Embracing The Hustle: Dallas Musicians Who Enjoy Success Offstage

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…

10 Essential Elvis Costello Deep Cuts

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…

The Rise, Fall and Inevitable Rise of Promoter King Camel

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!”…

Hip-Hop Artist Fat Yunginn Signs With Cash Money Records

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…

Woman Crush Wednesday: Musician Nicole Marxen

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…

Zac Wilkerson Chases Many Muses But Always Lands at Soul

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…

Rappers and Philosophers: The Best Rap Lyricists in DFW

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…

Woman Crush Wednesday: Singer Bree Parker

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…

Jessica Simpson and the Erasure of the Dumb Blonde Era

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…

‘Brave’ Local Singer-Songwriter Comes Out as Genre-Fluid *

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,…

Sudie, 10K.Caash, Honie Gold and This Month’s Best New Music

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,…

Rapper Ebo Finds the Self-Love of Her Life

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…

10 North Texas Love Songs To Get You Ready for Valentine’s Day

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…