Overnight Success, the title of McKinney’s Zane Williams’ new album, is meant to be ironic — he spent years getting to this point. But the time has been worth it. Success is one of the year’s strongest statements from a masterful country songwriter hitting his stride. His music career almost…
Earlier this week, Texas country singer-songwriter Josh Abbott wasn’t feeling as well as he wanted to be during an interview. To be fair, the Texas Tech graduate-turned-festival headliner underwent a root canal the day before we spoke, a pain that many other artists would gladly accept before being subjected to…
Walking into Plano’s Courtyard Theater on Thursday night felt a bit like walking into Addison’s WaterTower Theatre or perhaps Dallas’ Kalita Humphreys Theater. Among the well-dressed crowd, there were some older folks milling about, chatting in the modern-designed foyer as an air of formality wafted through the space. There were…
Last week, on Wednesday, May 29, Steve Knopper of Rolling Stone.com detailed Daft Punk’s domination of the Billboard album chart with the release of their eagerly-awaited Random Access Memories. The article moves into territory deeper than simple retail numbers, though. Knopper even dug into the number of Spotify spins for…
We’ve made no bones about the fact we’re not completely sure what an artist or a song has to be or consist of in order to be lumped under the massive “Texas Country” umbrella, aside from simply having some sort of connection to the Lone Star State — even if…
Late last month, indie-loving fans of the globe, and especially here in Texas, finally received a single, but major, piece of news regarding the project that’s surely to be slapped with the ubiquitous “supergroup” label. Overseas, consisting of David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), and former Dallasites Bubba and Matthew Kadane…
On a recent allergen-filled spring day in Austin, Black Angels lead singer Alex Maas chuckled as he struggled through a sinus infection before this Saturday’s show at Granada Theater. Speaking over the phone, Maas tried his best to give an answer as to whether the organ was more psychedelic than…
Home By Hovercraft aren’t afraid of going for the big finish. Led by husband-and-wife combo Seth (lead vocals, tuba) and Shawn Magill (piano, vocals, xylophone), the band also comprises Abbey Magill (percussion), Max Hartman (drums) and Johnny Sequenzia (mandolin, banjolin, harmonica). They rightfully draw comparisons to The National and even…
On Wednesday night, 16 tornadoes devastated much of Cleburne and Granbury, south of Fort Worth, leaving six people dead and millions of dollars worth of damage to the two normally sleepy towns. As Wednesday night rolled into Thursday morning, it took but only a few text messages between a couple…
Sons of Fathers from Austin, who performed at the Granada this past Friday night for the Homegrown Fest’s “Pre-Party” with Telegraph Canyon, got into town early enough to do a bit of video-shooting, it seems. The group is shown in the well-made clip singing their harmony-rich tune “Roots and Vine.”…
When speaking of North Texas country music collective Chapter 11, we’re not using the term “collective” lightly. The project, dreamed-up by Sherman-based producer and engineer Dustin Hendricks, who’s worked with such greats as Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard and even metal giants Hellyeah, isn’t a traditional band by any means. It’s…
Friday night at the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Annette Strauss Square Amphitheater, two things were pristinely clear: the gorgeous night sky above the blanketed crowd of BYOB-ers, and that the Search for Sugarman is now a full-blown phenomenon of followers who’ve found their guy in Rodriguez. The crowded, but comfortable,…
If you’re a fan of Dawes, Deer Tick, Andrew Combs or Shovels and Rope, you may have already heard of Jonny Fritz without realizing it. The Virginia native released an excellent album under the pseudonym Jonny Corndawg in 2011. The Corndawg album, which featured instrumental help from Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith…
On a typically desolate Monday night in Deep Ellum, John Pedigo of the The O’s opens his trunk to reveal dozens of cardboard boxes filled with his group’s new CD, Thunderdog. It’s a big moment, not just for The O’s but for Punch Five Records — the label he and…
For anyone whose grown-up in the Metroplex, Billy Bob’s Texas is as synonymous with this region as the Dallas Cowboys, Six Flags Over Texas or Reunion Tower are. Since opening in the equally iconic Ft. Worth Stockyards in 1981, the cavernous space has been the go-to spot for Country stars…
Kellychristinephoto.comWhere the weed at?This week the Golden, Texas native Kacey Musgraves finally releases her eagerly-awaited debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park. Indeed, it’s fitting that she’s from a town named Golden, as the new album is but the most recent example of some serious Solid Country Gold that’s come from…
In a reversal of the popular bumper sticker, singer-songwriter Andrew Combs was born and raised in Texas, but got out as quick as he could. Seven years removed from his Red River exodus, the change certainly seems to have been a good one for the Dallas native. Along with the…
On Saturday, as the rain poured outside of the historic Southfork Ranch in Parker, just east of Plano, nothing could dampen the beautiful and electric vibes inside the complex’s conference center where the annual Texas Music Revolution (hosted by KHYI 95.3 The Range) was taking place. The 17th edition of…
Raleigh, North Carolina’s American Aquarium, led by lead-singer-songwriter B.J. Barham have done their best to wear-out the roads of the entire country, but especially the south, since they become a band six years ago. Barham and crew specialize in the Springsteen-meets-Faulkner country-rock that can be a supremely pleasing combo when…
It’s probably fair to suggest that we here at DC9 have been on a bit of a metal kick as of late. But who can blame us, for this? Recent shows from The Deftones, Graveyard and Testament, to go along with ear-busting discoveries and all kinds of Mastodon news has…
There’s no doubt that many contributions made to musical projects outside of the North Texas region by artists living in this area often go unnoticed. From playing with acts such as GWAR (Casey Orr) to Ben Harper (Jordan Richardson and Justin Pate) to Murder by Death (Matt Armstrong), current and…
Chicago-based Russian Circles have been hammering their brand of groove-heavy post-metal across the globe for seven years now. For most of their touring life, the three-piece outfit, consisting of Mike Sullivan, Brian Cook and Dave Turncratz have done so as club-show headliners. Since the release of their stellar, 2011 album,…
