Eric Arnold is part of a new generation of DJs taking up the techno torch and infiltrating dance floors. As a member of the ever busy Disco Initiative, Arnold has been a key player behind some of the most memorable events of 2016. As a DJ he is tapping into…
Chris Lewellyn has worked with bands for almost 20 years, be it selling merch at shows, screenprinting posters, creating T-shirt designs or silk-screening said designs on apparel. But in the past year, he’s used this experience to create a hub for local musicians and artists at the corner of Elm…
Danish pop group Lukas Graham are coming to Dallas at the top of their game. It was announced last month that their earworm of a song, “7 Years,” had earned three Grammy nominations: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The song off their…
For Fashion Notes, the Observer talks with Dallas’ most fashion-forward musicians and recreates some of their coolest outfits. “Avant-garde. Superhero. Grace Jones-esque. Go-Go. Fishnets,” is the way Dezman Lehman, aka Dezi 5, describes his own style. “My style is my mood, my feeling.” The singer’s music is a mix of…
There’s a lot of bravado in hip-hop. Promoter Callie Dee depends on that to inspire contestants of her American Idol-style competition that crowns the best rapper across Dallas, Denton and Fort Worth. “In hip-hop everybody thinks that they’re the best,” she says. Dee hoped Master of the Mic —…
The new year is rife with beginnings, and after a hard-luck end to 2016 for restaurants around town with many shutting down, Deep Ellum will have a new opening to celebrate this week. The owners of the British-themed eatery Independent Bar and Kitchen — as well as Club Dada, Off…
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers can still put on a show, aided by their catalog of hits and a revolutionary light show. The band performed at the American Airlines Center under more than 800 tube lights — the largest kinetic light installation in touring history. The installation looks like an enormous,…
It’s that quiet time of the season, before the festivals come calling, when it may take some convincing to get out and see some great shows. And depending on what piques your interest, this week’s offering up some really great opportunities to do so. There’s no shortage of country music…
Two weeks from now, the Dallas-born hard rock band Mothership will perform on an actual ship. Tonight, they’ll kick off their U.S. tour at Dan’s Silver Leaf in Denton before heading off to Miami to play a floating rock show called Shiprocked. They’ll spend four days playing loud and proud on…
Artists and musicians are in a constant battle to stay in touch with the muse. When momentum lulls or ideas become exhausted, a change in scenery can often be the best remedy. Such was the case for singer-songwriter Dan Layus, who will perform at Club Dada on Jan. 14. He…
Jeff Parrott is a prime example of what can happen when visual art meets its auditory counterpart. Parrott pursues his music in an approach he calls “Psyexpression” where his two artistic outlets feed each other. His contribution to the Dallas Observer Mixtape series strikes a balance between DJ set and…
You’re marinating in the pre-Willie lobby of the Granada Theater. It’s buzzing with giddy anticipation. Old men, old women, young men and young women beam as they swap autobiographical Willie stories: how many times they’ve seen him live, how far they drove to get here. It hits you over the…
Since opening in 1988, Fair Park’s Gexa Energy Pavilion has officially changed its name more times than Sean John Combs (also known as P. Diddy, Diddy, Puff Daddy or Puff). News recently broke that the Live Nation-operated concert venue will now go by Starplex Pavilion, a name similar to its…
Every St. Patrick’s Day weekend, we host a concert at the end of the parade route on Greenville Avenue, and in recent years performers from Snoop Dogg to Josh Abbott Band have graced our stage. Those were fun concerts, but last year when we invited Third Eye Blind, we really…
Just trying to talk over the general noise at Opening Bell coffee shop in the Cedars was a struggle for Becky Middleton on Sunday. “I sang for two people last night,” she explained, and then cleared her throat to emphasize the strain. Known for her powerful vocals, she often records…
In April, Pearl Jam will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Noticeably absent from the lineup of inductees? Drummer Dave Abbruzzese, who was born in Connecticut but grew up in Mesquite and played with the Seattle band from ’91 to ’94. Since Pearl Jam’s induction was…
Now that we are out of that weird bubble between Christmas and New Year’s, we can start remembering what day it is and what we’re supposed to be doing. And although we got robbed of Lil Wayne this week and Willie Nelson’s two Granada Theater’s shows have sold out, what…
Six Shooter is a recurring feature where we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians. Dallas hip-hop reigned supreme in the month of December. End-of-the-year releases represented all corners of the city’s fragmented scene, including Southern hip-hop, trap, alternative, fusion and everything in between. Some well-known, established North Texas…
For Dezman Lehman, who goes by the name Dezi 5, it’s been four solid years of shaking his leather-clad buttocks, shimmying and vogueing with a sweat-drenched brow from stages across North Texas to the forefront of the Dallas music scene. According to Lehman, it’s been a hard-fought battle for recognition from…
If Joshua Kynd had been running just a couple hours early on Monday, he might have caught the burglar in the act. Instead he arrived at his business of seven months, Retroplex Records on Jupiter Road in Garland, after one or multiple thieves had already ransacked the place. The store…
Brian Holbrook has been a consistent presence in the North Texas DJ community as admin for the DFW electronic calendar, party promoter and versatile DJ under the name Dreadnaught. After playing out as a solo DJ for many years, he recently embarked on a partnership with fellow scene vet Michael…
What better way to give 2016 the finger than to get out and see some great shows? It’s been a hell of a year, especially when it comes to losing music icons. But this week’s got some great opportunities to forget all the bad stuff and focus on some once…
