Staying in one place just isn’t in Edwin Cabaniss’ nature. Before he reopened The Kessler Theater six years ago, Cabaniss had been a successful businessman — so successful that he could afford to retire in his early 40s. Now that his “retirement” has seen him rebuild The Kessler into one…
Dr. Dre releasing a new album is big news for any hip hop fan, but for his new (and supposedly “final” album) Compton: The Soundtrack it’s especially big news for Dallas fans. Compton will feature the long-awaited release of material Dre recorded with Dallas rapper Justin Mohrle, who it turns…
Just when it seemed like the summer was going to go easy on us, last week gave us some reminders that yes, we do still live in Dallas and shit gets pretty hot here. (It didn’t even get that hot. Maybe we’re getting soft.) We rolled into August over the…
If you haven’t been paying close attention, you might have missed that one of Dallas’ most popular bands is no longer with us. Well, let’s rephrase that: They’re no longer here, in Dallas. Earlier this year, Somebody’s Darling — winner of the 2014 Dallas Observer Music Award for Best Country…
Something tells us that in the not-too-distant future we’ll look back on 2015 as a vintage year for Erykah Badu. Dallas’ Queen of Neo-Soul has been riding a hot streak this year with some pretty memorable public appearances: ushering in the new era at The Bomb Factory, performing an epic…
In your face, Jerry Jones. The Cowboys owner may get to boast the biggest indoor concert venue in the state of Texas, but Garth Brooks can sell plenty of tickets in Dallas without it, thank you very much. His strategy? Play seven — yes, seven — shows at the American…
Being from the South and being proud of where you’re from isn’t always easy, especially lately. Just do the body count from recent months: Walter Scott is shot down by a North Carolina police officer, who’s charged with Scott’s murder. Sandra Bland is arrested in a routine traffic stop and…
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Erykah Badu must be blushing right now. Back in 2007, she released a music video for the song “Honey” in which she peruses a record store, pulling iconic records off the racks in which she’s worked herself into the cover artwork…
The Observer needs a part-time clubs editor. The job includes: — Data entry to keep our clubs listings current and managing the Dallas Observer concert calendar. — Processing reader-submitted calendar items. — Writing brief descriptions for notable concerts. Ideal candidates will be familiar with local concert venues, but all talented…
The scene downtown was a concert promoter’s dream: At 4:30 in the afternoon, the line outside Main Street Garden Park stretched around the block and down the street, but none of these people waiting outside the gate for Taco Libre was going to get in. Gates had opened for this…
What is it with the Flaming Lips? Seems like every time a music festival is getting ready to move up a notch, someone has Wayne Coyne’s number on speed dial. It happened a few years ago with 35 Denton. Same thing with KXT’s Summer Cut. It happened again earlier this…
Is Alex Trebek an Old 97’s fan? The jury is still out on that one, but this much we do know: Monday’s episode of Jeopardy! gave a shout out to Dallas’ favorite cow punk — uh, alt country — band, and it was a pretty cool nod to Rhett Miller and…
Fourth of July is over, and now there’s seemingly nothing to celebrate. No pool parties, no fireworks, no long summer days to spend relaxing in the sun. All that’s left is the heat and possibly some overeating. But fear not; the concert calendar is here to save us, and this…
Oaktopia Festival is heading into its third year in 2015, which means it’s about time for things to get serious. Last year the upstart Denton festival upped its game in a serious way, bringing in artists like Aesop Rock, Immortal Technique and Neon Indian for three days of music in…
Fans of Stevie Ray Vaughan have had to do a lot of waiting. They had to wait 25 years for the blues guitar legend to be inducted into the Rock and Hall of Fame — an honor that the late Texan finally received earlier this year. For fans in Dallas…
Are you tired of Skrillex yet? It probably doesn’t matter, because apparently he can’t get enough of Dallas. Amidst all the talk that EDM is dead or dying, the notorious beat dropper is about to make his second visit to North Texas in less than nine months. Last time he was…
Erykah Badu can still remember when she first found the rhythm of music. She was four years old in South Dallas, watching her great grandmother play piano in church. It was an upright piano, and she would kick the bottom of it like a kick drum while she played. Almost…
From the moment the Timescape Music and Arts Festival was announced, there was a touch of the dream world about it. The festival, slated to take place at Globe Life Park in Arlington on July 18, was supposed to function as a sort of art installation, divided into three distinct…
Leave it to Erykah Badu to throw out a surprise like this. The last time we saw the high priestess of Dallas soul, it was on opening night at The Bomb Factory, where she played a marathon set for her hometown crowd to help christen the (sorta) new room in…
In this week’s Dallas Observer we profile 20 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Can Turkyilmaz. Life has played out pretty much the way Sam Villavert hoped it would. For as long as she can remember, she’s wanted to be a…
In this week’s Dallas Observer we profile 20 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Can Turkyilmaz. Oak Cliff is not the ’hood. Certain women from University Park might think otherwise, but leave it to Jeffrey Liles — whose recent viral Facebook…
Leon Bridges has had a lot of big weeks in the course of the last six months or so, but this one has been one of the biggest. Today, in fact, is a particular milestone day for the Fort Worth singer, as his debut album for Columbia Record, Coming Home,…
