Christmas Week is not normally the busiest of times as far as concerts go but, tonight, the Lakewood Bar & Grill is hosting a nice trio of singer/songwriters.Headlining is Heather Morgan, a transplanted Dallasite who now hails out of Nashville. Morgan’s brand of down to earth country certainly belies her…
Judging by the lines I faced while shopping at Borders this weekend, books are one of the top gift items this holiday season. And what better gift for the music geek in your life than a rock biography? This year, there have been several interesting life stories to hit the…
Ten years ago, Ned Brower was attending SMU when he formed a band called The Cosmetics with one Carter Albrecht. Now the drummer for the Los Angeles power pop band Rooney, Brower has recently paid tribute to his sadly deceased, Dallas-based mentor. “The title track of our new EP is…
Looking to get that special musicologist in your life something special? If so, you might want to think about a box set. But be wary: There’s a lot of chaff to sift through when dealing with the glut of holiday season reissues. Thankfully, amidst it all, the following multiple-disc sets…
Need a show to shake up a blasé Holiday season? I suggest you run on down to The Door and check out the noises emanating from said venue this evening. Headlining the show is I See Stars, a sextet from Warren, Michigan, which mixes the seemingly disparate genres of electonica…
Legendary British guitarist Allan Holdsworth appears tonight at the intimate confines of Dan’s Silverleaf. Perhaps best known for his work with the progressive ’70s outfit UK, Holdsworth has also played with Level 42, Gong, Soft machine, Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) and many, many others. The 63-year-old Holdsworth was also once…
One of the best–but least heralded–area singer/songwriters, Annie Benjamin, is playing as part of a cool triple-bill at CD Source this Saturday. Also appearing will be local soul singer Montrose and something called Acoustic Distortion.Benjamin is a middle-class, middle-aged mother of two who somehow finds time for a solo career…
Last year, I had the opportunity to talk with singer/songwriter/guitarist Malcolm Holcombe–and his rags to rags story was one of the most interesting things I’ve heard in some time. And, tonight, Holcombe brings his beautifully ragged brand of folk to the intimate confines of AllGood Café. Hailing from North Carolina,…
Tonight’s already got a pretty full plate of musical offerings with Megadeath at The Palladium, Metric at Gilley’s and The Whigs at the Loft. Hell, one could attend all of those without walking 100 yards. But for those who’s tastes are more traditional, bluesman Tommy Castro makes a stop at…
Need a multi-cultural experience to start your post Thanksgiving week off right? Check out Cafe Tacuba tonight at House of Blues.Hailing from Naucalpan, Mexico, CafeTabuca is a feisty quartet that mixes Latin hip-hop with alternative rock in a way guaranteed to get your feet to moving no matter how much…
1. The Granada Theater’s early (or just plain thought out) starting times Opening band at 9:00, headliner just after 10:00. What’s not perfect about that? I get all these excuses from other club owners about alcohol sales and whatnot, but every time I exit the Granada at just past midnight,…
Sure, it’s the day before the day before Thanksgiving and most folks are either packing up for a trip or thawing out the big bird, but there are still some musical happenings worth looking out for. Case in point is old school soul/R&B singer Raphael Saadiq who makes a stop…
Those looking for something other than the NPR approved alt-country of Neko Case can make their way to Deep Ellum this evening and catch a pretty cool bill of alternative rock. Headlining the evening is Jonny Craig, a Canadian who’s become something of a renaissance man of the Emo genre…
Ft. Worth native Collin Herring’s newest album, Ocho, may well be the singer/songwriter’s best effort. And that’s saying a lot considering Herring’s past couple of releases, The Other Side of Kindness and Past Life Crashing, were stellar in their own right. If you caught my review of Herring’s newest effort…
Fort Worth’s Collin Herring continues to battle his personal demons on his subdued but excellent fourth album, Ocho. It’s by far the most retrospective and daring of the (still) young singer-songwriter’s career, containing eight textured narratives concerning addiction and recovery. Past Life Crashing, Herring’s 2008 release, also dealt with these…
Besides the great (but unheralded) Volebeats, Detroit hasn’t exactly become known as a haven for Americana music. Frontier Ruckus hopes to change that.Formed in 2003 by Matthew Milia and David Winston Jones, the band didn’t get around to releasing a proper debut until 2008. The Orion Songbook proved to be…
Canadian indie rock band Moneen has sometimes been tagged as an emo outfit–but such a descriptor hasn’t necessarily rankled the five guys who make up the band. Founding member Kenny Bridges says he’s more worried about Moneen actually making it to the venue and not losing any more members. He…
When Uncle Tupelo called it quits way back in 1994, few could have predicted the career paths of the band’s two major, alt-country gurus, Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. Soon after the band’s breakup, Tweedy started Wilco, and Farrar formed Son Volt. Both bands released stellar debut albums, with more…
When Scott Bondy was lead singer for Verbena, he was just another guy with cool influences. Whether it was channeling the Rolling Stones or Nirvana, Verbena got some decent radio airplay, but was never much of a contender in the originality department. Once Scott became A.A., he began bringing a…
Local singer/songwriter Jessie Frye is in the studio recording a new EP with producer John Congleton at the helm. Seems like an odd pairing at first–especially since Frye’s debut EP, The Delve, was such a meticulously mellow affair. But Frye is adamant about expanding her musical horizons and claims the…
The last time alt-country godfather Jim Lauderdale was in town, he came as part of Elvis Costello’s touring band. Tonight’s appearance at AllGood Cafe will be quite a bit more intimate.Getting a chance to hear Lauderdale up close and personal should make for a special evening, as his Americana credentials…
Last year, I had the opportunity to speak with Benjamin Power, one half of the British experimental duo Fuck Buttons and, man, what an interesting conversation that was. Unapologetic over the band’s controversial moniker and scornful of both negative and positive reviews for the bands debut album Street Horrrsing, Power…
