Music News: Bruno Mars, Keith Urban and 30 Seconds to Mars

Bruno Mars just won the Grammy for album of the year, and you’ll be able to catch him in Dallas at a pair of shows this fall. Elsewhere, a couple of Hollywood stars bring their musical acts to town. A couple of album anniversary tours make their way to Dallas…

Three Links Celebrates Valentine’s Day the Punk Rock Way

It’s a quiet night in Deep Ellum this Valentine’s Day. Everyone is out for a quiet evening with a date, wrapping the night up early to move on to more intimate surroundings. Such is not the case for this evening’s showcase at Three Links. For Deep Ellum’s favorite punk club,…

Dallas Observer Mixtape with Kaycee Unisca

Born out of the bubbling Dallas rave scene in the ’90s, Kaycee Unisca has made the journey from enthusiastic foot shaker on the dance floor to DJ making the feet shake. Like most deejays, he has gone through a few genre phases, but house music has been a constant thread…

Prepare Your Calendars: Fortress Festival Announces 2018 Schedule

With the heavy lifting of programming completed, the team behind Fortress Festival is now focused on sales and promotion. This morning they announced the daily schedule for the burgeoning festival’s second year. The first round of performers, on Saturday, April 28, will include De La Soul, RZA featuring Stone Mecca,…

In Bed With Rat Rios and Rob Martinez

“In Bed With” is a Dallas Observer series in which we delve into the homes and personal lives of Dallas music industry professionals.  Sammy “Rat” Rios and Rob Martinez are two of Dallas’ most promising artists. Rios is a singer and stage actress, and Martinez is a videographer. They’re both…

Get Stoked: JMBLYA Announces J. Cole As Headliner

For faithful JMBLYA fans the wait is over. ScoreMore Shows announced this morning that acclaimed North Carolina rapper J. Cole will headline the sixth installment of the annual Hip Hop/EDM music festival. With Fayetteville’s finest anchoring this year’s lineup the complete roster of artist includes, Migos, Cardi B, Kevin Gates,…

Music News: Paul Simon, Justin Timberlake, Ozzy Osbourne and More

Retirement announcements seem to be happening on a weekly basis for some of our most beloved musical acts. On the heels of last week’s farewell call from Elton John, Paul Simon and Ozzy Osbourne are making plans for life away from the road. Fortunately for us, they’ll both hit Dallas…

Reports of Music CDs’ Death Are Exaggerated

Given the continued decline in CD sales overall for the past 15 years, it’s only been a matter of time for big-box stores to stop selling them. The dominant format from the early ’90s to the early ’00s is about to be gone from all Best Buy locations, and Target…

37 Years After It Opened, Bill’s Records Is Still Special

On a chilly Sunday morning, Bill Wisener turns on the “open” sign at his vinyl record store, one of the oldest in Dallas. You’ll recognize Wisener’s shop when you spot the red “Bill’s” sign hanging outside the store, which is nestled next to Poor David’s Pub on Lamar Street in Dallas’…

Dallas Observer Mixtape with Flash 45s: Electrofunk Mix

Dance music genres go in and out of popularity, and electrofunk is about to have its moment again. DJ Flash 45s is best known for spinning his vinyl 45s, but this week he takes a stab at electro. Today, the genre is most commonly associated with techno, but it has…

Dallas Rapper Bobby Sessions Signs with Def Jam

Dallas hip-hop artist Bobby Sessions announced today that he has signed with Def Jam. The announcement comes almost three years to the day since Sessions quit his day job to pursue music full time. In a 2015 interview with the Observer, Sessions said that he only had $50 in his…