Critic's Notebook

Kiss Destroyer, Texas’ premiere Kiss tribute band, has been performing across North Texas for more than a decade. When vocalist Robby Wayne (Paul Stanley), guitarist Bob Thomas (Ace Frehley), bassist Steve Cleere (Gene Simmons) and drummer Dave Bower (Peter Criss), took the stage at Lola’s Trailer Park in Fort Worth…

Denton-based indie rock supergroup BNQT will play the Granada Theater tonight with Motorcade and White Denim, but before the show they invited videographer and Observer collaborator Casey Carr into their studio to chat about how the band came to be and film them performing a few songs off their first…

Although drummer Rich Redmond has called Nashville his home for 20 years, his time living and playing in North Texas had a major impact on him. Redmond is best known for his work with country rocker Jason Aldean. He’s been Aldean’s drummer since the beginning of Aldean’s career, touring with…

Spring will bring an opportunity to see a country megastar perform, and everyone’s favorite polka artist will be here to serenade folks with some of his biting commentary on top of a new Deep Ellum venue’s delivery of some star power. There’s all of that and a bit more in…

Unlike generations of DJs before him, Stonewall Klaxon has been glued to a laptop making tracks since he was 11 years old. He played in rock bands before developing an interest in electronic music and eventually finding his niche in trap music. Stonewall Klaxon deejays frequently, which gives him a…

During an afternoon off in late 2015, Dallas-based trio NHD found themselves riffing on acoustic guitars in band member Salim Nourallah’s apartment. What started as horsing around turned into a cover of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town.” The song is the lead track on the trio’s debut…

For the better part of two decades, musician, poet, writer, rapper, actor and philosopher Saul Williams has been challenging the status quo.  “At the end of the day, I just make beats while the world burns,” Williams tells the Observer.  He’s a quiet man with a reserved disposition and speaks in…

In 1977, Dallas welcomed its first “fern bar,” San Francisco Rose, and thus began the city’s love affair with trendy bars and kitschy cocktails. The fern bar concept was born in the mid-’60s, when the original TGI Fridays opened on 63rd Street in New York City. The only remaining bar…

Lukas Nelson, son of Willie, performed with his band, Promise of the Real, last week at House of Blues. His famous last name may the reason you attend one of his shows, but his talent is the reason you’ll stay. His star wan’t even dimmed when he stood next to…

If you were up late last night Googling that weird rash on your foot or reading conspiracy theories, you already know what we’re about to tell you: Google Doodle is all about iconic Mexican-American pop singer Selena Quintanilla. Twenty-eight years ago, Quintanilla — who grew up in Lake Jackson and…

For many people, landing a job at Google is the job of a lifetime. Steven Markowitz left his job at Google in 2011. Markowitz, who goes by the stage name Hoodie Allen, has since had a No. 1 album on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart, and he released his third studio…

Dan’s Silverleaf hosted the 20th Rock Lottery on Saturday night in Denton. The concept has remained consistent for two decades, but it has taken place in a number of cities. Musicians met at Dan’s on Saturday morning for breakfast and to throw their hats in the ring for a lottery that…

A Dallas artist has helped the Toadies create a new animated music video a month after the release of their latest album, The Lower Side of Uptown. When The Toadies approached Clay Stinnett to illustrate the track “Broke Down Stupid,” the band’s singer, Vaden Todd Lewis, had an idea in…

Joan Baez and others play the Majestic Theater on Sunday, Oct. 15.  At 76, Joan Baez remains a vital voice in music. A pioneer in the folk genre, she’s been open about her political leanings since the early ’60s. She’s on a joint tour with Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, James…

The drum and bass scene in Dallas has a fire underneath it, and Jumbii Soul is just one example. Jumbii Soul is a collaboration between DJs and producers BigESoul and Jumbii. For this week’s Observer mixtape, they’re in full-blown drum and bass mode although their music backgrounds have led them to…

While Denton music fans mourn Oaktopia’s move to Deep Ellum, a group of local musicians and music lovers is preparing to bring a new festival to town. Backyard Block Party is set for Nov. 17-18 at popular bar and music venue Backyard on Bell. “The Denton scene is banding together…

Dallas rapper Jui$e Leroy saunters through the corridors of Arlington’s Ben Thanh Plaza and Asian Market, backed by dusty piano keys and crunchy snares, and draped in a royal blue tunic suit and shimmering chains. This is the setting of Leroy’s latest music video, “Exquisite,” which doubles as the lead…

Spoon plays House of Blues on Thursday, Oct. 12. You probably think of Britt Daniel as an Austin guy. After all, it’s where he co-founded the longstanding indie-rock band Spoon with drummer Jim Eno in the ’90s. But Daniel has just as many ties to Dallas. Not only did Spoon find…

After Sound on Sound lost a major investor, talent buyer Graham Williams was forced to pull the plug on the second year of the Austin music festival just five weeks before 73 acts were scheduled to descend upon the Sherwood Forest. “We are extremely saddened to announce today that Sound…

If your itch for hard rock was to be scratched Thursday at the Toyota Music Factory, we have some bad news. Due to “severe laryngitis” suffered by Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine, the band has canceled the rest of its Crazy World tour with Megadeth. And that includes Thursday’s show at…