Arts & Entertainment

Dolly Python in Old East Dallas and its sister Bishop Arts location have long held real estate on our annual Best Of Dallas issue as recurring recommendations. The shops have an outstandingly curated collection of vintage clothes and excitingly weird curiosities that make it worth the visit every time. And now they offer more glitzy sightings than Los Angeles’ Chateau Marmont’s bar on a Saturday night. Dolly’s legend has spread to Hollywood (no surprise, Vogue recently named it one of the best vintage shops in the world), and it’s become a destination for celebrities visiting Dallas. Just this past year, it attracted big-name shoppers such as Mad Men star Jon Hamm, Kanye’s nemesis Pete Davidson and indie melancholy-pop queen Lana Del Rey. So keep your camera charged if you’re looking for a sick selfie to go with that vintage concert tee.

There’s just something magical about standing in a butterfly exhibit as hundreds of colorful butterflies flutter around. The Fort Worth Botanic Garden used to do its “Butterflies In The Garden” exhibit every other year, but it became so popular that it’s now a yearly addition to the spring calendar. Every March and April, check out the exhibit and marvel at lepidoptera from the Americas, Africa and Asia. Plus, since you’re already there, you can wander the sprawling botanic gardens. We especially recommend the Japanese garden.

Few things smell like the ’90s as much as Herbal Essences shampoo, but J’s is a close second, with its aromatic blend of hashbrowns and indoors smoke. After a late night in Addison, America’s shitface-drunk capital, head over (via Uber or a sober driver, please) to J’s Breakfast & Burgers. This diner is extra dive-y — you’ll believe us when you’re greeted by a waitress smoking at a table — and is open 24 hours, with a menu befitting your simple, buzzed palate. Its bright, emerald-green seats invite you to lean into the very best of your bad, drunken decisions: carbs and cigarettes. Order a pie, find a payphone to drunk-dial your ex, and your night’s complete.

The legend has long lingered in Dallas, where you can still hear the sound of glitzy partying echoing through the dancefloor dust left from the Starck Club’s closing. Dallas’ version of Studio 54 became an iconic 1980s hub for the era’s decadence, rich with celebrity sightings, ecstasy and carefree, all-night dancing. For the Starck’s 40th anniversary on May 12, Oak Cliff venue The Kessler brought the club back to life through a well-curated, one-night-only pop-up event. It featured Starck original DJs (such as Mark Ridlen), posters and art, and best of all, nostalgic clubgoers. In a shining sea of sparkle, gold, bold and big-pattern ensembles, attendees revived the fashion and dance moves of the Starck’s heyday (back when individuality was considered a positive trait), well into the wee hours of … 11 p.m. Well, we’ve all grown up now, and so are the neighbors who live around the Kessler.

The Dallas Museum of Art does an outstanding job of keeping us coming through special events and deals, summer camps, classes and exhibitions ranging from the Impressionists to Frida — and this year’s excellent showing of contemporary female artists in He Said/She Said. One of the museum’s most accomplished efforts is its annual Arts and Letters Live program. For over 30 years, the speakers series has brought in performers and authors such as David Sedaris (who returned again this year for his 11th consecutive appearance), Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and John Grisham. This is a great opportunity to impress (or, realistically, to bore) your future grandkids with your old-timey tales of seeing these classic authors in the flesh — assuming writers haven’t been entirely replaced then by AI and “content creators.” If that sounds grim, keep the arts and letters alive by attending and getting a book signed, if you’re lucky.

After Barbie‘s ubiquitous, militantly monochrome color palette flooded movie theaters, Halloween parties and red carpets for what felt like 46 months in 2023, it’s understandable that many of us never want to see the color pink again. But if you’re still in the “think pink” mindset, you’ll find an absolute pink paradise in XOXO, the uber-Instagrammable, shamelessly girly, every-day-is-Valentine’s Dallas restaurant. This place was way ahead of Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig, serving highly aesthetic desserts and decor for years. The food is as good as it looks, and the service is just as sweet. XOXO is not all lipstick and influencers, though: Erykah Badu has been spotted there (and showed up 15 minutes before closing, of course) and it sometimes has DJ nights with non-pink-wearing guests.

If you’ve ever dreamed of going back in time to witness those Greenwich Village parties where a young harmonica-playing, wild-haired unknown named Bob Dylan channeled Woody Guthrie as an androgynous Patti Smith observed deeply from her seat, check out Zounds Sounds B-Sides. Though the new Dallas venue (which is next door to the excellent Zounds Sounds School of Music) is well organized, it still feels truly DIY, spontaneous and indie in the best ways as the perfect spot to soak up all that I-saw-them-first, really-first, atmosphere. But they aren’t all up-and-comers on the roster. From classical pianist Bobby Orozco, to a live painter onstage and a private chef serving audience members a plated dinner sample, and artists ranging from punk to jazz, there are a whole lot of reasons to check out B-Sides.

There’s plenty to do at the lively Lower Greenville coffee shop Halcyon, with its permanent collection of beaten-up board games plus movie nights, happy hours and wine nights, but we are clinically obsessed with its Saturday night trivia competitions. This is when you get to order food and a mocha and answer general culture questions with your team while making s’mores at your table. With a fire and everything. We can’t think of a better pairing than the taste of childhood camping memories and the silly adult pride of publicly quantifying all the worthless info you’ve hoarded in your memory, all for a swell prize.

This one is for adventurous types only who can easily shrug off centuries of an evolution-instilled fear of heights. The luxury Joule hotel is best known for its giant outdoor eyeball sculpture, its cool underground bar Midnight Rambler and its lower-level, endlessly cool Taschen bookstore — all available to non-guests. It also has a rooftop pool that’s really to infinity and beyond. The pool has a cantilevered design, meaning it sticks out 8 feet from the building, and through the pool’s protruding glass side you’ll get an excellent view of downtown’s Main Street. If you’ve ever had a surrealist fantasy of swimming among the clouds, well, Salvador Dalí fan, this is it.

Arwa Yemeni Coffee is the Benjamin Button of espresso. It opens daily at 10 a.m., forgoing the morning coffee rush to brew authentic coffee and tea from Yemen until long past sundown. The shop stays open until 11 p.m. on weekdays and 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Late nights tend to be the busiest time for Arwa Yemeni, which serves large pots of its signature Adeni tea for groups of four or more. It’s a great environment to socialize in or get some red-eye work done.

No other Dallas jukebox ever stood a chance against the selection at Herby’s, the Oak Cliff restaurant co-owned by DJ Sober. Sober has long reigned over North Texas nightlife (and also New York’s, Austin’s and other cities’) so it’s only natural that Herby’s, which has a pleasingly minimal yellow-white-black aesthetic and fine burgers, could boast of the best curated jukebox. Madonna, Morrissey, Mariah — that’s just one shelf. Of course, Sober will swap out selections periodically. You’ll also find posters signed by musicians such as Leon Bridges and a cool piece of Texas art by Ralls’ own Rob Wilson. As a certified cool spot, the shop has occasional pop-up art events and DJ nights. Come back for breakfast.

Dallas has an astounding share of piano masters, but lately we’ve been following most closely the dexterous digits of Christian Valdés. The musician was raised by noted salsa players and moved from Colombia with a scholarship to the University of North Texas, where he graduated with a bachelor’s in jazz piano performance. He then attended the University of Texas at Arlington, where he earned a master’s in Jazz Studies. Valdés’ education was on clear display as he waltzed onto the music scene, taking on Latin, jazz and contemporary gigs all over Dallas and other major U.S. cities. Even though Valdés could play the most complicated piano arrangements in his sleep, the composer and bandleader will never stop the pursuit of excelling in his craft. He is soon to depart for the Big Apple after being accepted at New York University’s elite doctorate program in jazz piano performance, but not without leaving a trail of melodies echoing behind we won’t soon forget.

Audio engineer Tre Nagella has four Grammy Awards, an absurdly long list of renowned clients and a bouquet of flowers he once received from Taylor Swift (which she sent after canceling a session, so Taylor). The producer and mixer has worked with seemingly everyone who’s relevant or even talented — from Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Ed Sheeran, Christina Aguilera and Ariana Grande to local heavyweights Erykah Badu and Kirk Franklin. Nagella’s Dallas studio, Luminous Sound, has become the on-speed-dial destination especially for big-time artists on big-time tours who are on a big-time deadline to get a record or song out, and for 25 years it’s been a go-to for sound mixing for TV and film. There are many sound (pun intended) reasons behind Luminous Sound’s popularity: It’s a state-of-the-art studio in a 6,500-square-foot space designed by a master acoustician, and most important, it holds Nagella’s unfailingly expert ear.

When The Grapevine moved from its longtime Oak Lawn location to a new space in the Medical District last year, patrons quickly learned to love the place for what it is now. The dive bar is still as delightfully sexually ambiguous as Harry Styles (Is it a gay bar? A straight bar? The owners say it’s both, so yeah, it’s a bisexual bar) and has kept its best feature: the patio. The new location is much larger and still has a rowdy, large outdoor space, but it also has an indoors-ish courtyard patio where you can have the freedom to smoke without the punishment of the heat — because your body has been punished enough through smoking. We’re also happy to say that the foosball, pool tables and strangers-to-make-out-with are all still there.

Dallas has a variety of Seoul-crushing Korean shops and eateries to indulge your wildest K-pop dreams, but 9 Rabbits Bakery has our vote for best Korean coffee shop. The Koreatown bakery, run by Grace Koo, also makes endearingly cute specialty cakes and offers a variety of teas, smoothies and aesthetic desserts that’ll transport you to the cherry-blossomed bridges of Busan. The best part is the shop’s rabbit-themed decor — filled with charmingly whimsical bunnies — that make it feel as if you’ve stepped into an Easter fantasy with Korean subtitles. This place will impress kids or your date. Hop to it and try the banana bread.

After a fun but rocky debut in Fair Park, Dallas’ newest rap festival showed off the best talent in the rap game and flexed Dallas’ muscles as a music destination. Gucci Mane, Three 6 Mafia, Dru Hill and Key Glock showed up and showed out, despite the Dallas heat that caused equipment malfunctions. The show must go on, and we look forward to a bigger and better TwoGether Land in the coming years.

For those of us who love cars, what’s cooler than a lowrider? Someone takes an otherwise unimpressive car, slaps on fresh paint, a clean interior and a lowered suspension, and creates a new, beautiful project. We love to watch ’em cruise, and on some Saturday nights you can take a little trip and see them rolling up and down the 200 block of Jefferson Boulevard by The Texas Theater. It’s a great place to catch rolling works of art and see someone’s passion project.

Drag is multifaceted. Sometimes it’s high glamor, showcasing elegant lip syncs and talented dancers. Other times, like in The Plan B Showcase, the girls kill you with laugh-out-loud comedy, illusions, themes and visual gags. The rotating cast keeps things fresh, and weekly themes make the jokes super-specific and relatable. If you’re out on a Wednesday night, The Plan B Showcase is the place to go for fresh comedy.

With popular shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the Rose Room offers the best weekly drag show in Dallas in one of the largest drag venues around with a cast of premiere Dallas drag talent, including our fave, the legendary Cassie Nova. If you’re in Dallas and looking for top-tier drag, the Rose Room is a mandatory stop on the list.

Most of the music spaces in Dallas (and indeed, North Texas as a whole) are geared more toward having a good time than necessarily, y’know, hearing the acts performing for the gathered crowd. One exception to that rule — one that vigorously enforces its standards — is Oak Cliff’s jewel of a listening room, the Kessler Theater. All manner of artists have passed across its stage since it reopened in 2010, from hip-hop to alt-country to rockabilly. It remains the only venue to frequent if you really want to appreciate — and hear — music performed at a peerless level.

Love it or hate it, karaoke remains as popular as ever, as does boinking in public bathrooms, which you shouldn’t do. (Charlie’s had an issue with the latter, as we reported in a story with the very clear headline, “Fornicators Keep Breaking a Dallas Bar’s Sink.”) Still, nowhere in Dallas offers both quite like Charlie’s Star Lounge. The Deep Ellum-adjacent institution does karaoke on Fridays in its main room. Even when it’s not doing karaoke, Charlie’s is a fave spot of ours. It’s no one-trick pony either. You can see DJ’s, drag queens or your friends on a night out. It’s one of the few real dive bars left, and with cheap beer and mellow vibes, Charlie’s is a great place to kill an evening and just sing to your heart’s content. At least that way you likely won’t break any plumbing fixtures.

We’ve longed loved the Cedars neighborhood bar just for being itself, giving it a home on our Top 100 Bars list for its dog-friendly patio and onion rings, but mainly because, we write, “with its throwback wood-paneled walls and old-school neon beer signs, Lee Harvey’s is the pinnacle of dive-bar excellence. A Dallas institution, this ol’ watering hole is exactly where you’d want to go to knock down a few cold ones after a long week of work.” Our fondness grew deeper early this year when an image taken at the bar appeared in a Super Bowl ad for a Christian group with some unsavory past connections to anti-LGBTQ folks. “We do not endorse, align with, or support this campaign or client in any way. One of the many things that sets us apart is our diverse and inclusive crowd, where everyone is always welcome. WE LOVE EVERYBODY,” the bar posted on Facebook. Right backatcha.

Can we let you in on a little Best of Dallas inside secret? We have a general rule here that we don’t give the same place the same award two years in a row because we want to share the love and keep an eye out for new places. But the fact is that some places are simply the best, year in and year out, and in the case of Best Country Bar there is only one Adair’s Saloon. (We’d retire this category, but we’d hate for all those California transplants new to town to overlook it, particularly any from around Bakersfield.) Born on Cedar Springs in 1963 before moving to Deep Ellum 1982, Adair’s brings in musicians playing the best of outlaw country, and, according to the joint’s history page, “Jack Ingram, Deryl Dodd and members of The Dixie Chicks have graced the stage.” It also serves a great burger, sandwiches and wings that won’t tap your wallet much.

For 65 years, the Dallas Theater Center (DTC) has entertained audiences with iconic performances, productions and Tony Awards-winning entertainment. While star-studded appearances often fit the bill, it’s the contributions of Dallas community members in the DTC Public Works program that often shine. Known to “deliberately blur the line between professional artists and Dallas community members,” the Public Works program casts everyday people for top-tier theatrics. These centerstage stars are the heartbeats of the show, making a DTC performance not only fun to attend, but inspiring as well.

Between AI and man-powered software, the art of music playing seems to be becoming a noble pursuit. Nobody is doing it better than Dallas musician Kenneth Pritchard (Dead Mockingbirds, Frances Heidy) — winner and nominee of several Dallas Observer Music Awards. Pritchard, a longtime teacher with a degree in instrumental performance from Columbia College Chicago, opened the Pritchard School of Music in Garland prepandemic, showing off students’ efforts through showcases at venues such as Intrinsic Brewery. The Garland school is moving to a smaller space in Richardson, but the instruction remains just as expertly dedicated. Learning an instrument has been proven to improve memory and combat stress, and hanging around rock musicians has been proven to make you cool.

One of the greatest things about small venues is that they guarantee an intimate concert, which means smelling the sweat coming off the performer and not from the whole row sitting invasively close to you. Even better, it means having easy access to the bar. Absolutely best of all, you don’t have to deal with the parking inferno that builds around stadium concerts. Tulips in Fort Worth is known for its great ambiance and service, and this jewel of a venue shines brightest with its programming: from Russian political pariahs Pussy Riot, themed nights such as “Flirty Pop” — or even a Minion Rave — to North Texas greats (Polyphonic Spree) and up-and-comers (Henry the Archer), you’ll always find an act worth watching. The bar stays open after shows, which is another point over big venues. Come for the bands, stay for a patio hang.

Alt-rocker Slow Joy, a New Mexico native, has been making music since 2020. After finding some success on TikTok in 2022, he released his second EP in June. Otherwise known as Esteban Flores, he joined with producer Mike Sapone at Barbershop Studios in New Jersey to create a sound inspired by ’90s alt-rock groups that also pays tribute to his Mexican heritage. “I’ve really just been listening to the heroes of rock music. So the music is just a lot more simple, but a lot more straightforward and poignant. It’s just a picture of things to come,” Flores says. His 2024 EP Mi Amigo Slow Joy is one of the unmissable releases of 2024. We’re ready to see Slow Joy blow up.

It’s easy enough to get lost in the Josey Records flagship location in North Dallas. After all, you’re talking about a record store spread across 25,000 square feet, but tucked inside Josey Records is a journey to the past you can walk around in. As we noted earlier this year, the abundance of pop cultural artifacts salvaged by the Josey Records crew from the late, great Bill’s Records practically qualifies the store as a museum unto itself — albeit one where you can grab another vinyl copy of Cowboy Carter on the way out.

What was once the province of grade-school field trips is now your favorite local musician’s favorite place to stage a unique live experience. The University of Texas at Arlington’s planetarium plays host on a semi-monthly basis to a concert series featuring North Texas talent such as Bosque Brown, Helium Queens and Brigitte Mena.

Why can’t every bathroom stall be full coverage? How much money is really being saved in that next 12 inches or so of wall? Deep Ellum Art C.,, the gallery/music venue/event space in … duh … Deep Ellum, has a hallway full of individual private stalls that emphasize the rest in restroom. Whatever else might go in there is none of our business.

This Fry Street favorite encompasses everything a good college bar should have: cheap drinks, friendly staff and good vibes. Lucky Lou’s is the perfect place for Denton 20-somethings to enjoy a post-class nightcap or weekend day drink. With a spacious indoor area and outdoor patio complete with plasma screens, foosball, pool tables and darts, Lou’s is great for a night out with tons of old friends or a solo venture to make some new ones. Boozers on a budget can take advantage of drink specials every day of the week, including $3 frozen margs, Long Islands and doubles. We recommend stopping by on Tuesday Pint Nights, a fan favorite event where you can buy a select $5 beer and keep the glass. It’s one of Denton’s original craft beer bars, and the 75+ tap, bottle and can options leave plenty to be explored by both longtime beer snobs and hopheads-in-training.

It’s the fans who tell us who the best rapper in North Texas, and right now the people are championing BashForTheWorld. An original who blends a unique bilingual Southern rap style delivered in a signature lingo, he personifies self-made. During the first half of 2024, his music amassed more than 800,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, driven entirely by a loyal fanbase, and he mesmerized as a featured artist at the biggest festivals. Then, he partnered with Live Nation to take over the nation with his sold-out “From Dallas with Love” tour. To show his love and respect for the city that made him a superstar, Bash brought two local artists on the 23-city tour to open his shows. Mundo, his third album, released in March, is a classic. On 11 tracks, Third Coast’s representative tells an unconventional story about choices made for survival and their various results. It’s his honesty that draws crowds. and his aura that makes them addicts

No worries. This is one bath where you won’t get wet. With more new residents hailing from California and Arizona, Dallas has become a mecca for the popular “sound bath.” This meditative experience is ultra-captivating, where soundwaves explore and travel through every cell of your body. From crystal bowls to Tibetan bowls and gongs, the symphony of sounds make for a magical, melodic meditation. However, no other is like that of Kenny Kolter, who boasts decades of experience and who goes so far as to use gumbo pots to create a unique sound bath oasis.

It’s sort of grunge, kinda shoegaze, at times experimental. Death By Monkey is always great. Founded by teenagers Isaiah O’Keefe, Jayc Roberts and Spencer Frye, the band produces sound that can be soft, like on the Slowdive-esque “Streetlights” from the April 2024 EP The Past Few Weeks. They do their best Nirvana impression on “My Mind” from that same record. When Death By Monkey plays with heavier bands, it has to rip through the eponymous “Death By Monkey” track, which reminisces of early Helmet records. The three-piece is a blast from rock’s dirty ’90s past, and it’s only just begun.

Created and curated by photographer Destiny King, Tuesdaze Urban is an underground photography zine exclusively featuring Dallas lenses. Only on its second print issue, King builds the zine around exhibitions she hosts. She invites local photographers to showcase their work in person, then takes that work to design 100+ pages online and sends it to print. Physical copies of Tuesdaze Urban are limited and hard to come by, but photos are posted regularly to Instagram @tuesdazeurbanpress_

The back of Full City Rooster is a mini art museum for the admission price of one latte. Owner Michael Wyatt decorates the walls with artwork from some established regulars in his neighborhood. Recently, prints from award-winning photographer Byrd Williams IV covered the hallway, flanked by paintings from visual multi-hyphenate Mikki Mallow. At a writing desk against the back wall, stacks of poetry books, copies of SMU’s Southwest Review and an open sketchbook for patrons to draw in are laid out for browsing.

Alex O’aiza treats a crowd of 40 people like it’s 40,000. The Mexican-American pop singer’s effort for his live product is second to none. The Dallasite incorporates skits, choreography, vignettes and clever DIY stage design into a setlist that’s guaranteed to keep people dancing. O’aiza is going to be a star, and he knows it. But once he becomes one, you won’t notice much difference.

TikToker Sarah Barthel relocated from Minneapolis to Dallas in late 2022. Since then, Barthel has been giving Dallasites a fresh look at their stomping grounds. Barthel’s TikTok transforms the transplant into our virtual bestie. Social media users get a glimpse at her hauls, day in the life, do-it-yourself beauty hacks and travel content, but our favorite is her Dallas content. Barthel is the go-to unobnoxious influencer who tries out the best wellness, self-care, eating and drinking spots in Dallas. She provides lifelong Dallasites the opportunity to remember oldies but goodies and see if the latest fad is worth our time and dime.

The Venn diagram of financial planners and singer-songwriters who’ve turned heads at the Kerrville Folk Festival probably overlaps minutely. Like, maybe there’s just one artist like that in all of Dallas? Enter Stephanie Sammons, a Dallas-based financial planner who has also crafted one of the year’s most arresting, beautiful records with her debut, Time and Evolution. Produced by folk eminence Mary Bragg, the LP traces Sammons’ own reckoning with being queer in a conservative, Southern religious culture. Far from a furious screed, it is instead tender, inquisitive and often profoundly moving. These songs are the textbook definition of soulful.

This café-bookstore-bar has been written about in the past (in last year’s Best Of, we named it “Best Place for a First Date”), and it will almost certainly be written about in the future. But we would be remiss not to point out how special it is that Sir Richard Bishop, the guitarist and vocalist of Phoenix avant-garde and punk legends Sun City Girls, played the intimate setting last year. The Wild Detectives is also a great place to check out a who’s who of regional talent, including Austin’s own Little Mazarn and Thor & Friends and locals such as Aaron Gonzalez and Lily Taylor. The acts who often play The Wild Detectives won’t be selling out Carnegie Hall any time soon, but if there were any divine justice, they would be. They are some of this state’s supreme talents, and the world needs to know it.

The up-and-coming Dallas alt-rock band has put out several compelling visuals this past year, but the dark and moody video for “Where Have the Angels Gone” is among their best work. The Luke Asper-directed visual has a gripping Southern Gothic aesthetic, centering on a fire-and-brimstone-preacher, his troubled congregation and the frontwoman Amethyst Michelle (the band’s namesake) invoking icons like Paramore’s Hayley Williams with her cutting voice and magnetic stage presence. Both the video and the band are ones to watch.

Dallas was ready for its close-up last November when The Iron Claw, a film about Denton wrestling family the Von Erichs, premiered at the Texas Theatre. Stars Zac Efrom and Jeremy Allen White were present for the red-carpet event. The film went on to be considered a high point of 2023, earning rave reviews from both critics and audiences. It’s nice to not only see a local story reach a wide audience, but for an iconic landmark like the Texas Theatre to be part of it. Here’s hoping The Iron Claw will inspire more movies about Dallas and local premieres, because we live for the attention.

Hadid has lived in Fort Worth since May, so we’re jumping at the chance to claim her as a bona fide North Texan. While we admire her contributions to fashion and humanitarian causes, we’re particularly fascinated by her status as a horse girl. She’s a lifelong equestrian and recently put her modeling career on the back burner to focus on training for Western-style cutting competitions across North Texas. She’s in her Bella Yeehaw-did era, if you will. While we don’t know much about the sport, we think she looks cool as hell in her cowgirl gear.

“The Girl Who Works at the Box Office,” as Vega is known on Instagram, goes above and beyond what you’d expect from a movie theater employee. She sells tickets, of course, but also publishes a zine, The Marquee Times, organizes creative events (such as screening The Twilight Saga: Eclipse during the solar eclipse) and works tirelessly to build upon Dallas’ community of film enthusiasts. Her growing Instagram account is rife with film recommendations and dazzling photos of her extensive collection of DVDs and VHS tapes. In a world of pedantic film bros, Vega’s earnest and passionate presence is a breath of fresh air.

Sue Ellen’s is the oldest lesbian bar in Texas and the last of its kind in Dallas. The place may have won in this category by default, but we have to shout it out on principle. For one thing, a business doesn’t survive for 35 years on originality alone. Sue Ellen’s has provided joy and refuge through the AIDS epidemic, a recession, COVID-19 and generations of prejudice. There are only 32 operating lesbian bars, meaning that spaces exclusively for queer women are few and far between. We’re proud that Dallas is home to a great one.

When the influential TikTok food critic Keith Lee visited Dallas in January, all eyes were on the restaurants he chose to review. Businesses such as brunch spot Brunchaholics in DeSoto and Pakistani-TexMex ghost kitchen Halal Fusionz in Farmers Branch received praise and experienced “the Keith Lee effect,” which refers to businesses receiving a boost based on Lee’s recommendation. Food truck Sweetly Seasoned was not so lucky, as a viral scandal involving the owners pocketing a $4,000 tip meant to be shared by the staff resulted in its closure. We may be dealing with the aftermath of Keith Lee Week for years.

We’re not usually ones to take sides in drama, but it’s hard not to when one side is an established local band and the other is a robot. In March, the Denton-based blues rock band The Infamists learned that an unauthorized album full of 45-second songs had been uploaded to their Spotify page. Between the brevity of the songs and the fact that they sounded like garbage, the band quickly deduced that the album was AI-generated. With the help of other artists who had been through the same thing and an effective social media campaign, the dubious album was taken off streaming. Though we still don’t know who was behind this stunt, we’re glad The Infamists found recourse to silence them.

The esoteric and avant-garde have always struggled for a foothold in Dallas, a land besotted by the shiny, expensive and simple. The fascinating, different or groundbreaking is often relegated to the corners, away from the glare of the mainstream, far from the brunching crowds. So, when upstarts like New Media Contemporary, an artist-run gallery, studio and research space founded by James Talambas, make their presence known, it’s a case of run, don’t walk for those who value art that pushes the envelope and electrifies the soul. Interdisciplinary boundary-breaking is tough to find — patronize those who prize it.

If you’ve ever succumbed to FOMO from some of Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios’ many FOMO-worthy shows, Denton videographer Larry Hill more likely than not has your eyes covered from the comfort of your own home (but still, go to shows.) His YouTube channel “Animals Mistaken for Monsters” includes roughly 4,000 uploads, including full concert footage of professional quality from the likes of Die Spitz, Xiu Xiu, Lightning Bolt, Chat Pile, Sunami, Melvins, Napalm Death and many more.

If you’ve never spent an afternoon rifling through record store bins, only to discover a lost gem tucked away in the stacks, it’s possible The Number One Set and Sound might not elicit a delighted gasp of recognition. Local music legends Danny Balis and Jeff “Skin” Wade, who previously joined forces in the late, great Bastards of Soul, re-teamed after that group’s dissolution in the wake of Chadwick Murray’s untimely death to create Silver Skylarks, a dynamic duo whose sinuous, striking jams evoke the thrill of crate-digging, and whose debut LP delivers one bona-fide, vintage-flavored banger after another.

The news involving DART is almost always a bummer — delays, incidents, construction, suburbs looking to cut funding, what have you — so it was downright refreshing earlier this year when the area’s public transit outfit announced a partnership with Dallas legend Erykah Badu on the eve of her 53rd birthday. Wrapped Badu buses and trains, bearing eye-catching designs created by Badu in partnership with DART, pop up here and there on city streets and will continue to do so through the end of 2024. They’re a vivid, visual reminder of the value of fostering creativity within a city hard-wired for cold, hard capitalism.

Country music might be one of — if not the — most big-tent musical genres in existence. Even so, a case could be made for the value in pushing boundaries, and few country-inclined artists are doing more to put their own indelible stamp on country music than singer-songwriter Angel White. The fifth-generation Texan, who hails from Cleburne, has burst out of the gate with his debut EP, Ghost of the West Volume I, which juxtaposes the slow-burn menace of “Outlaw” with the soaring, heavy rotation-ready “If You’re Gonna Leave.” It marks White as a musician more than comfortable with blurring the boundaries between tradition and innovation.

Outsider art is defined as work “made by self-taught individuals, who are untutored in the traditional arts with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art world.” With this philosophy in mind, Ephemeral Space has spent the last year showing a mixed bag of work that ranges from flyers saved from the legendary Starck Club to pencil drawings made in Huntsville Prison and lots more. The beauty of this quirky concept isn’t just in its off-the-beaten-path philosophy; it also lies in its affordability. The goods may be odd, but the odds are there is an original work in your budget (even under $100) just waiting to be purchased, making it the ideal gallery for creative weirdos looking to enliven a bare wall.

Behind an unassuming frosted glass storefront on Jefferson Boulevard lies a wonderland of contemporary art aimed at serious collectors. We’re talking about Tureen, perhaps the most ambitious project-based gallery to land in our artistically inclined city. Owners Cody Fitzsimmons and Chris Scott intentionally kept the former pharmacy’s original tin ceiling and tile floors to set off minimalist and modern works of sculpture, paper and painting to their best advantage. Created by underrepresented talents from early career to museum quality, Tureen’s stable has already become a favorite of collectors and art advisers in the know. The gallery’s shows are always engaging and thought-provoking, and its location outside the Design District assures that visitors who turn up do so because they really get the spot’s sophisticated mix of work.

Perhaps the most unusual artistic “space” in town is the 2017 Volvo belonging to Dallas Contemporary deputy director Lucia Arbery Simek. As she travels from work to home, the vehicle serves as its own exhibition space in the guise of her project, The Fuel Commission. Because the new-to-her car arrived without a fuel door, Simek and her husband (Scottish curator and writer Gavin Morrison) called on their creative colleagues to create a work of art to display on the vehicle’s temporary door. Featuring work by Brandon Thompson, Keer Tanchak and Joel Murray to date, each small, round painting lives on the car until it is time to rotate it out. Priced to question the value systems of art, each piece will sell for the price of a full tank of gas times 10 (plus a new door). Works so far have ranged from $470 to $509, a fraction of the featured artists’ typical values. So, keep your eyes peeled on their Instagram to snag a piece for your own.

When all the best indie cinemas are falling like dominos, it is heartening to learn that film fanatics still exist in Dallas. The adorable microcinema Spacy is keeping the faith alive in Oak Cliff with an array of uber-niche options that skew heavily toward international, queer and art films. With just 35 folding seats, the space in the basement of a former wax paper factory is intimate; founder Tony Nguyen always anticipated it as a spot to do private screenings and parties along with ongoing programming, including private dinners, pop-up shops and perfume swaps. But if you want to catch an early Fassbinder or Nobuhiko Ôbayashi masterwork, it’ll cost you a very affordable $10. BYO popcorn, but sweet treats are available.

In March incumbent state Sen. Nathan Johnson, somewhat surprisingly, faced a Democratic challenger for his seat, and a formidable one at that. State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado ran a solid campaign, but failed to convince voters she could serve in the Senate role better than Johnson had since being elected in 2018. Since that time, Johnson has been a relatively lonely blue dot in the ever-reddening legislative chambers of Austin, yet he’s been impressively productive while sticking to his guns (so to speak) on important matters including public school funding, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights and gun safety.

This rainbow Oak Cliff haunt welcomes folks from all walks of life. With a colorful interior, interactive jukebox and loungy couches and chairs, Barbara’s Pavillion makes for happy queer refuge – especially on groovy karaoke nights. Drinks that won’t break the bank, and bar snacks to absorb your gin and tonics are also a delight. Not to mention, the back patio makes for a cozy spot for you and your besties to discuss that cool indie film you saw at the Texas Theatre a few blocks away. This little dive bar may be small, but it sure feels like home.

Sure, there are plenty of other large cities that love a good tribute band, but we know that North Texas as a region is mad about seeing tribute bands for everyone from T-Swift to Luke Combs to AC/DC. If you count yourself a fan of tribute acts, you can’t go wrong with a trip to Lava Cantina. It’s a venue that believes in tribute bands the way those bands believe in the artists they pay tribute to.

Dallasites of all ages are probably familiar with the vinyl stylings of Mark Ridlen, aka DJ Mr. Rid. Under his DJ Deluxe umbrella, Dallas’ longtime music master has been part of the city’s club scene for decades, from his start at the Starck Club to his early “Scaraoke” parties to current gigs for the likes of the Texas Theatre and Modern Luxury magazine. He’s always sure to bring out the deep cuts, alone or in tandem with his occasional spinmaster sidekick, supermodel Chandra North. The recent Starck Club reunion event at the Kessler was just the latest in a long line of culturally influential moments driven by Mr. Rid’s passion for the music he’s happy to share — uptown and down.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor Shead was given a difficult mission: turn learning into a video game. Shead, the founder and CEO of the local tech startup STEMuli, did just that. What she and her team created is something they’re calling an educational metaverse. In a virtual world built for learning, students can create their own avatars and sit in simulated classrooms with teachers and friends. After classroom instruction, students are let out into the educational metaverse to perform tasks that will help them learn. The company also implemented artificial intelligence into its world. Now, the platform will learn what local students are struggling in and offer them educational tasks accordingly. STEMuli is used in Dallas and Garland independent school districts and recently won an international award for its use of AI. Big things are happening for this little tech startup.

When she’s not belting backgrounds for Erykah Badu, LaLa Johnson is traveling the Dallas area with her 13-member, all-woman band called the iTina Band. Inspired by the legendary Tina Turner, Johnson is simply “The Best” as she belts out hits from Turner, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston and others.. Johnson channels her inner Tina with signature outfits, wigs and moves to keep the audience rollin’ for more and in a state of nostalgia. It’s an experience like none other, even one the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” would be proud of.

Dallasite ShantaQuilette Carter-Williams has amassed more than 1 million followers and more than 46.1 million likes on TikTok, earning her the title as “Social Media’s Favorite TikTok Mom.” What started as family fun during the pandemic has morphed into comedic gold for the former IRS worker now turned comedian. As a heart attack and stroke survivor, the mother of three pours all into her TikTok comedy, which often pokes fun at family life. From Gen X jokes to pranking her son, Carter-Williams has garnered the support (and shares) of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Snoop Dogg and other influential celebrities.

Even if the food hall concept isn’t your bag for dining, the outdoor music venue at Legacy Food Hall in Plano is probably right up your alley when you’re catching a concert or a big game. The calendar leans heavy into the tribute band scene, which suburbanites seem to love, but some of the biggest names in Texas country and ’80s hair metal have played the intimate yet open space recently as well. On nights a concert isn’t happening, it’s one of the best places to join a watching party for a Dallas Cowboys game or a global soccer match.

A couple of years ago, Matt Hillyer’s longtime honky-tonk group Eleven Hundred Springs called it quits, but that by no means brought Hillyer’s honky-tonking to an end. He teamed with local label State Fair Records to release the excellent Glorieta in 2023 and the stellar Bright Skyline this year. The swinging, standout track from the latest LP, “Moving Away,” is a funny, classic country gem that fits nicely into Hillyer’s catalog. Besides, not many tunes with the lyric “they know it ain’t right to let the dog take a shit on my lawn,” can get away with it like this one does.

As movie theaters have come and (mostly) gone in recent times, Texas Theatre remains strong. With exciting series, presentations of major releases and indie films, as well as magical festivals, the Texas Theatre is the ultimate film buff destination in Dallas. Just last year, the venue was the site of a major red carpet premiere, with The Iron Claw. More than 90 years since its opening, Texas Theatre continues to make history.

Yes, we know the speakeasy trend is beginning to get played out, but Cheat Code Lounge is a true speakeasy in every sense of the word. Through a staircase or elevator at Station 4, and then another trek downstairs, guests of the popular queer nightlife destination will discover a haven of arcade games. As Dallas’ gayborhood continues to evolve, the famed strip meets the needs of LGBTQ+ people seeking to heal their inner child — through games, contests, and pure fun. Drinks are available at the nearby bar, but Cheat Code Lounge also makes for a nice space for our sober brothers, sisters and non-binary siblings.

The most important thing in the fetish scene is community. After all, what is a fetish without a like-minded soul to share it with? Enter Fetish Ball. See the best outfits in latex, burlesque, rubber, you name it. Step up to the Wheel-of-Pain, take your chances with “Mistress Choice” and take your punishment. We know you’ll love it. Nov. 15–17.

Opened as the Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre on July 23, 1988, Dos Equis Pavilion has been Dallas’ best medium-sized spot to catch a live show for about 36 years now. The first thing to appreciate about the Pavilion is the parking price included with the ticket. Yes, you’re still paying for it, but isn’t it nice to avoid the secondary hassle of figuring out how you should pay the parking attendant? Next is the location. Its setting in Fair Park is away from the chaos of Deep Ellum, Lakewood, The Cedars or Lower Greenville, but close enough to make any of those areas an ideal spot for an afterparty. Then there is the humble lawn, which has always given music fans budget ticket options to see great bands. Then there is the lineup of concerts itself, which can be truly unbelievable in its variety. This year alone, the venue has hosted Alanis Morissette, Hozier, Foo Fighters and 21 Savage, and the rest of the year is looking even brighter.

Founded in 2016 in a little house on Locust Street in Denton a little more than half a mile from the Downtown Square, Faded Blue is more than just a record store with its vintage furniture, home decor, crafts, clothing and any other kind of odd or end that is old and cool, especially vinyl records. Faded Blue is by no means a large record store. One could easily flip through the store’s entire selection in about an hour, but there is always plenty more in the back. Owner Devin Drake prices records fairly, meaning that you’re not going to pay more just because it’s by the Rolling Stones. Maybe that copy of Beggar’s Banquet has some cover damage or a minor scratch on the vinyl, but this decent copy of the classic album will only set you back $15. To keep up with the space, Drake will move records that haven’t been sold into a $5 bin and then into a $1 bin. Anything that sits too long in the $1 bin will be bundled together in a bundle of 20 mystery albums that is sold for $5, which is a great way to expand your collection and hear some really weird stuff from musicians long-forgotten by history. That deal alone is worth the drive.

In the middle of a sprawling concrete jungle in Plano sits a little oasis called the Katy Trail Icehouse Outpost. Many Dallasites are familiar with the bar and grill’s flagship location along the Katy Trail in Dallas on Routh Street, but its satellite location in Plano is well worth the stop if you find yourself north of the PGBT. Like the flagship, the outpost is a casual beer garden with plenty of drinks to choose from and a delicious menu to boot. Unlike the little ice house along the trail, the suburban Katy Trail Ice House Outpost has plenty of room to grow, so it is. The Outpost is expanding its patio by 6,000 square feet, enough room for 300 more guests, a tiki bar, outdoor bathrooms, 22 trees, a new fire pit and two walk-in coolers for the kitchen that should all be complete by the end of October.

Dallas Book and Sip Club is not your average book club. The flagship Book and Sip Club was founded in Houston in August 2023. In less than a year, the community-focused book club has exploded with 26 chapters worldwide. Mallory Jordan founded Dallas’ chapter in April 2024 and has since accumulated a membership waitlist of hundreds of eager readers. It’s no surprise why. Jordan selflessly invests in the aesthetics and community-building aspects of the Dallas chapter. There are various socializing opportunities around the city, including pizza making, happy hours and movie outings. Once a month, the club gathers for an intricately planned, themed book club meeting. It’s the perfect opportunity to make new friends, visit Dallas hot spots and dive into engaging conversations about books with a diverse group of literary aficionados.

For the second year in a row, Jesse Plemons has taken the cake when it comes to North Texas actors. Born in Dallas and raised outside of Waco, Plemons received the Best Actor award at Cannes this year for his role in Kinds of Kindness, the latest from Yorgos Lanthimos. Plemons solidified himself as a Texas boy back in his Friday Night Lights days, and now he has cemented his spot within the Hollywood elites. His cover profile with Texas Monthly is worth the read.

Dallas multi-instrumentalist Paul Slavens hosts the award-winning weekly radio program The Paul Slavens Show on 91.7 KXT. During the program, you’ll hear a diverse mix of music from varying time periods and genres. From jazz to country, Slavens plays it all. Listeners can also suggest tunes in the comments section on KXT’s website. This year, Slavens celebrates 20 years on the radio, starting out on the Sunday night shift on KERA 90.1. When KXT was formed, Slavens moved over to the station where The Paul Slavens Show was created. If you miss a song, don’t worry. Slavens posts the playlist on his blog after each show. If you want to catch the magic that is Paul Slavens, tune into KXT at 8 p.m. every Sunday.

The official podcast for the publication Texas Hemp Reporter Magazine is the Texas Hemp Show. It offers the latest and greatest news around all the happenings in the Lone Star State’s hemp industry. The show is recorded every Thursday, 6–7 p.m., and is released on Fridays. Each episode ranges from 30 minutes to an hour with the hosts inviting guests to discuss their corner of the hemp market. Recently, the podcast celebrated its four-year anniversary and hosted discussions about possible bans on delta-8 and delta-9 products in Texas.

If you’re into the D-beat, crust and powerviolence acts like Discharge, Anti-Cimex and Infest, and you peruse the subreddit r/jacketsforbattle, you will be pleased to know that a distribution site ships out patches and other merch for those bands and others. You can even get a whole sheet of patches for $12, whether they be the logos of Rudimentary Peni or Hannah Montana (seriously, they’ve got it.) And once you place an order with Slit Wrists Distro, you will see on the shipping label that the products are packed and shipped from Abilene. Not exactly Stoke-on-Trent, but it’s nice to know that someone in that town is doing this kind of exceptional work.