Voting for the 2015 Dallas Observer Music Awards is Now Open

Here we go again, Dallas. For the 27th year running, the Dallas Observer Music Awards are on their way. Each year, the Observer throws a big-ass party to help celebrate all the hard-working musicians of the Dallas music scene. Two of them, in fact. And we even hand out a…

Pearlbase Records Builds a Home For Hispanic Hip Hop in Dallas

When Jim Smith was a teenager he met the then iconic, now infamous rapper South Park Mexican at Trader’s Village. The underground superstar from Houston was selling his music and had a row of Sony Discmans lined up and loaded with his albums and mixtapes. Flipping through the CD booklet,…

The Dallas-Fort Worth Music Bucket List

Dallas hasn’t always done the best job of appreciating its musical culture, but the history runs deep in this city. Sure, concert venues and bands have come and gone; hell, even Deep Ellum has been all but lost on more than one occasion. So it’s important that appreciate all the…

Oaktopia Was Still a Little Shaky in Its Third Year in Denton Over the Weekend

Oaktopia Fest With Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Minus the Bear, Polyphonic Spree and more Downtown Denton Friday to Sunday, September 25 to 27, 2015 Oaktopia Fest has been quickly gaining traction since its debut in 2013. The three-day music/arts/beard festival centered around Denton’s town square has reached its…

Oaktopia Founder Matt Battaglia Has Big Plans for Denton Hip-Hop

Matt Battaglia started Denton’s newest, and possibly biggest, music festival when he were just 23 years old. Once the city’s upstart festival, Oaktopia is heading into its third year with its biggest lineup yet and an opportunity solidify its self as one of the very best in North Texas. But…

Dallas’ 10 Best Bars for People Watching

If you’re an introvert, going out to a bar can seriously be torture. Going alone means that any friendly drunk feels the need to chat you up and include you in conversation, which can get in the way of your ability to eavesdrop and, perhaps most importantly, people watch. There…