Robert Plant to Play The Bomb Factory in March

It’s hard to think of much else today besides the news that legendary singer, actor and all-around badass David Bowie has passed away. But is there some positive news out there, especially for fans of classic rock, both young and old: Former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant is going…

5 Times David Bowie and Dallas Crossed Paths

With shocking suddenness, we’re left to live in a post-David Bowie world. The man who brought us Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke and Jareth the Goblin King had secretly battled cancer for the past 18 months. On Sunday, just two days after celebrating his 69th birthday with the release…

Dallas Hip-Hop Made the Most Important Local Music of 2015

Hip-hop has always been about struggle. The struggle of the streets, the struggle of the hustle, the struggle of being young and black in America. In 2015, after years of turmoil, those struggles reached a tipping point, exploding into the national consciousness because of an ever-increasing body count. A cop…

The 10 Best Dallas-Fort Worth Albums of 2015

When it comes to the best albums made by North Texas artists, it was a year of extremes. Some, like Slobberbone front man Brent Best’s Your Dog, Champ, took years and seemingly endless series of ordeals, to see the light of day. Others, like Leon Bridges’ Coming Home, was the…

The 20 Best Dallas-Fort Worth Songs of 2015

There were some real heavy hitters that stepped up the plate in Dallas music in 2015, some of them familiar faces and some of them (most of them, in fact) coming seemingly out of nowhere. Seeing the Queen herself, Erykah Badu, return with new music was one of the clear…

The 20 Best Concerts in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2015

2015 was a year of transition for concerts in Dallas, and we mean that in the best way possible. For all the cyber ink that’s been spilled vaunting the return of Deep Ellum and Dallas music in general (this year, and last year, and the year before last…), it’s a…

Adele to Play First Dallas Concerts in Over 7 Years in 2016

If Adele saved your Thanksgiving this year, then take heart: you can expect her to do the same thing right around the same time next year. This time, though, we’re not talking about another record. No, in November 2016 the current best-selling artist in the world is going to be…

The 2015 Dallas Observer Music Awards Winners

Is it better to burn out or fade away? It might seem like we were dwelling on that question a little too much as the Dallas music community gathered last night for our 27 Club-themed party for the Dallas Observer Music Awards at The Bomb Factory, where we had nominated…

Dallas Gets Grammy Nods With Leon Bridges, Kelly Clarkson and More

Now it’s official. Speculation has been rife for weeks about the possibility of Leon Bridges being up for Grammy nominations, to the degree that it’s almost felt like more a question of where he’ll be nominated rather than if. With a busy (and impressive) year that saw him make his…

King Diamond’s Dallas Concert in Doubt Due to “Acute Laryngitis”

This was supposed to be a special weekend for Dallas metal fans. King Diamond, the Danish legend and one-time front man for Merciful Fate, was scheduled to be playing a “hometown” gig Saturday night at House of Blues, performing his breakout solo album Abigail in its entirety. But those plans…

The 2015 Dallas Observer Music Awards Showcase Guide

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, we were getting ready to host the first-ever December version of our Dallas Observer Music Awards. Perennial DOMA nominees Sarah Jaffe and Old 97’s were squaring off for best album honors, with an upstart rapper, Blue, the Misfit, looking to score…

Announcing the 2015 Dallas Observer Music Awards Showcase Schedule

Now’s when the real fun begins. Voting has been open for the 2015 Dallas Observer Music Awards for just about six weeks, and we’re in the home stretch. (If you haven’t already voted, you’d better make your way over to 2015musicawardspoll.dallasobserver.com and make sure your voice is heard!) The awards…

Reverend Horton Heat Goes Busking, Gives Deep Ellum History Lesson

Last weekend was a pretty good weekend for Jim Heath. For the fourth year running, he got to enjoy the spoils of performing at his own music festival (well, combination music and tattoo festival) as his alter ego, the Reverend Horton Heat, with not one but two performances during the…