With COVID-19 Still Spreading Behind Bars, Dallas County Jails in the Hot Seat
A legal case over coronavirus conditions in jails began more than a year ago, but Sheriff Marian Brown was not deposed until March 31 this year.
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A New Podcast Dives into the World of Painful Abuse at a Texas Boarding School
The lesson was brutal. For the simple crime of flirting, a young girl was forced to stand all night long in a kiddie pool brimming with ice water. If she staggered or appeared on the verge of passing out, the boarding school’s program director would douse her with even more…
Legendary Texas Indie Musician Will Johnson Makes His Literary Debut
Will Johnson, the painter, famed Denton indie musician, Conor Oberst collaborator and raspy-voiced troubadour behind 29 albums says: “It’s the most psychedelic job you’ll ever participate in.” He is not, however, talking about music, painting, or even writing, his latest creative expression. He’s talking about parenting. Johnson is 49 (though…
A Whataburger Virgin Eats at the Restaurant for Every Meal One Weekend
I’ve never worn cowboy boots. I’ve never ridden a horse, either. Guns terrify me. By my French friend Adam’s estimation, these facts mean I am not truly a Texan. “I thought all Texans are like John Wayne,” Adam once said. “You got your rifle, your horse and the boots with…
5 Art Exhibitions Worth Checking Out This Spring
Gov. Abbott’s recent decision to reopen the state without a mask mandate probably makes you want to stay inside for the foreseeable future, and we don’t blame you. However, if you find yourself feeling a little stir-crazy, claustrophobic, or some combination thereof, it may be time to escape to a…
Dallas Musicians Talk Life on and After The Voice
When Ryan Berg thinks of The Voice, he thinks of coffee. Most mornings, the Dallas singer-songwriter and his competitors-turned-friends Jim Ranger and Ian Flanigan would grab some cups of joe and hang out at their hotel, taking a brief break from the surreal insanity of being on reality television. There…
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Sub Pop Signee Hannah Jadagu Made a Whole EP From Her Mesquite Bedroom
Hannah Jadagu’s mom is an OG Drake stan. In fact, one of Jadagu’s earliest memories is her mom dancing in the kitchen of their Texas home. Drake was on (“probably something from So Far Gone” Jadagu says) and her mom was cuttin’ it up while cleaning. “Do you know who…
Uncovered: Pentatonix Get Serious With a New Original Album
Pentatonix! Are! Excited! First of all, it’s Christmas, and no one loves Christmas more than Pentatonix. Second of all, they’re home. Not Japan (where they’ve been more than 10 times) or Europe or Brazil, but Grand Prairie. OK, technically band members Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi and Kirstin Maldonado are from…
It’s Not Just a Saying – Music Does Save Lives
Around the time humans started dipping their fingers in ochre and telling stories on cave walls, a group of shamans forged flutes from bone and drums from animal skin. Those shamans were, by definition, healers, and the sounds they made with their flutes and drums were part of the therapeutic…
5 Texas Albums We’re Looking Forward to Hearing This Year
Need more reasons to be glad 2021 is here? We didn’t think so. Nevertheless, it’s always fun to look ahead to new music. Luckily for us, the months ahead will include plenty of albums from some of our favorite Texas artists and bands. From Polyphonic Spree alums to rap superstars,…
Women in Dallas County Jail Say They Endured Nearly Two Weeks Without Clean Clothes
On the 10th day, the women took off their clothes. It was both an act of protest and a sign of disgust, a rebuke of the north tower guards and staff they believed had been denying them basic care amid a pandemic. “We had to sit there in our sweat…
Roiled by Racism, Dallas Christians Consider Their Place in the Fight Against Injustice
When Andrew Robinson drove to Dallas in 2015, he had $100 in the bank and a growing disdain for the Christian church. Robinson, a gang member-turned-evangelical pastor, had just lost what little funding he had to kickstart a church in Foley, Alabama. While he was never given an official reason…
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Five Moves the Texas Rangers Should Make This Offseason
After floating around the edges of contention during much of the 2019 season, the Texas Rangers endured a 2020 of near-historical ineptitude. The pitching was horrendous; the offense was somehow worse. Ultimately, the Rangers finished the first season in their gleaming new ballpark with the second-worst record in the league…
Stage or No Stage, These 5 Dallas Observer Music Awards Nominees Are Burning Up the City
This year has taken far too much from us: lives, livelihoods and the ability to hug our loved ones, not to mention the shouted conversations with friends over the soothing noise of music at our favorite bar s. The last thing we need is to cede our chance to honor…
Some Other Things That Biden Should Cancel, Along With Student Debt
As you may have heard, student debt is having a bit of a moment. Specifically, people everywhere (from Sen. Chuck Schumer to Chugs, my college roommate) are calling for at least some portion of student debt to be canceled. In fact, Schumer and Elizabeth Warren recently proposed a resolution that…
Dallas Weed Dealers React to Biden’s Win
Brenda is the kind of person who always makes the first move on dating apps. Sometimes they’ll (to help protect the anonymity of the people highlighted in this story, we’ve used they/them pronouns) open with a joke; other times they’ll get right to the point. One day this summer, they…
A Found Painting by Dallas’ First Artist-in-Residence Unravels an Epic Mystery
Paula Selzer was mindlessly moving the email to her trash folder when the name stopped her cold. Adolphe Gouhenant. This little known Frenchman was more than her great-great-great-grandfather; he was a Renaissance man, a former utopian leader and a key part of Dallas history. “My grandma told me some pretty…
Jamie Thompson’s Standoff Leads Stellar List of Dallas Authors at Texas Book Festival
When Jamie Thompson woke up on July 8, 2016, the city of Dallas and its brass were still trying to figure out what the hell happened the night before. There was a shooting, and five law enforcement officers were dead. The perpetrator had been killed by a robot-controlled bomb. And…
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Ahead of Fair Park Show, Mt. Joy Singer Matt Quinn Talks Concerts in the Time of COVID
At some point, Matt Quinn realized his life was a series of windows. One day, he’d be watching the country pass by through the window of a plane. The next day, it’d be a bus window. Quinn, lead singer of the band Mt. Joy, was constantly on the road. He’s…
Eye Moon the Experience Is Creating a Platform for Sobriety
Artist Regina Marsha’ Gulley used to use every drug in the book. Alcohol, weed, cocaine, you name it. Gulley (who uses they/them pronouns) was an addict with no plan to stop, and no idea how to even try. Then, in the late summer of 2017, they woke up in a…
Out of the Closet, in a Home: Dallas’ LGBTQ Seniors Get Help Finding a Friendly Place to Live
Bill spends most of his days in front of the TV. He has few family members, fewer friends, and is content to watch sitcoms and eat meals alone. Bill (not his real name) is gay and is part of a rising number of elderly LGBTQ North Texans. As a man…
Natalie Schlabs Wants You to Feel What You Need to Feel
When musician Natalie Schlabs was a kid, she and her three brothers would gather around their grandfather to hear a little music. The family relished large gatherings, and Grandpa Gerald’s guitar-strumming was a staple of the evening. He liked Johnny Cash, but had no time for The Beatles, whom he…