More than 225 people, a mix of family, friends, fans and former bandmates, gathered on Friday at Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton for a concert commemorating the birthday of missing internationally known percussionist Joe Cripps. While Dentonites and North Texans made up the bulk of the packed house who sang, danced,…
2017 was a fruitful year for North Texas rappers, and as always there were several newcomers who broke onto the scene with fantastic releases or live shows. T.Y.E., FlexinFab and Diego Money are just a few who grabbed our attention and held it last year. Now we’re anticipating a whole…
Toyota and The Range 95.3’s country music festival is two decades old, but just like the Japanese car manufacturer, it’s new to Plano. After 19 years at Southfork Ranch in Parker, the Toyota Texas Music Revolution moved to Oak Point Park in March 2016. Chris Knight and Lee Ann Womack led that…
This week the Observer visited the home of Dallas DJ, producer and frequent Erykah Badu collaborator Richard “Picnic” Escobedo. In between all the serious questions about his start in music, relationship with Badu and the origin of his nickname, we found time to ask him a few fun ones. Once…
“In Bed With” is a new Dallas Observer series in which we delve into the homes and personal lives of Dallas music industry professionals. Richard “Picnic” Escobedo’s various jobs allow him to claim more titles than Daenerys Targaryen: He’s a producer, percussionist, musical director, DJ, photographer and videographer, to name…
For almost 20 years, local musicians have flocked to producer and artist Salim Nourallah’s Pleasantry Lane Recording Studio, tucked inside a converted one-car garage on a residential street in Vickery Park. On Dec. 22, an unusually frigid day in Dallas, singer-songwriter Nicholas Altobelli approaches the pale blue door. A fluffy…
Coachella and Governor’s Ball announced their summer lineups this week, and so, too, have several local venues. Taylor Swift added a second night in Dallas, Erykah Badu set things up for another birthday run and the Bomb Factory added several other exciting concerts. One show in a massive football stadium…
Reno’s Chop Shop Saloon bartender Jessica Brodsky says she was taking a break outside the bar Dec. 24 when she noticed a man who was sitting alone. “I saw this guy walking on the street, and it was cold, so I invited him in,” she says. “No one should be…
Shaun MacGillivray, president of MacGillivray Freeman Films, knows a thing or two about making Imax films. A precocious adventurer who has been around film sets since he was first learning to walk, he’s produced award-winning 3-D films such as Journey To The South Pacific, Grand Canyon Adventure and National Parks Adventure…
On a weekday afternoon in Oak Cliff, artist Haylee Ryan is trying to juggle both a guitar and her 10-week-old Dalmatian puppy, Sugar, who will soon knock over a glass of wine. Ryan’s best friend Amanda Page is tending to another, older Dalmatian named Sister in between finishing Ryan’s sentences…
Last year, Dallas’ underground DJ culture burst at its seams. Audiophile is just one local label that continued to expand its empire through sublabels Audiophile Deep and Audiophile XXL, making its catalogue one of the largest and fasted growing in Dallas. While Audiophile represents producers from all over the world, it…
You might say that Texas Music Project got a “Second Wind,” when it announced its new honorary chairwoman last month. The title goes to Grammy winner and Arlington native Maren Morris, who participated in a songwriting camp organized by the music education nonprofit when she was 16. Texas Music Project…
Ashley Falgout sings in improvisational hip-hop band CoLab, and when she met Dead Flowers frontman Corey Howe, it was her only experience performing with a band. The two met through Evan Johnson, the bassist for both CoLab and Dead Flowers, and via Howe’s former gig as a bartender at the…
We’re not even a week into 2018, and Erykah Badu has already been at the center of two weird, and likely related, stories. On New Year’s Eve, the neo-soul songstress and Dallas native posted an Instagram video during a supposed traffic stop by Dallas police officers who “just wanted to…
At 2 p.m. Saturday, Exposition Avenue was completely empty except for a handful of people dressed head-to-toe in mid-’60s garb. As they filed inside Eight Bells Alehouse they were greeted by other men and women who were also decked out in everything from flowery headbands to long, curly wigs; fringe…
Before things froze over, Red, Hot & Blue sculpted a new, outdoor music venue. It’s the franchise’s first beer garden that‘s also set up for live entertainment, says Ryan Brown, general manager of the longtime eatery located at 9810 N. Central Expressway at Walnut Hill Lane. “We were closed down…
In the blogiverse, Gorilla vs. Bear is one of the best-known resources for music aficionados. It’s been around since 2005 and was touted by Rolling Stone in 2008 as one of the best music blogs on the web. Here are just a few more of the superlatives on Gorilla vs…
Six Shooter is a recurring feature in which we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians. Soulzay – “Body Roc’N Like This” Soulzay’s art is proof positive that he’s a student of the rap game. His catalog of music reaches back to the days of UGK’s “Ridin Dirty” and…
Thanks to the holidays, it’s a shorter list than usual of upcoming area concert announcements. However, there are a couple of big-ticket shows heading to nearby casinos, there’s a choice hip-hop show at Trees, and Shakira announced a new date for her postponed show at the American Airlines Center. Also,…
The Dallas Mavericks have a new star, but not on the court. DJ Poizon Ivy, the artist behind every song and sound that rings through the rafters during Mavs games at American Airlines Center, has been nominated for a Global Spin Award for Best Female DJ of the Year. It’s…
UK garage is a small niche of house music in the United States, but in the UK, the impact of the genre on pop culture is huge. It’s a more uptempo take on house music, with shuffling beats, and it’s a parent to dubstep. Its most mainstream appearances in the…
For an eighth year, all things epic, neon, lit and bass will gather for two evenings of Lights All Night in Dallas. Like previous years, the 2017 lineup is rich with electronic dance music’s most popular DJ-producers and served with a small side of hip-hop. Porter Robinson, Seven Lions, AC…
