Francine 13 is a really shy person, but you’d never know it from seeing her perform. Inspired by theater, she wears elaborate costumes and performs as four different characters, or as she calls them, “sonic shadows.” She’s heterosexual, but people have thought she’s singing about the courage it takes to…
If you play a lot of video games, you probably consider yourself a nerd, and you’re likely a fan of Star Wars. The Dallas Gaming Expo is a place where a door fee gets you access to bunch of old arcade games, like Cruisin’ USA and Space Invaders, set to…
When the City of Dallas decided to green light a grant for a cassette tape label, they probably got more than they bargained for. 2015 ain’t exactly peak time for cassette tapes, but when Vice Palace’s Arthur Peña put in his proposal he was planning to go all out. This…
At first glance, Shy Guy’s family history wouldn’t seem to have set him up for a life in music. A snack food executive, perhaps, but not a hip hop producer and not a vintage fashion trendsetter. See, Shy Guy’s grandfather invented Fritos. But that just wasn’t the life for him…
Now in his thirties, Arturo Donjuan recently ran into someone at a grocery store he hadn’t seen since he was a teen. The obvious mutual question was, What are you doing these days? His old friend is now working as a manager. But Donjuan is still doing what he was…
The largest event of its kind, Kixpo is an enormous expo full of vendors showcasing sneakers and streetwear both regional and national. The event was first held in a Deep Ellum warehouse back in 2007, drawing a crowd of 800. Attendance has grown so much each year that Kixpo actually…
Circuit 12 Contemporary keeps it fresh. That could be their motto. Since opening the doors in 2012, owners Gina and Dustin Orlando have experimented with the standard gallery motto, challenging tastes, adding fashion elements, and throwing bombass parties. This weekend, the gallery moves off Dragon Street onto Levee St., adding…
On her 30th birthday, Callie Dee went to an open mic that changed her life. At the time, she was an office manager with three children. That night at The Where House, a then-unknown Leon Bridges was one of the performers. The place was practically empty. “He did a song,…
Lucky Dog Books struggled at 633 W. Davis St. for three years. But just as they were closing up shop to make way for a new tenant, the customers showed how much they cared. It was enough to convince the owners to reopen at another location in Oak Cliff. After…
Kaela Sinclair had just had the biggest performance of her life when she got the news. It was the springtime and she had been invited to sing the national anthem for a Texas Rangers game at Globe Life Park on less than a day’s notice. The 25-year-old Denton singer was…
Decades into his musical career, pianist and producer Shaun Martin is just now getting around to releasing his first solo album today. After collaborating and touring with famous artists like Chaka Kahn and Fred Hammond for several years, he has finally convinced himself that his own work is ready to…
To hear Daniel Jones tell it, the music industry is a small world. Hard work and networking with a small group of people is all you need to rise through the ranks. After co-producing tracks with Timbaland and sharing stages with names like Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake, Jones makes a…
Having parties on dry land can be so blasé. Especially when you live in a place like Texas which, in case you didn’t notice, tends to get hot. So when we heard the words “boat party” over the weekend, were ready to sign up for whatever came next. The catalyst…
Director Kevin Smith has added a second Dallas show to Texas Theatre this fall and now Jason Mewes will be along for the ride. After selling out a spoken word performance that will no doubt involve a long Q&A session, Smith has added a podcast recording of “Jay & Silent…
Alan and Michael Fleming have spent their whole lives together. These Brooklyn-based twin artists didn’t just grow up mirror reflections of one another, they decided to turn it into an artistic practice. Their latest body of work, Gemini, is currently on display at Cydonia Gallery, in which they use a…
Sikwitit loves a good beat battle. It strips his art — music production — down to its barest elements, and pits one producer against another to see who’s best. It’s pure competition. And Sikwitit is pretty damn good at battling. Last November, the Dallas producer traveled to New York City…
The Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts is presenting two one-act plays with social commentary on the very timely topic of race relations. Director Rockne Ragsdale wrote the first play, Guilty or Not Here I Come, in 1979 when he was just 22-years-old. This is the first time it…
Bob Suffolk could live just about anywhere he wants to, but for more than 20 years he’s called Dallas his home. That’s saying something because Suffolk, who’s originally from the U.K., spent a good portion of his life working alongside some of rock music’s biggest stars, rubbing shoulders with everyone…
Jantzen “Jedi” Ray is nothing if not resilient. His Internet-only radio station, Deep Ellum on Air, has gone through several changes of scenery in its five years of existence, including a run that forced his girlfriend to hide in a closet. (We’ll explain that in a bit.) But he’s always…
CentralTrak’s CentralSounds series is bringing something special to Dallas on Saturday with an event curated by Ex Mus. Jeremiah Cymerman is an experimental composer, clarinetist, producer and sound engineer from Manhattan with his own record label, 5049. He also had a very interesting podcast about life and music that lasted…
Behind the Screen at Texas Theatre returns this weekend, bundling cinema, music, and comedy. It all starts with a screening of a documentary about Saturday Night Live, Live From New York! The film is based on a book of the same name, an oral history of the series that makes…
Born and raised in Dallas, 26-year-old Dyemond Obryan is a comic book artist and cartoonist. Like most of us, he enjoyed cartoons as a kid, only he never quit watching. They influence him to this day, as does sadness. “I come off as pretty sad sometimes,” he admits. He wishes…
