In this week’s Dallas Observer, we profile 30 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Mark Graham. See the entire Dallas Observer People Issue here. Claudia Feliciano has lived in Fort Worth for the past three years, but she’s flown under the…
At 73, Billy Joe Shaver has lived a tough, fascinating life and managed to release nearly 20 albums of stellar hardcore country. We checked in with Shaver from an antique store in Waco, and he told us about his propensity for finding trouble. Catch him tonight at the Kessler Theater…
See also: 16 of the best local releases of 2012 1/2 We’ve been writing in this space for the last three years or so about Dallas’ vibrant, growing underground hip-hop community. 2012 has been a continuation of that trend, as our scene’s unique musical personality starts to emerge. In case…
See also: On the loss of Friday night service Last month, we wrote about the Denton Country Transit Authority implementing changes to its A-Train light rail service, which connects downtown Denton to the DART Green Line in Carrollton. One of the higher profile changes approved by the DCTA board involved…
Born and raised in Dallas, Gary Myrick found his greatest success after moving to California and forming The Figures. In 1980, Gary Myrick & The Figures released a self-titled album that featured the new wave hit “She Talks in Stereo.” The song, along with another Myrick original, ended up in…
In this week’s Dallas Observer we profile 30 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Mark Graham. See the entire Dallas Observer People Issue here. Brooke Humphries is standing outside the entrance of It’ll Do Club on Elm Street a few weeks…
In this week’s Dallas Observer we profile 30 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Mark Graham. See the entire Dallas Observer People Issue here.John Iskander is probably in the best mood he’s been in for months. He sits down for lunch…
In this week’s Dallas Observer we profile 30 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Mark Graham. See the entire Dallas Observer People Issue here. Walking into the A&R Records plant on Riverfront Boulevard is like stepping into some alternate universe in…
See also: Scenes from the H20 Music Festival As an extension of the inaugural H20 Music Festival at the Cotton Bowl earlier this month, which featured regional favorites like Paulina Rubio and Bobby Pulido, as well as national acts like Weezer, Spanish-language station Recuerdo 107.9 was changed to Radio H20…
As we wind down the month of June and find ourselves square in the middle of 2012, there’s that old familiar nudge to gather, quantify, qualify and categorize the local music we’ve enjoyed so far this year. Here are some of of favorites…
If you’ve seen No Room for Rock Stars, a recently-released documentary on the Warped Tour, it might be hard to imagine someone like Evan Weiss fitting in. Weiss, the mastermind behind Into It. Over It, isn’t a tatted-up singer in a metalcore band who’s missing his daughter back home. He…
I was fortunate enough to speak with legend Merle Haggard for this week’s print edition of the Observer. Aside from being in awe each time he mentioned Willie Nelson, Lake Shasta (his home for many years, which he refers to in multiple songs) or Johnny Cash, I was particularly struck…
Ruby JaneFriday, June 29, at McDavid StudioRuby Jane, the 17-year-old fiddle phenom, lives in Austin but got her start right here in Dallas. It’s hard not to love her. Even Willie Nelson has chimed in with praise for the young country singer, who just released her latest album, Celebrity (Empire…
This night unfolds sort of like a local map of heaviness. Headlining the night is Oak Cliff duo Akkolyte, who just returned from a short U.S. tour and will no doubt lay down a spring-loaded set of charred, primal thrash. Fort Worth duo Pinkish Black, on the other hand, slow…
It’s a very interesting social experiment, watching grown-ups reduced to their teenage selves, swooning and beaming at their former teen idols. Such will certainly be the case when New Edition hit the Verizon Theatre. Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant and Bobby Brown are back with…
Class is in session, as young L.A. rapper Schoolboy Q makes his way to The Door, touring behind second album Habits & Contradictions, which follows up debut Setbacks. He’s finally escaping the shadow of guest verses and owning his flow. He won’t be alone, either — check out the stellar…
With the inaugural session of Girls Rock Dallas about a month away, seems like they should go ahead and throw a pool party. They’re taking over FOE for the day, and in addition to live performances from lady-centric bands Zappos, Skating Polly, Static Mind and Faded Grace, there will be…
Willie Nelson’s 39th annual Fourth of July picnic returns to Fort Worth, with some of his closest friends in tow: Ray Wylie Hubbard, Stoney LaRue, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Price, Johnny Bush, Asleep at the Wheel, Deadman, Jamey Johnson and more. If you’ve never seen Nelson (it’s OK, we won’t…
At the age of 75, country music legend Merle Haggard is unafraid. Whether the topic is the environment, immigration concerns or the state of country music in the new millennium, Haggard hardly needs an invitation to share his opinions. During the course of a half hour or so, Haggard easily…
A few weeks ago, a freak hailstorm hit the East Dallas neighborhood I live in, taking out nearly every windshield on my street, including my own. It was one of those events that makes you snap out of whatever haze you’re in and go, “OK, nature, I get it. It’s…
George Gershwin’s “Summertime” has racked up thousands of covers since it appeared on the soundtrack to Porgy & Bess is 1935, and while several jazz and blues artists covered it in the 20th century – Billy Stewart’s version being perhaps the most goosebump-inducing, next to Janis Joplin’s – its appeal…
You might have seen Nikki McKibbin in the national media these days, recalling her time with Rodney King on Celebrity Rehab 2, but she’s still singing around the DFW area in two bands: No Rest for the Wicked and Love Stricken Demise. The latter has a new EP, Psychotrip, and…
