Just-Signed Kirk Thurmond’s Millennial Soul Began With a Borrowed Guitar

Early last week, Dallas soul singer Kirk Thurmond was quietly signed with British record label DEFDISCO. This announcement comes on the heels of Kirk Thurmond & the Millennials’ debut single “Break Free” from their upcoming album People Change and Thurmond’s first-ever solo tour, which included a couple of dates with…

Dallas Observer Mixtape with DJ Titan: Deadmau5, Major Lazer & More

DJ Titan has been a cornerstone in Dallas drum and bass for the past 15 years. He’s been a musical pilot behind the decks and producer in the studio. For this week’s mixtape, Titan digs deep for an upbeat, vocal-driven mini-mix of drum and bass featuring a few tunes from regional producers…

Every Act Playing Coachella This Year, Ranked

After you’ve decided to start ranking all the acts on the Coachella lineup, there comes a moment when you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is way too big, too ambitious in scale and scope, too sonically diverse to be reduced to a…

Duran Duran Reminds Dallas They Were Always More Than a Boy Band

Duran Duran With Chic American Airlines Center, Dallas Tuesday, April 19, 2016 “First there’s 1D and then there’s double D,” that is how Elizabeth Smith, a longtime Duran Duran fan, explained her 16-year-old daughter’s definitive “boy band” ranking. The pair were at American Airlines Center Tuesday night to catch Duran…

The Suffers Make It Out of Houston the Old-Fashioned Way

The Suffers have come a long way since they started out playing cover songs five years ago. The 10-piece “Gulf Coast soul” band from Houston started in 2011, started writing their own songs in 2013 and by 2015 had made their late-night television debut on The Late Show With David…

The 10 Best Punk Venues in Dallas-Fort Worth

Oi! If you’ve got those letters tattooed on your brain, somewhere alongside the Lucky 13 tattoo you got on Friday the 13th, you probably spend a lot of time at punk shows in Dallas. That’s prone to mean a lot of time spent in Deep Ellum, but North Texas’ punk…

Kurt Vile Kept an Awkward Distance From His Fans at Granada Theater

Kurt Vile Granada Theater, Dallas Saturday, April 16, 2016 Participation in the Revelation of Kurt Vile wasn’t compulsory during his sold-out show at Granada Theater on Saturday night. Inviting people in wasn’t really the Philadelphia native’s objective. Much like his latest album, b’lieve i’m goin down, his goal seemed to…

Here’s How to Do Coachella on a Budget

Okay, so you blew your tax refund on a ticket to Coachella. How do you make these the best three days of your life while on a budget? It’s not easy. Last year, writer Marc Ballon asked a bunch of people how the hell they afforded Coachella. Most estimated they…

Erykah Badu Schooled the Internet This Week, For Better and Worse

Before this week, it had been weeks — literally weeks — since we’d had a reason to write about Erykah Badu. Frankly, we were getting a little worried. The singer of a thousand names had been relatively quiet since throwing her 45th birthday bash at The Bomb Factory in February,…