We gon’ be alright? Maybe, maybe not. For one Dallas music fan it’s probably the latter, because Whitney Larkins is suing Dave Free, Kendrick Lamar’s manager and president of Top Dawg Entertainment, for $1 million. As TMZ reported Tuesday, the lawsuit alleges that Free trying scamming her out of $10,000…
Jen Littlz has traveled far and wide to witness many of the finest talents in underground house and techno. She has been a fixture on Dallas dance floors since the ’90s. In recent years she has taken that extensive dance floor knowledge behind the decks with her feet firmly planted in…
When Moody Fuqua took over as general manager and talent buyer at Crown & Harp, the Lower Greenville dive bar quickly became one of the most important club venues and cultural melting pots in Dallas. On any given night, you can hear a band making sounds you’ve never heard before…
Over three years ago, Tessa Byrd grew restless in her life as a business-owning CPA and decided to revisit her short-lived career as a punk singer, which she’d abandoned in high school. At the same time rock drummer Andi Cuba, having earned a degree in social studies, was looking for…
This is it, folks. Tomorrow is the big day for the Dallas Observer Music Awards, our 27th annual celebration of the Dallas music scene. Having rolled out the band showcase in Deep Ellum last Saturday, we’ll be setting up at The Bomb Factory on Wednesday night for the awards ceremony,…
Mason “Bric” LaDue is not the guy you see in the hip-hop industry if you’re on the outside looking in. He’s not a rapper nor is he a promoter. At different times in his life, he could’ve been both but he’s much more behind the scenes than that. It’s the…
In 2015, there are plenty of people who would say that radio is irrelevant. It’s true that most of us listen to the majority of our music on Spotify or on iPhones, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t still a very real place for radio in the conversation. Maybe…
Being able to predict the future is valuable. Jay Jernigan and Jimi Bowman have the kind of synthesizer collection aficionados like Vincent Gallo or Ryan Gosling could afford. But with most of their collection acquired during the 1990s when pawnshops were full of rare gems, they paid a fraction of…
Now it’s official. Speculation has been rife for weeks about the possibility of Leon Bridges being up for Grammy nominations, to the degree that it’s almost felt like more a question of where he’ll be nominated rather than if. With a busy (and impressive) year that saw him make his…
Now before we jump into breathless praise over the star turn Leon Bridges made on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, let’s put something in perspective. The Fort Worth singer has already played some seriously big gigs this year, including ones on national TV like The Tonight Show With Jimmy…
We regret to inform you that it is that time of year. That time when show frequency dips down in favor of family times and hauling yourself through malls. But thanks to the tireless efforts of Dallas music figures, we’ve still got enough shows to keep you merry. So get…
For being barely 25 years old, Maren Morris is no newcomer to the stage. At just 11 years old, she played her “first real show with a band” at Johnnie High’s Country Music Revue in Arlington, the legendary North Texas weekly variety show that has seen such talents as Kacey…
The weather was brisk in Dallas on Saturday night, but it was the perfect occasion to get bundled up and hit Deep Ellum for the Dallas Observer Music Awards Showcase. Or warm up with a drink or 10. The showcase, with 40 bands spread across nine different venues, always has…
Scott Tucker was on the verge of having a dream come true. On Saturday, December 12, he and his band the Orange were scheduled to play a show at Gas Monkey Live!, opening for one his heroes, Scott Weiland. The Orange have spent a decade playing together, and after a…
Checkered Past Winery isn’t for fancy wine snobs. And it doesn’t want to be. The winery and wine pub quietly opened in early November and features a menu focused on local Texas wines, beers and ciders. Located inside South Side on Lamar, Checkered Past took over the 2,500-square-foot spot at…
Hip-hop artists come from all walks of life. The notion that any generalizations can be made about their backgrounds is nothing less than absurd. Growing up during a gruesome civil war in Liberia, 7KNUCKLES had a tragic youth. He narrowly escaped death and the life of a kid soldier. Decades…
This was supposed to be a special weekend for Dallas metal fans. King Diamond, the Danish legend and one-time front man for Merciful Fate, was scheduled to be playing a “hometown” gig Saturday night at House of Blues, performing his breakout solo album Abigail in its entirety. But those plans…
Muse American Airlines Center, Dallas Wednesday, December 2, 2015 Due to “technical logistic problems” between the Houston date and last night’s date in Dallas, the Muse show at American Airlines Center started late on Wednesday. Very late, actually. But that didn’t stop the AAC from being mostly filled as the…
PS the Rebels call their sound Afro Hop. As the name suggests, it’s a fusion of Afrocentric music with a blend of hip-hop. Think Fela Kuti meets classic hip-hop. But it’s more than a name: Pihon and SumUiLL, the two letters in “PS,” are brothers who migrated from Kenya in…
106.1 KISS FM Jingle Ball With Demi Lovato, Calvin Harris, One Direction and more American Airlines Center, Dallas Tuesday, December 1, 2015 Every teenager you have ever known was at Tuesday’s Jingle Ball hosted by iHeartRadio and KISS FM at American Airlines Center. The teen girls — there were, like,…
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, we were getting ready to host the first-ever December version of our Dallas Observer Music Awards. Perennial DOMA nominees Sarah Jaffe and Old 97’s were squaring off for best album honors, with an upstart rapper, Blue, the Misfit, looking to score…
James Kelley is a true techno journeyman. Kelley is based in Dallas, but has taken advantage of the mobility and flexibility that comes from being a solo electronic artist to travel and play all over the country, as well as some gigs on the other side of the pond. As…
