Paul Cauthen’s new video for “Prayed for Rain” is an ode to Dust Bowl-era sharecroppers and their strength to overcome a hardscrabble existence, which is what the song is about, ostensibly. “Some of the strongest people lived and made it through the Dust Bowl,” Cauthen says. “Hardships, famine, drought almost…
With summer in the books, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts found a way to negate the bittersweet feeling of starting classes again. Dallas music legend and 1989 Booker T. graduate Erykah Badu, stepped back on to her old campus with one goal in mind:…
With close to two decades in the DJ booth, Yoshi Moto has been a constant presence in Dallas DJ culture. Now located in San Antonio, he still makes regular trips back home to gig out with different crews and events across the city. Moto has a long history as a…
Anyone who’s hip on hip-hop knows that women are taking over the rap scene. Whether it be A-List artists like Megan Thee Stallion or Cardi B or local artists, audiences are (finally) starting to appreciate women in hip-hop. One of Dallas’ undisputed favorite rappers is Sam Lao, who’s been releasing…
Taylor Swift released her seventh studio album, Lover, at midnight Friday, and Dallas’ own Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, is a featured co-writer on the album. Track 2, titled “Cruel Summer,” lists Swift, Clark and Jack Antonoff as writers, and the upbeat song is a perfect hybrid for St. Vincent’s…
“Give me half a chance / I can prove to you / This life is worth living.” So begins “Off the Ledge,” the second single from Fort Worth alt-rock band Meach Pango’s highly acclaimed second album Distractions. A song about not being able to prove the brighter side of life…
Robert Trusko is a ubiquitous bass player, lending his talents nightly to projects like Skinny Cooks, Thaddeus Ford Project, Bree & the Fellas, Scour, Melody Memory and Jamil Byrom and the Grown Folks, but the project closest to his heart is his solo project, TRUSKO. “I graduated (with a master…
On a hot August afternoon, 90-year-old Bill Schahn puts aside his black suit coat to play piano and sing for the residents who’d gathered in the dining area of a Fort Worth retirement home. Between songs, Schahn provides commentary, and the crowd, whom he calls his friends, respond with laughter…
You would think that having theater virtuoso parents and being classically trained in singing, dancing and acting would make for an easier transition to becoming a singer-songwriter in a band. Shafer Wilkerson, who fronts his group SB Wilkerson, would beg to differ. Despite his musical theater-heavy credentials and having released…
Lord knows it’s hard to support a family as a regionally successful singer-songwriter, especially a big family. That’s why Doug Burr decided early on to work full time during the day to support his wife and four kids, switching hats to write music during the dark and quiet hours of…
Fort Worth band Cut Throat Finches’ new concept album In Event of Moon Disaster is centered on an idea imagining that NASA astronauts made it to the moon, but never made it back home. Making an album with this image as the central, driving concept took more than just historical…
Local artists Sarah Reyes and Daniel Driensky (from creative outfit Exploredinary) were in London filming a project last month when Reyes spotted a bizarre black-and-white advertisement on the Tube, which read “Do you have trouble remembering your dreams?” The ad, which recalled technology straight out of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless…
After moving to Dallas three years ago, Jay Knox found himself in the worst-case scenario — living out of his van. His home, which most days can be found parked off Elm Street in Deep Ellum, is painted blue and covered with stars. He’s played in cities from Washington to…
Some musicians like to dis on social media and internet marketing. “If you pay for advertising on Facebook, you might as well just be throwing your money away,” some of them might say. About a year ago, local act Grand Commander’s Sam Damask was saying the same things. Today, however,…
The light pitter-patter of a hi-hat waxes and wanes, complemented by Solange’s ethereal vocals. Dressed in black and cloaked by the darkness of early morning, dozens of dancers surround Solange and Dallas City Hall, alternating between rigid marches and freestyle dancing. As the short film for “Things I Imagined /…
On just about any musician’s website there’s a biography page with a thick novel’s-worth of flowery, superlative-laden lingo describing the musician in question in terms that are rarely believable, let alone accurate. Every folk-ish singer is detailed as some sort of cross between Bob Dylan, Shakespeare, Nicola Tesla and Mother…
“We’re not built the same,” says Dallas-based rapper G.U.N. on his most recent single “3 Shots In.” While other rappers have used some variation of this line in their songs, G.U.N. has certainly proved that he has greater tenacity than anyone in hip-hop. This June, he was shot in a…
“O Dallas, you shine with an evil light / Don’t you know that God stays up all night / How’d you turn a billion steers / Into buildings made of mirrors / Why am I drawn to you tonight.” David Berman penned those words more than 20 years ago. They…
In March 2018, John Pedigo of local folk duo the O’s released a new album with a new band under a new name. Inspired by the home-brewed beer his father crafted in the family garage and kitchen when Pedigo was a little boy well below the legal drinking age, Pedigo’s…
Elliott Smith would have turned 50 years old on Tuesday, and the world is poorer for having lost him. In light of this occasion, many fans are only left with their reflections on the late singer-songwriter’s legacy and celebrating his artistic output. Two critically acclaimed albums, XO and Figure 8,…
Bailey Chapman wears many hats. Like, we’re talking a graze-the-ceiling pile. You probably know her as the drummer for beloved Denton psych rock group Pearl Earl, which is on the short list to open for pretty much any cool band that comes through town, and has played every major local…
Abraham Alexander is a relatively green musician, a fact that belies the maturity of his sound. Just four years into playing music full time, he is releasing a self-titled EP that reflects his cultural influences as well as his internal rumination on purpose and identity. Alexander hopes that this EP…
