A lone light shines down on a stage shrouded in darkness. There’s the faint sound of movement, of shoes shuffling, throats clearing. Seconds pass, and the electric feeling of anticipation rises, the moment of, “They’re here; the show is finally starting.” The performer finally steps into that spotlight and begins…
Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Texas, many shelters that serve Dallas’ homeless population have shut their doors, diverting their clients to hotels or motels as they did when faced with overflow before the pandemic. Those who are sleeping in shelters or motel rooms are subject to stringent social distancing regulations,…
The French M. Robertson Unit, a maximum-security state prison, is located off a dusty farm-to-market road about 20 minutes from Abilene. A couple of tiny hamlets dot the dry West Texas terrain near the prison, but for the most part, its population of about 3,000 inmates is surrounded by nothingness…
The sound of skittering rats was common. Mold would fester, threatening rot. Perhaps worst of all, the plumbing stopped working. “Pretty much everything that could go wrong was going wrong,” Peter Wierenga says of his Fort Worth home. “But the landlord wouldn’t do anything about it.” So Wierenga was not…
Tippy Balady doesn’t cuss. “I’ve never had a place for it in my vocabulary,” she says, the “it” referring to the four-letter words others might employ with ease. “Even in high school, when your parents expect you to start cussing, I didn’t see a need for it.” Yet sometimes people…
Save for the custodian buffing the already gleaming floors, the posh Southlake coworking space was empty. Or so it seemed. After a few knocks, Victoria Krath bounded to the front entrance, flanked by her husband, Matt. She wore a full face of makeup; he wore a black sweatshirt emblazoned with…
Amy Miller’s morning routine has not changed too much in the last week. She still rises and roasts, creating her own coffee like her co-worker taught her. She has an “endless supply,” so there’s plenty to enjoy before she goes to work. But now, instead of her commute, she walks…
Heart pumping, eyes darting, Abby Cole races down the highway toward her family home. Her gaze flits between the road and the clock. As the pedal inches toward the floor, she wills time to go slower. It’s a chilly night in September 2019, and her song “Dandelion Wine” is being…
Jake Quillin never expected to move to Texas. Last February, the 26-year-old guitarist was making pizzas at his day job when his phone vibrated. It was an Instagram direct message from Dallas producer Jason Burt, one of the men behind Medicine Man Revival. Burt had a proposition for Quillin. “I…
The Holmes house did not have a TV. Jammie Holmes, one of the family’s two boys, found his entertainment through the thin bars of a box fan. His family’s home was a ramshackle shotgun house on the aptly named Narrow Street in Thibodaux, Louisiana. At night, under a dark Louisiana…
Chatting to the Allen brothers can feel a bit like a history lesson. Replace lectures on Watergate and World War II with anecdotes about The Door and Forever the Sickest Kids, and you have a sense of what it’s like to talk shop with this pair of DFW music veterans…
When Jeremy Biggers was growing up in South Dallas in the mid-1990s, you were either a football player or a basketball player. The latter was cheaper and easier to practice alone, so Biggers chose the hardtop over a pigskin and pads. “I was terrible,” he admits. “I don’t think I…
There’s a piano in the rec room at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital in New York. It took musician Danielle Grubb a few days to find it, but eventually, she did. In the winter of 2017, Grubb was staying at the hospital following a psychotic break. Eventually, she was diagnosed with bipolar…
In the wake of heightened college admissions scrutiny, one group is keeping an eye on those hoping to sneak their way into high schools, too. The organization Government Crime Stoppers is offering rewards of up to $5,000 for anonymous tips about Dallas suburbanites cheating their way into Booker T. Washington…
Have you ever heard of Adventure Time? The critically revered cartoon is set in a mythical land where a boy and his dog strive to conquer evil. They meet a sentient piece of gum and an Ice King voiced by the actor who gave life to SpongeBob SquarePants. When it…
Ebo has 10,000 laughs: One is a mischievous chortle. One is a riotous, hyena-esque cackle that crescendos then falls, ending with the rapper shaking her head and saying, “I’m dead, I’m dead.” Ebo’s most common laugh might be what her friends call “the dad laugh,” a soft, polite chuckle that…
When I saw the first promo for 9-1-1: Lone Star, aka the latest milestone in Ryan Murphy’s world domination, I had questions. Why is Rob Lowe still relevant? Who thought he could play a believable firefighter? Has Ryan Murphy ever seen any Rob Lowe movies? But then I decided to…
The first thing you need to know about Famous Exchange is that they are more than a band. Sure, they are a trio of musicians who play shows, produce songs and release them into the world. Sometimes those songs get a serious lift from the Spotify algorithm. Sometimes they get…
“Oh, my God! Thank you, Jesus! God is so good! I love God!” This is Taylor Morgan, recounting the jubilation she felt after planning a successful event. Morgan, who’s 30, plans jam sessions. She plans benefit concerts. Sometimes she sings. And she prays. She prays in her car. She prays…
The year just started, and it’s already trash. We’re not talking politics, but about the fact that we’ve already lost one precious thing this month: Friends. The NBC sitcom joined a long list of shows to depart Netflix, and in doing so, joined another list: Things white people mourn when…
We open on a coffee shop two days after Christmas in a city clinging to the last vestiges of the season. Christmas music rises in the background as the camera centers on film composer Damoyee Janai, a songwriter with impeccable posture. Dance is one of the mediums she ditched in…
Do you have your calendar ready? A new year means a new slate of shows, and thanks to some local favorites and exciting returners, the new decade will get off to a promising start. As expected, a succession of stadium headliners will roll through town for big ticket shows at…
