First Ever Oak Cliff Music Festival Set For November 3

The Kessler Theater is getting in on the festival action, and has just announced the inaugural Oak Cliff Music Festival, set for November 3, which will take place in the Winnetka Heights neighborhood surrounding the venue. The acts slated so far are the usual suspects — Carolyn Wonderland, Alejandro Escovedo,…

Lightning Bolt – Sons of Hermann Hall – 8/28/12

Lightning Bolt, Drug Mountain, Wiccans Sons of Hermann Hall Tuesday, August 28 To the noisenik who wasn’t able to peek over the throng parked in front of Lightning Bolt last night, Brian Gibson might have been playing an electric chair through effects pedals. His bass, with a bonus banjo string…

Reggie Watts Gives Hair Care Tips, Loves America (The Band)

Reggie Watts brings his bag of tricks, which includes beatboxing, loops and and songs about the interminable depths of a woman’s purse, to Denton on Saturday, as part of the Hot Wet Mess. It’s a rare chance to catch him in North Texas, and an even rarer chance to see…

Ice Eater on Street Cats and Mr. Freeze

Fort Worth’s Ice Eater have played around the area for the last few months, but Thursday’s set at Dada will be their Deep Ellum debut. We caught up with members Jordan Kline and Zach Edwards about the first Ice Eater gig and who plays a better Mr. Freeze. You guys…

Young/Forbes/Gonzalez Trio – Rubber Gloves – 8/27/12

Young/Forbes/Gonzalez Trio, Terminator 2, Bludded Head Rubber Gloves Monday, August 27 Mike Forbes was last night’s MVP. He started behind the kit with Bludded Head, who had literally just returned from a 10-day tour, providing the slowly melting glacier for guitarist Nevada Hill and cellist Darcy Neal to float their…

Freddie King’s Birthday Tribute on KNON This Friday

See also: The 100 best Texas songs of all time See also: KNON’s Don O. knows the Dallas blues Freddie King made it on our recent top 100 Texas songs list a couple times, a testament to just how important and influential the Dallas-born blues guitarist still is some 30…

Five DFW Rap Songs To Close Out the Summer

See also: The North Texas hip-hop sampler, 2012 1/2 edition Summer is coming to an end and for those of us in Texas, that means we get three months of non-90-degree days and the return of our beloved football. So, in the spirit of summer and all the mischief it…

RTB2 On Their New Album: “Every Record Should Feel Like The First”

“We felt a certain level of exhaustion,” drummer Grady Sandlin admits, discussing his band, RTB2, and their now-legendary rate of playing shows. “I’ve never been criticized to my face about playing too much, but I’ve heard others say that people criticized us for it,” he says. Weary from their workload…

Fun Fun Fun Fest Nites Lineup Announced

See also: Full Fun Fun Fun Fest lineup announced Fun Fun Fun Fest dropped its free aftershow list today, including names like Superchunk, Dwarves, Imperial Teen, Liturgy, Seaweed, Nachtmystium, plus local showings from Sundress, Fungi Girls, Power Trip and A.Dd+. Other notables: There will be a Bob Mould DJ set…

Mutemath Plays Free Show at Good Records Today at 3 p.m.

Today, at Gexa Energy Pavilion, Mutemath will open for Linkin Park and Incubus in what can only be assumed is a fan-grabbing venture for the band. But for Mute Math fans that don’t want to shell out $57 for a lawn ticket, the band will perform a free full band…

How I Quit Crack – Black Lodge – 8/24/12

How I Quit Crack, Deflowered Electric Flesh Bride, Habu Habu Black Lodge Friday, August 24 Black Lodge is tucked in a corner of Deep Ellum that seems annexed from the rest of the area, and perhaps that’s what made Friday’s show at the tiny gallery space feel extradimensional. The space…

Here’s What an SMU Sorority Party Playlist Looks Like

See also: Ten songs to accompany very specific dorm-room scenarios The first weekend of the SMU school year is here, which means some of our local co-eds, the ones blessed with those elusive hosting genes, will spend today pestering of-age classmates for booze, hiding their valuables and vacuuming. Always vacuuming…

Five Ways To Deal With a Budding Music Snob

See also: Ten songs to accompany very specific dorm-room scenarios If I am going to be honest, I think snobs get kind of a bad wrap. Pretension aside, fans who have a critical ear and high standards are good for the medium. And when two music snobs get together, it…

Ten Songs to Accompany Very Specific Dorm-Room Scenarios

The first week of college is here, so the Observer staff is providing you with some tips to get your through the first week/month/year.See also: Six albums to torture your roommate with College dorms are small, which means two things: It’s pretty impossible to escape certain situations that will inevitably…

One Last Mic Check With Phil York

See also: Phil York, legendary Dallas producer, dead at age 70 Phil York and I crossed paths in summer 2009. I was researching the liner notes for the Heavy Light release of The Relatives’ Don’t Let Me Fall, a stunning revelation of Dallas gospel-funk from the early ’70s, which York…