Once he starts singing, it doesn’t take long for Dallas-based country singer-songwriter Troy Cartwright to sink his artistic simplicity into the listener’s consciousness. In his excellently galloping country noir tune “Next Flight Home,” the Berklee College of Music grad offers a simple, heartfelt image of longing. When Cartwright sings “I’ll…
It was 25 years ago, almost exactly to this week, that Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard country charts. With it, the Oklahoma native shot into a realm of popularity and success that country music hadn’t seen before — or since, for…
Jake Paleschic doesn’t go anywhere without his bike. He rides it to and from work, to band practice, even to the shows he plays on the odd occasion that he has the luxury. So when it came time to release his new EP, Cowboys Songs, last month he had a…
There’s simply no argument to be made: When it comes to Texas country and Americana radio, North Texas has it better than anywhere else in the state. The Range (KHYI 95.3 FM) is primarily heard to the eastern end of our region, while The Ranch (KFWR 95.9) mainly airs for those…
The title of the new record from the Hundred Inevitables, Decade of Downtime, is beyond misleading. Even if My Bloody Valentine’s brain-crushingly loud Loveless had been named Super Quiet, it wouldn’t have been has as misleading a title as Downtime. Over the course of the past decade plus, in fact,…
After an absence of over six years, a proper new record from Texas country kingpin Pat Green hit the streets this past Friday. Called simply Home, it marks a return to form from the last we of heard Green, but it’s not the rootsy, “Screw Nashville,” prodigal son-style record many have…
When Chris Johnson and his band Telegraph Canyon wrapped up their last album, he decided to hit the road — but his real travels didn’t have anything to do with touring. Johnson hit the road simply to see the world. That last record came out in 2009, and little could…
Within the first 45 seconds of his brand new album, over a greasy blues lick, Jonathan Tyler roars, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, I’ve been saved.” That simple but revelatory line represents where Tyler’s head is these days in a number of ways as he nears the release date of Holy Smokes. The Tyler of 2015…
Ambition is the most important quality in a band. In an age of DIY music promotion, a band is unlikely to break out without massive record label support or an above average imagination. The minimum will never do. These Machines Are Winning, the brainchild of Dylan Silvers that’s equal parts…
The football teams at TCU and SMU battle over an Iron Skillet. The Texas Rangers contend with the Houston Astros for a silver boot. Clearly, sports rivalries are a big deal in these parts, but probably only in Texas would two teams duke it out over possession of a really…
Last Friday, many woke up to the devastating news that beloved local singer-songwriter Jay Johnson died on Thursday night. A Facebook post from Rebecca Scott, Johnson’s constant companion and biggest fan shared the sad — and to many, shocking — news that Johnson had taken his own life. As Friday morning…
Before there was any so-called Texas Country craze, dating back to the mid-1980s, Robert Earl Keen was packing honky-tonks and bars around the state with his brand of blended folk, rock and country. There’s little doubt that many Keen classics, primarily, the epic “Road Goes on Forever,” and the drunkenly…
The suits of the Music Row machine have been putting their shiny boots in their less-than-polished mouths in recent months. The most recent example occurred last week when, in an interview with Country Aircheck magazine, prominent radio consultant Keith Hill stated, “Trust me, I play great female records, and we’ve got…
As 1974 rolled into 1975, Autumn Sound was in serious need of business. The recording studio, operated out of an otherwise ordinary shopping center in Garland, featured a 24-track studio console — reportedly the first of its kind in Texas — and it had a secret weapon in the form…
Built to Spill, Wooden Indian Burial Ground Granada Theater Wednesday, May 20, 2015 In this age where reunions are commonplace for notable bands of the 1990’s, Idaho’s Built to Spill offer a different take on Generation X’s need for nostalgia-replenishment. Unlike fellow so-called “Indie” acts Pavement, the Pixies and even…
Over the course of the past three years, Untapped has found itself a prime niche here in North Texas. Actually, it’s spread well beyond that, with events not only in Forth Worth and Dallas but also Houston, Austin and even Nashville, each time offering up whats seems like miles worth…
On New Year’s Eve 2014, Joshua Fleming inadvertently made one hell of a New Year’s Resolution. He’d already had an eventful and tumultuous year with his band, local punk trio the Phuss, where he plays guitar and is lead vocalist. While he was in the Double Wide’s outdoor space selling…
Last night at Clark Park on the University of North Texas campus in Denton, country singer-songwriter Zane Williams performed for a dancing group of co-eds. Five days ago, however, the McKinney resident was making his debut on the hallowed stage of country music’s greatest stage, the Grand Ole Opry in…
Between 2003 and 2006, the Burden Brothers ruled North Texas rock. The band’s full-length debut, Buried in Your Black Heart, from locally based Kirtland Records, made a splash nationally, and songs like “Shadow” and “Beautiful Night,” the ocean-sized anthem that had a nice run on the Billboard Rock charts, became…
Dallas has the Deep Ellum Arts Festival, Fort Worth has its Main Street Arts Festival and even Grapevine has Main Street Days and Grapefest. These are all long-running, multi-faceted family events where drinks can be enjoyed, art of a million kinds can be purchased and, yes, bands can be heard…
Five years ago, Doug Burr was on a roll. The Denton-based singer-songwriter and former Lonelies frontman had cranked out four albums in seven years between 2003 and 2010, each seemingly better than the last. The last of those, O Ye Devastator, was devastatingly beautiful and easily one of North Texas’…
On a recent, sunny Sunday afternoon, dozens of youth soccer teams were engaged in some pretty serious competition inside Plano’s sizeable Russell Creek Park. Driving into the park, the scene wasn’t unlike the one thousands of families from across the Metroplex witness every weekend. Youth soccer has long been a…
