Having spent much of her life moving between countries, Persian singer-songwriter Shab has had to learn to adapt to various cultures. Over the past few years, Shab has built a strong Persian fanbase. Now, the Dallas-based mother of two is ready to break into the English market. This past spring,…
Riley Gale, the vocalist of Dallas thrash metal and hardcore punk vets Power Trip, died on Monday night, the band confirmed in a statement Tuesday. He was 35. “It is with the greatest of sadness we must announce that our lead singer and brother Riley Gale passed away last night,”…
Last week, a sexist and racist Facebook post circulated the internet. While that’s sadly commonplace, this particular message was directed at none other than the queen of country music, Dolly Parton, which qualifies as treason. Stuart Baker, otherwise known as Unknown Hinson, thought the best use of his time was to…
For years, Jess Garland has told people that she was “working on it.” The longtime Dallas multi-instrumentalist and music teacher has spent most of her career playing in other peoples’ bands while quietly working on her own sound. Finally, Garland’s first single has arrived. “Glow” is an avant-garde, ethereal pop…
When 2020 kicked off, Dallas-based singer-songwriter Austin Leach was ready to hit the road and play venues throughout the country. In February, he was performing in Philadelphia, in a string of shows he expected to be the first of many. In March, COVID-19 hit, and you can imagine what happened…
Most politically active artists belong to the pop, hip-hop and rock genres; historically, country artists haven’t exactly been known to voice their political opinions, especially when those opinions contradict the core beliefs of the majority of the country music fan base. While Johnny Cash advocated for Native Americans and prisoners,…
Concertgoers near and wide know Denton to have one of the most thriving and nurturing music scenes around, and Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios has been at the core of it since it first opened its doors in 1998. This year was expected to be no different for the venue in…
Before Lollapalooza became one of the biggest destination festivals in the world, it smashed precedents as a touring festival that bands in the 1990s clamored to play. Before that, it was a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction. The economic impact of COVID-19 has been cruel to the Chicago-based festival and…
The pandemic has not been exactly ideal for our health, with 5.5 million confirmed cases of COVID and up to 40% of adults struggling with either mental illness or substance abuse, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Songs that earlier may have seemed a little melodramatic and…
If your new landlord comes into your house once a month and dumps a frothy bucket of garbage on your bed, it makes any landlord that doesn’t pour trash where you sleep look like Desmond Tutu. It also helps bolster the previous landlord’s image when they have better taste in…
Most live music venues remain shuttered nearly six months after pandemic closures. The nightlife industry as a whole has been hit hard, and many North Texas music venues face an uncertain future — that is, unless they have a kitchen. Billy Bob’s Texas, the “world’s largest honky-tonk” that now identifies as…
Nick Metzger is a local business owner, a part-time DJ, and a self-described “vintage audio enthusiast.” About eight months ago, he put up an ad describing some items he was looking to buy: “Reel-to-reel players, tapes and other vintage hi-fi gear,” he remembers, though he doesn’t recall whether it was…
Before getting burned by the coronavirus pandemic, Toast and Jam was sort of sweet. Jeff Prince, who helped create more than 100 episodes of the local music show before getting laid off at the Fort Worth Weekly, describes his nearly 20 years at the alternative weekly newspaper as his greatest…
Let us blame COVID-19 for putting the Dallas music scene on permanent hold and turning Deep Ellum into a food-truck park. The pandemic continues to bring about serious destruction, but we can also still mourn for the small things we miss, like our favorite hometown bands and artists. Times like…
Trini Lopez, a music and film icon of the 1960s, died of COVID-19 complications on Tuesday. He was 83. Lopez was born in Dallas on May 13, 1937, and spent his early years in what we now call “Uptown,” then known as “Little Mexico.” “It was a Mexican and Black…
in December, we had the pleasure of witnessing Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion in her enigmatic glory at Bomb Factory. In our glowing review, we were particularly astonished at her ability to be the life of an absolute rager just 24 hours after taking a final exam and accepting a…
The Granada Theater on Lower Greenville is a piece of living art. The one-time theater and current music venue has been showcasing performances, movies and concerts since it was first built in 1946. Despite the widespread need for artistic escapism to ignore the trials of current reality, The Granada has had…
A few months ago, Katie Scott was standing outside her shop, The Groovy Coop in Downtown McKinney, when she came across the owner of another building on the square. His tenant, he told her, would soon be moving out. It was a long-standing salsa shop, “a staple,” Scott says, that…
Dallas-based Americana singer Sarah Johnson is an example of the truth behind the old saw that it’s never too late to follow one’s dream. At 32 years old, she’s set to release her debut EP, Volcano, next month and is more sure of herself than she’s ever been. Over the…
Folkwave is a far cry from the style of Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie, but this dreamy, psychedelic, contemporary cousin of the once harmonica- and acoustic guitar-driven genre is just as cathartic to listen to and has just as much to say. Take Field Division, a Nashville-bred duo who recently…
The concert industry remains lousy with economic strife during the COVID-19 pandemic, but country music mainstay Billy Bob’s Texas is reopening its doors next week anyway. There are, of course, some caveats before the Fort Worth venue can do that, namely a strict enforcement of social distancing guidelines and compliance…
Shortly after she started rapping, Brionne was invited to a cypher, an informal gathering where rappers showcase their quick wit and lyricism. This was a big opportunity for Brionne. She would be one of two women at the cypher, and she’d have a shot to prove the doubters wrong. “I’m…
