest festival formerly known as NX35 went and released another round of performers slated to play its festivities in March today -- and, as with the last round of additions, it features a couple of interesting names.Among today's several adds: Ohio-based singe ... More >>

35 Conferette Adds Mavis Staples, Royal Bangs, Reggie Watts, Damien Jurado to 2011 Lineup

​A nice coup today for the folks at the recently re-branded 35 Conferette up in Denton: Today, the four-day early-March 2011 festival announced the addition of Mavis Staples to its lineup.Staples, renowned for her work through the '60s and '70swith her family band the Staples Sisters, recently pop ... More >>

Fort Full Of Soul

With a New Song, Norah Jones' Big-Screen Bow Gets a Dallas Date

Making a List, Checking It Twice

Mavis Staples

Friday, April 20, at Sundance Square, Fort Worth

Montrose, Jevette

Saturday, December 16, at CD Source

Various Artists

I Believe To My Soul (Rhino)

Americana Pie

Grab a slice of 2004's best roots music while it's still hot.

Los Lobos

The Ride (Hollywood/Mammoth)

Busy Schedule

NextStage has a full dance card

Events for the week