This weekend, Erykah Badu was the grand marshal of the Natural Hair Parade, which ended with a festival at the Pan-African Connection across from Fair Park. The parade and festival are the efforts of Isis Brantley, who has long been an outspoken defender of African-American identity. She was arrested in…
R.L. Griffin is standing outside his Blues Palace, a squat beige building a few tattered blocks from Fair Park. A sign in the parking lot touts “Blues Palace II: Live Entertainment,” and without it there would be no way to tell from the street what you might find inside, unless…
Daniel Johnston will play in Dallas on September 28 at the Kessler Theater. The announcement came over the weekend, alongside several other good ones at Oak Cliff’s finest music venue. But let’s focus on Daniel Johnston, because it’s going to be wonderful…
On Saturday, cool-kid record label Mad Decent will throw a welcome-back-to-school, summer’s-not-quite-over party at Club Zouk. Head honcho Diplo will play with Major Lazer, alongside heavyweights like Dillon Francis, Baauer, Action Bronson and Flosstradamus. Many things will bounce. Including you, possibly! We have a couple pairs of tickets to give…
The rawkfist is a beloved go-to for people being asked to pose at rock shows (thanks for that, by the way). But what seems like a simple gesture of appreciation for loud sounds is in fact a minefield of potential misuse. This week’s Uproar Festival, featuring Alice in Chains and…
Our series of live performance videos, produced by Globe Trek Productions, continues with a clip of Air Review playing “Young,” from this year’s Low Wishes, while walking down the Elm Street and into Wit’s End. It’s a song of ambitious scope (most songs with “Wow-ooh” choruses are), and the acoustic…
This week’s music feature is an interview with Joe King Carrasco, the king of Tex-Mex Rock ‘n’ Roll, who was born in the Panhandle and lives in Puerto Vallarta today. His most recent album is a reunion with El Molina, a band that features several members of the Texas Tornadoes…
Index Fest, which takes place in Deep Ellum on October 18 and 19, already announced three waves of bands, including Andrew Bird, Run the Jewels, Jason Isbell, Titus Andronicus and a ton of great North Texas bands. Today, they’ve sweetened the pot further with another batch of bands. This one…
Legendary Americana songwriter Patty Griffin is going on tour this fall, and the October 26 date at the Kessler Theater is already almost sold out, less than a day after it went on sale. As of right now, only suites and standing room spots remain. So get going now…
In breaking local music news, a Burleson woman, 31, has decided to elope rather than go ahead with her elaborate wedding plans. Presumably a bunch of caterers and florists in Nashville are bummed, but Kelly Clarkson herself seems relieved…
Earlier this week, Janelle Monae stopped by Luminous Sound in Richardson to preview her upcoming album, The Electric Lady. Monae is famously fashionable (one of her most prominent commercial relationships is with CoverGirl), so it stands to reason that the attendees of the listening party would dig up some of…
Austin City Limits is just a couple flips on the calendar away. This year’s inaugural two-weekend run on October 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 also features a series of late-night shows in Austin. And a run of bands from somewhere on the lineup in other Texas cities, including…
There are no shoes allowed in Wondaland. There is grass, however, and candlelight and there were free drinks and candy in Wondaland’s lobby, so no one seems to mind. Plus, Janelle Monae is here, standing barefoot in the grass. Wondaland, for now, is inside Luminous Sound in Richardson, where everyone…
The Best of Dallas is a month away — the issue hits newsstands on September 26. We’re finalizing our own picks via witchcraft and shoe leather, but we need your help on the reader’s poll, dear reader. Open nominations are over, and we have five finalists in several categories –…
Update, 8/19: In addition to the pop medley we published Friday, we now also have Bean performing one of her original songs, “Cops and Robbers.” The video is below. Original post follows. Globe Trek Productions, a video production company based in Dallas, has been making videos of musicians busking in…
In 1996, Dallas’ Old 97’s played a few songs with Waylon Jennings in Nashville. Those songs never saw the light of day until Record Store Day this year, when they came out as a limited-release 7″. But now, Omnivore Recordings will be giving the two songs a wide release, along…
In July 2011, Fort Worth musician Josh Weathers dedicated a cover of Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” to his mother. It is world-class diva quality. Kessler Artistic Director Jeff Liles recorded it, and posted it on YouTube. This Tuesday, more than two years later, reddit user…
It’s time once again to start work on the Dallas Observer Music Awards — the city’s only opportunity to win a drinkable trophy*. This year’s award ceremony will be held on November 5, and the Music Showcase that accompanies it will be the Saturday before that: November 2. There will…
The Polyphonic Spree’s album release show at Granada Theater starts in seven minutes, and there is no water in the refrigerator backstage. A couple members of the choir ask band manager Chris Penn where the water bottles are. Penn asks Granada backstage manager Wes McIntyre. McIntyre says he just filled…
Earlier, we told you about the sudden, rapid expansion of Oliver Peck’s Elm Street festival. This year, Reverend Horton Heat is onboard and helping curate five days of music at three venues in Deep Ellum from September 11 to 15. Today, the full schedule has been announced. It’s below, with…
From 1973 to 2008, Jody Payne played guitar in Willie Nelson’s Family band. The Kentucky-bred musician died over the weekend in Alabama, where he lived with his wife, teaching guitar lessons. Willie has posted several tributes to his old bandmate on Facebook, starting with, “Sad to report that Jody Payne…
The Polyphonic Spree’s album release show at The Granada starts in seven minutes, and there is no water in the refrigerator backstage. A couple members of the choir ask band manager Chris Penn where the water bottles are. Penn asks Granada Backstage Manager Wes McIntyre. McIntyre says he just filled…
