Music

Only one genre seems to befit the mindfuck caused by a trippy pandemic year: psychedelic. The genre has expanded within the last few years as artists explore different forms of psychedelic sounds within trap, trance, drill and more. This musical evolution continues as independent artists embrace the “new wave” by drawing…

This past year has been one giant swing forward for newly formed Dallas folk-pop group Telephone House. Through intensive virtual writing sessions, the band explored stories of love found within times of uncertainty. The band recently released its first video, for the track “Cracks in the Pavement,” off their first…

The new docuseries Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil premiered on YouTube this past Tuesday. The first two episodes of the series deal with the events leading up to the North Texas-born singer’s near-fatal heroin overdose in 2018 and the aftermath of when she woke up in the hospital. The…

Think of the worst offenses a Christian gospel singer can commit. Did cursing during an argument come first to mind? Well, church ladies and gents, North Texas-based gospel singer Kirk Franklin is on the verge of cancellation for doing just that. If you’ve braved the storms on social media over…

Pedro González Radio DJs have to craft a personality for their on-air audience. Hip-hop DJ and musician Pedro González, known as GSpook, didn’t need to make up a personality to reach his audience. “He was the same person,” says Dallas DJ J-Kruz, who met GSpook when they worked at K104 FM…

The luck of the draw landed a legendary metalhead’s name in the top spot of Arlington’s election ballot. And soon, he’d need all the luck he could get. Since he first entered the city’s mayoral race, it’s been a wild ride for Jerry Warden, 60, best known locally as the…

The members of punk band Noogy sit at a picnic table outside Dan’s Silverleaf after a long day of shooting the first virtual Thin Line Fest, set to air next week. The last staffer offers them a free drink, but a unanimously negative response relieves him of his duties for…

Avant pop star Lorelei K dropped her new release The Mythic Girl EP over the weekend. With five new tracks of lush, dreamy instrumentals, the album showcases the artist’s haunting vocals and superior writing capabilities with songs about love, loss and letting go. Lorelei K has been keeping busy during the…

Will Johnson, the painter, famed Denton indie musician, Conor Oberst collaborator and raspy-voiced troubadour behind 29 albums says: “It’s the most psychedelic job you’ll ever participate in.” He is not, however, talking about music, painting, or even writing, his latest creative expression. He’s talking about parenting. Johnson is 49 (though…

As Dallas was covered in snow and ice last month, rap duo Wonder Gang coincidentally dropped an icy hip-hop banger. “Ice Cola” is a jolly, opulent trap track, filled with raunchy sexual innuendos and allusions to alcoholic drinks. Brothers T.K. Savage, 21, and Keith Wonder, 28, formed Wonder Gang in…

When Gov. Greg Abbott reopened the Lone Star State, many assumed Texans would raid Dallas nightlife spots like Black Friday shoppers overrunning a Walmart. They’re not. “It’s calmer than expected,” said DJ Inzo from his Volgswagen bus-themed DJ booth at the Backyard bar in Deep Ellum. Max, a doorman at…

Selena Gomez, an icon of young millennials and Grand Prairie native, recently implied to Vogue magazine that she’s done with her singing career. For a long time, Gomez has — whether by a calculated PR design or by accidental default — been perceived as a celebrity first and a star…

Perhaps the biggest story in local music news has to do with Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to lift the statewide mask mandate and open Texas back up entirely while the pandemic is still very much going on and this state is ranked 48th in vaccine rollout. The owners and operators…

Pinebox Serenade pretty much called it quits in 2016. It was around then that the wave of story-driven Americana music led by bands such as Fleet Foxes, The Decembrists and Bon Iver was broken apart over a groundswell for stomp & holler bands ho-ing and hey-ing the genre into radio-friendly…

Live music shows in crowded bars or music venues are soon due for a comeback, and the idea of maskless crowds gathering in indoor spaces is worrying one sector of the workforce: musicians. Following Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement last week lifting the mask mandate and statewide restrictions for all businesses,…

Imagine a dystopian world where the government has become increasingly immoral and art is the only form of escape. Seven brave individuals come together to form a band and rise up as vigilantes, making music that moves people and preserves the craft. At least, that’s how one of Greyspot Syndicate’s members, Udon, imagines…

This pandemic season, Dallas-based rapper Gotti Mirano has chosen not to go to clubs. This abstinence from nightlife has given him clarity regarding the type of people he wants to be around. A self-described “empathic person,” Mirano can feel the emotional energy of the people around him. His new album…

Not all Texans were rejoicing at the chance to show their faces in public again after Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week that businesses won’t be required to enforce face masking or limit their capacity come  March 2. Abbott’s announcement set Twitter ablaze with backlash, including the trending hashtag RIPTexas,…

St. Vincent released the new single “Pay Your Way in Pain” on Thursday. Reminiscent of Young Americans-era David Bowie, the song mixes funk rock and soul with St. Vincent’s signature surreal songwriting style. The new video also brings to mind Bowie’s performance of “Fame” on The Cher Show in 1975 with…

When Ryan Berg thinks of The Voice, he thinks of coffee. Most mornings, the Dallas singer-songwriter and his competitors-turned-friends Jim Ranger and Ian Flanigan would grab some cups of joe and hang out at their hotel, taking a brief break from the surreal insanity of being on reality television. There…