Earlier this week Justin Timberlake took his immaculately conceived three-hour extravaganza to American Airlines Center. It was the perfect pop show, utterly devoid of commentary — just the larger-than-live presence of a star and his silky-smooth musical meal. Lest we sound disparaging here, it should be said: You can ask…
Kiss FM (106.1 on your dial) help its annual Jingle Ball last night at the American Airlines Center, and all the names were there: The singer of the year’s biggest hit in Robin Thicke, one of the planet’s fastest-rising pop stars in Pitbull and Selena Gomez, who played her own…
CHVRCHES’ rise has been remarkable. On Friday, the Glaswegian trio made its second 2013 trip to Dallas, this time to the South Side Ballroom. They’ve packed both shows, a remarkable feat given that their debut album came out in September. But they sound like the moment, loud and synth-based. And…
In another age, North Texan Melissa Polinar might still be sitting at a desk in Nashville, churning out songs for other artists to record. She did that, in fact, for a while in the early 2000s. But when you’re a gifted writer and you have a voice like hers (that…
It’s always tough to know the significance of a moment in time as it’s happening, so we wouldn’t say where the current North Texas hip-hop scene rates. What we do know for sure is that the genre is represented by a powerful and diverse array of voices in the area…
Pearl Jam’s Lightning Bolt tour stopped in Dallas on Friday. It already had a fairly significant North Texas tie — Denton heroes Midlake are opening a string of shows for Pearl Jam, including this week’s hometown stop. But the local spotlight got even bigger during PJ’s second encore, when Dallas…
Someone mentioned the idea of a Dallas sound to me the other day. I don’t know if any city ever winds up with one sonic thumbprint that truly captures everything about the place, and if they ever did they certainly don’t know. The population shifts faster than ever and musicians…
Pleasant Grove were one of Dallas’ most treasured bands in the early 2000s. Their four albums earned them devoted fans here at home and a record deal with European label Glitterhouse. They earned the attention with a folk band’s command of melody and a psych band’s command of reverb and…
There was a pretty good party in Austin this weekend. Much of what you need to know about Fun Fun Fun Fest this weekend can be found in the look on this dude’s face, as he crowd surfes at Slayer. But we have plenty more, if you’re into specifics:…
Among Fun Fun Fun Fest’s many strange little wrinkles and amenities, the Taco Cannon stands alone. Sometimes, its appearance would be listed on the schedule, but sometimes it would just appear, at the end of a set, always soundtracked by the Mortal Kombat theme song. Its posse would appear, in…
Rock & roll is less than sixty years old, remember, so the idea of multiple generations of active bands is still a fairly new one. But as big-ticket concerts and festivals become prevalent, more and more people are going to get the ol’ band back together for another shot. This…
Dallas rapper -topic is crouched low, sitting on his heels, his weight resting on the balls of his feet. He’s at Fun Fun Fun Fest, behind about four fences he really shouldn’t be behind, and standing fifteen feet away is Lupe Fiasco. -topic has a CD in his hand. Lupe…
Eli Young Band have made it a long way from their UNT origins. Darius Rucker just announced them as support for his upcoming tour, their latest single is in the top ten on the US Country Chart and tomorrow they’ll kick off what they hope will be an annual show…
Fun Fun Fun Fest is this weekend. You know about Slayer and M.I.A. You’re ready to bump into some strangers to FLAG and stand awestruck before Television and doze off during MGMT. But one of the delights of this particular festival is the oddity of the undercard. That’s where you’ll…
Someone mentioned the idea of a Dallas sound to me the other day. I don’t know if any city ever winds up with one sonic thumbprint that truly captures everything about the place, and if they ever did they certainly don’t know. The population shifts faster than ever and musicians…
No one is safe from Miley Cyrus. Sure, you could blow up your computer and find your way in the world with nothing but a compass and a flip phone, but she’ll just come to you. Miley has announced a 2014 tour that includes a Dallas show at American Airlines…
We recommend lots of shows here. Every week we tell you about the ten or so concerts worth your hard-earned money and limited time. So I understand that we’ve kind of diluted our ability to be adamant. But let’s try anyway: Lee Fields & the Expressions will play Sons of…
Our Busking series with Globe Trek Productions had a banner day on Saturday at the Dallas Observer Music Showcase. Globe Trek set up shop on the rooftop bar at the Green Room and shot several acoustic performance videos with bands playing the festival. We’ll bring you those clips over the…
As we have every year for the last quarter-century, we present the Dallas Observer Music Awards. This year, our panel of music experts and industry veterans nominated 200 artists, venues and organizations. Over 4,000 people voted on those nominees, and their selections are the 40 winners listed here. They’re a…
The Dallas Observer Music Showcase is Saturday, November 2 (tomorrow). It’s our annual celebration of North Texas music, some version of which we’ve been doing for 25 years now. Here’s what you should know before you head into Deep Ellum:…
It all comes down to this. We came up with 200 nominees for the 2013 Dallas Observer Music Awards. Over 2,000 of you have voted so far (though the polls are still open!), and this coming Tuesday, November 5, we’ll announce the winners at House of Blues. The DOMA Ceremony…
This year, we’re celebrating the 25th year of the Dallas Observer Music Awards. It’s a project we started in 1988, in the words of then-music-editor Clay McNear, to, “heighten awareness of local music and to commend those that are recognized by our readers as the best in their respective fields.”…
