Yesterday, Chris Stapleton and Willie Nelson’s Saturday co-headline bill at Arlington’s Globe Life Field fell victim to the coronavirus and was postponed. That show wasn’t the only casualty. Thursday morning, Billboard reported that Live Nation is suspending all its tours because of the pandemic. In the afternoon, The New York…
Heart pumping, eyes darting, Abby Cole races down the highway toward her family home. Her gaze flits between the road and the clock. As the pedal inches toward the floor, she wills time to go slower. It’s a chilly night in September 2019, and her song “Dandelion Wine” is being…
There’s a legitimate reason that ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas, the documentary that premiered on Netflix last week, currently boasts a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score: It’s simply fantastic. There’s also a major reason the iconic trio with over 50 years under its belt has long been worthy…
If you’re still reeling over the news that SXSW was canceled because of growing concern over COVID-19, you can take some consolation in the fact that there are still plenty of shows you can catch here in Dallas. This Saturday, March 14, Four Corners Brewing Company will host ChingonX, a…
Many local artists have talents and interests that stretch beyond their main gigs. They possess skills that have been lovingly nurtured over the years and are given the same care and attention to detail that’s afforded their primary musical vocation. For Rhett Miller, the idea had always been germinating, but…
This past week, Elvis Costello announced that he will perform at the House of Blues on April 22 alongside his backing band The Imposters. The show is set to be Costello’s first North Texas performance since his solo show at The Majestic Theatre in 2016. Seeing as Costello has 30…
A hairpin turn along the roller coaster of life made one North Texas musician realize that grief ain’t all that bad. Matthew McNeal bares his soul while sharing that sentiment in his newest album, Good Grief, which is scheduled for release April 3. The heartfelt album follows McNeal’s sophomore release,…
Jake Quillin never expected to move to Texas. Last February, the 26-year-old guitarist was making pizzas at his day job when his phone vibrated. It was an Instagram direct message from Dallas producer Jason Burt, one of the men behind Medicine Man Revival. Burt had a proposition for Quillin. “I…
It was Dec. 4, 2018, when the one-man show that is King Camel’s Jeffrey Brown took to the Canton Hall stage to accept the Dallas Observer Music Award for Best Talent Buyer, hoisting his trophy in the air and telling the cheering audience, “We fucking rule, dude! Suck my ass!”…
Another recording artist from North Texas has reached major-label status. The iconic Cash Money Records has signed “Fill Up Da Bagg” Pleasant Grove rapper Fat Yunginn in a seven-figure deal with a $250,000 advance, according to a press release. Born Jakeldrick Strain, 26-year-old Fat Yunginn says that the passing of…
Our crush this week is musician Nicole Marxen, one of the shiny dark innovators behind glam rock band Midnight Opera. The singer and synth player’s onstage showmanship follows the concept band’s high-drama, ever-changing narrative. The artist, muse and costume queen’s appeal is transporting, taking us through the ages and many…
If it’s not entirely impossible to keep from using the word “soul” when describing Zac Wilkerson’s music, it is certainly ill-advised. For starters, the Dallas resident’s excellent 2016 album is titled Dustbowl Soul, and plenty of the songs on his new record, Evergreen, feature R&B-powered full-band arrangements, which lend themselves…
The element of competition is woven into the fabric of hip-hop culture and it’s part of what inspires rappers to create their best work — there are different styles and skill sets within the genre and it’s grown to include sub-genres and hybrid artists. But let us focus on the…
Our crush this week is singer Bree Parker, who fronts jazz and R&B fusion group Bree & the Fellas. A sunshine-like source of delightfully absurd talent, Parker is a master of vocal control who’s often lighting up stages in Deep Ellum. And she doesn’t litter. Swoon. What’s one song everyone loves that…
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2020 is the Year of the Rat, a time of wealth and abundance. It’s also shaping up to be a time of redemption and retrospection for North Texas megastar Jessica Simpson, who joins power blondes Taylor Swift and Paris Hilton in setting their demure (dare…
In a move many critics are referring to as daring and cavalier, local singer-songwriter Connor Overton announced that he is genre-fluid. “I don’t adhere to the genre binary,” he declared Monday night at a Garland Central Library open mic event. “People like to pigeonhole me into either folk or rock,…
Many fans of Texas country and red dirt music will recognize some key figures who give life to the music they love so dearly. The unmistakable voices of Jack Ingram, Robert Earl Keen and Randy Rogers are universally revered, and they’ve soundtracked our lives for over two decades now. But…
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Taylor Young. Outside of a few one-off shows with his long-running folk-rock band The O’s, Young has been laying low, running a small mortgage company through First United Bank Mortgage and writing songs that he just couldn’t find a home for. “I had…
It’s a given that in the pop music industry, sex will always sell. But when female artists decide to complement their music with a risqué look, it’s often to mixed reviews. Take Taylor Swift, for example, who revealed in the documentary Miss Americana that she developed an eating disorder after…
It’s off to the races for North Texas recording artists right now, if they aspire to follow in the path of 2019’s breakout stars like Yella Beezy and Kaash Paige. Many established acts leading the pack are preparing for highly anticipated spring arrivals, and we’ve also got some new returns,…
Ebo has 10,000 laughs: One is a mischievous chortle. One is a riotous, hyena-esque cackle that crescendos then falls, ending with the rapper shaking her head and saying, “I’m dead, I’m dead.” Ebo’s most common laugh might be what her friends call “the dad laugh,” a soft, polite chuckle that…
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, millions are celebrating their blossoming courtships, while others are bitterly seething with envy and contempt over those who are. Whichever camp you fall under, if either, the fact remains that love is one of the most precious things we have in this life, and music…
