“Dimebag” Darrell Abbott would’ve been 50 this Saturday if a deranged fan hadn’t ended his life in 2004. Every year since, friends, family and fans have gathered for the Ride for Dime, which takes place this year on the Pantera guitarist’s 50th birthday. In honor of the fallen legend, the Observer…
This week has seen some real drama in Dallas music news, although none of it had to do with Kanye West. (Well, okay, some of the news did, but not the dramatic stuff.) No, the drama had to do with Grand Prairie native Selena Gomez. Fortunately, there was also some…
-Topic knows how to think outside the box. For the past two years, the Dallas rapper has turned his birthday into a giant party where all his friends play, called Cake Jam. He even made a mixtape and coffee table book to pay tribute to his favorite sweaters. But -Topic’s…
Cle Acklin is about as old school as it gets in Dallas DJ culture. As a member of the infamous Hazy Daze Collective in the ’90s, he laid down some of the basic roots for the scene we have today. Although largely associated with house, Acklin is versatile and consistently…
The bar and music venue formerly known as The Underpass, tucked under I-30 in Expo Park, is getting a remake. Now under new ownership, it’s set to reopen this fall as The Dirty 30, for the namesake highway above it. It’s the brain-child of long-time bassist for the rock band…
The last time Disturbed were in Dallas, things got a little testy. Well, singer David Draiman did anyway, when he called out a fan for being on her cel phone during the show. (She was calling home to check on a child.) So it’s probably a good thing that one…
Leon Bridges and Barack Obama — you know, the President of the freaking United States of America — go way back. Well, maybe not way back, but they’ve sure met before, and the president’s admiration for the Fort Worth singer’s music is well documented. Now Obama has given Bridges an…
Two years ago I approached the Dallas Observer about reviving a mixtape series for the paper. I saw this as an opportunity to create a historical document of what the Dallas DJ scene looks like from the street level. Not the wedding DJs or the Top 40 club DJs, but…
Allen Falkner is as Deep Ellum as they come, but his name is known around the world. He’s known as the father of body suspension, in which people suspend themselves in the air with the aid of hooks inserted in their flesh. Faulkner already owns the Fade Fast tattoo removal…
Pat Averhart believes Dallas’ underground music scene can become a flourishing, self-sufficient culture — it just needs a little help. That’s where Dallas Week comes in. Running today through Sunday, the second annual Dallas Week will include 15 local events that Averhart helped organize. He hopes to not only create awareness…
There’s no good way to say it: It hasn’t been a good year for Denton music venues. The first closure of 2016 had come virtually before the year had even started, as Hailey’s Club closed after one final night of business on New Years Eve. Then came Rubber Gloves, which…
Oaktopia is still about six weeks away, but it’s already shaping up to be a pretty good festival this year. What started as the little-hip-hop-festival-that-could just a few years ago has developed a pretty eclectic lineup of indie and emerging rap talent, from Rae Sremmurd to Andrew W.K. to the…
M3SA and Pintalabios recently started making the rounds of the Dallas party scene as a duo operating largely within the realm of techno, with added hat tips to classic industrial and synth pop. That crossover is a trend that has existed in club music for many years, but gained extra…
Football season is almost upon us, and with the kickoff of the Cowboys’ training camp Dallas football fans are one step closer to erasing the words “Blake Weeden” from their memories. Tony Romo will rebound. They’re still in the junk pile known as the NFC East. 9-7, here we come…
Could there have been any other candidate to headline Billy Bob’s 35th anniversary concert? Even though Willie Nelson picked up and moved his annual 4th of July party back down to Austin, the Red Headed Stranger will always be synonymous with the World’s Largest Honky Tonk. In fact, in the…
Six Shooter is a recurring feature where we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians. The summer is never an easy time to be in Dallas, but the tragedy that rocked the city in July makes it one month that most likely aren’t sad to see go. All the…
When Richard Haskins showed up to court on Thursday morning, he had no idea that he was going to receive his sentence. Arrested in December 2012 for attempting to rob the Well Fargo bank on University Drive in Denton, the Wee Beasties singer has been in jail since last March…
Uchin Chung has secured veteran status by deejaying and promoting shows since the early ’90s. Chung has seen the Dallas scene develop from the audience and behind the decks. Although Chung is not currently holding down any residencies, his name pops up on rosters for numerous local parties. Not only…
Kris Kristofferson’s return to the stage at Newport Folk Festival last weekend was a landmark in the country music legend’s career. It was there in 1969 that he made his debut as a guitarist for Johnny Cash, who had just discovered Kristofferson after hearing his demos. Forty-seven years later, Kristofferson…
Emeka Ibe is surrounded by three 40-inch monitors, candy red JBL speakers and multiple, nearly-filled-to-capacity dry erase boards. “I wanted to be living proof that you can do anything,” he says, loading his audio production software. Over the past year, Ibe released a single and performed at the Oaktopia music…
Willie Nelson, Texas’ favorite import, is the nation’s most famous pot smoker. (Sorry Snoop.) You may not be able to toke with him at his 4th of July picnic, but thankfully you’ll have a chance to smoke his weed. Starting this month, his long-anticipated brand of cannabis, Willie’s Reserve, will be for…
Joel Zoch, most often performing under his alias Jethro Tilton, bridges Dallas’ DJ culture and its experimental scene. Zoch was on the front line in various projects and played the infamous Hazy Daze parties back in the rave days. His music knowledge of the somewhat obscure is off the charts,…
