Moments before he’s due on stage, Paris Pershun is pacing back and forth in the Trees greenroom. It’s a place he’s been plenty of times before and he’s surrounded by friends, including artist Bobby Sessions who’s the night’s headliner. Yet he’s desperately trying to drown out their conversations to better…
Dallas hip-hop has always played in the shadows of Houston’s superstar hip-hop scene, but every so often a local rapper or group from the city produces a song that catches fire. These songs resonate in the streets (often found in the legendary T-Town Music & More record shop in Pleasant…
Mo3 is different man now than he was at the beginning of the year. “I started living off rap this year and I love it. I’m shining,” the Dallas rapper says. “I look different — you got a different vibe when you’re struggling and trying to figure out where you’re…
Bob Haydon’s ears perked up when he overheard a fellow student, sitting behind him, complain about his aching fingers. The student, Steve Miller, had stayed up until 1 a.m. playing the guitar. Haydon turned around and told him that he played guitar, too. Miller said he was looking for a…
DJ Red Eye is at the center of Dallas dance music for decades, laying the foundation for the recent burst in activity. Along with residencies at bars in town, he’s a scout for talent for the Audiophile Deep record label. His technical mastery behind the decks, along with his depth…
There may be hope yet for Lower Greenville. Long after the once rough-and-tumble live music neighborhood gave way to rooftop bars and valet service, the closure of Ships Lounge last summer looked like the final sign of the changing tide towards Uptownization. But now there’s a plot twist. Tomorrow, almost…
Tommy Delano spoke to Patrick Zamarripa the night before the police officer’s murder. Every Wednesday for six months, Zamarripa, an officer with the Dallas Police Department, worked off duty at the Candle Room, Delano’s Knox-Henderson bar. Last week, a gunman in downtown Dallas shot and killed Zamarripa, a 32-year-old Iraq War…
Through their record labels Audiophile, Audiophile Deep and Audiophile XXL, Jimmy Freer and Chris Wu have become cornerstones of Dallas dance music. Outside of the dance community, their labels may be overlooked in Dallas, but Audiophile has a higher profile than the vast majority of local record labels. They release music…
It’s been a charmed year for Grapevine native Post Malone. He’s gone from an unknown kid posting his own recordings on Soundcloud to touring the world with Justin Bieber. Now Malone has hit another milestone, and The Biebs himself helped him celebrate. Malone turned 21 on Monday, sharing a birthday…
Darius Rucker is backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the foundation and epicenter of mainstream American country music. He’s ready to perform, looking calm and casually hip in jeans, a black T-shirt and over-the-ankle lizard-skin cowboy boots. Rucker has decided to close his three-song set, on opening night…
This week’s Dallas Observer Mixtape features the exotic beats of radio show host DJ Flying B. Through his shows The Flying Burrito Music Show and Global Beats, Flying B explores modern around the globe. This may go down as one of the strangest installments in this series. The mix itself is…
Ariel Saldivar was planning her birthday party last year when she hit on an idea. At the time, friend and record producer John Congleton was recording an album with Montreal band SUUNS at his Elmwood Recording studio. Saldivar asked them to play at Texas Theatre for the party, and when…
Miles Davis is enjoying a renaissance in 2016. The jazz titan, easily one of the most pivotal music figures of the 20th century, would’ve been 90 years old this year, and he’s already received a fitting tribute in Don Cheadle’s labor of love film, Miles Ahead. Then a few weeks…
This is one small step for live streaming, one giant leap for live music in Denton. Dan’s Silverleaf has taken a page right out of the future and, for the past three months, has been streaming Paul Slaven’s weekly Monday night residency live on the Internet. And there may be…
Anthony Harwood is a Chicago native who relocated to Dallas more than a decade ago. You can find him playing around town, but only occasionally. Lately he’s been busy starting an internet radio station, not just programming the music but actually writing software code, and raising his daughter. The depth…
A bent stop sign with the pole still attached, cowboy hats, a sneaker, license plates, a rubber monkey, an empty Crown Royal bag, a longhorn skull with an image of KISS guitarist Ace Frehley tattooed on its forehead — reminders of a rock ‘n’ roll life surround Rita Haney in…
Frank Campagna Jr., known as Frankie or simply by the name of the Dallas punk band he fronted, Frankie 45, committed suicide more than five years ago. Just a few months later, Frankie 45 bassist Adam Carter also took his life. Foundation 45 is a nonprofit organization ran by the…
It creaks, it squeaks and sometimes it leaks. The basement of J&J’s Pizza in Denton certainly has its odd charm, but after 15 years of hosting live music it’s about to get a facelift. Affectionately known as the Old Dirty Basement, J&J’s will be closing the room through the end…
Omar Mustafa represents the brighter side of Dallas’ younger-generation DJ culture. He’s dedicated to the art of the mix, but as an audience member he’s a staple on the dancefloor of many other DJ’s dance nights. If you go out to see club DJs often enough, you are more than…
It’s been a bit of a weird year for Kanye West. Like, weird even for Yeezy. There was the whole bankruptcy thing, plus, of course, the album that we’re still not quite sure he’s done with, even though it’s been out for four months. So, hey, sounds like it’s about to…
Tensions were high in Oak Lawn on Sunday night. Afternoon thunderstorms had left the skies overcast and bleak, and all along the streets and in the doorways of the clubs there was a hard-to-miss police presence. Only hours before, a shooter had opened fire inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando,…
When Oaktopia first got its start in Denton back in 2013, it was built on a genre that hadn’t exactly been the backbone of previous festivals in the area: hip-hop. Booking headliners like Del the Funky Homosapien and Aesop Rock in its first two years, the young festival strayed off…
