Dallas Music News: The Mask Mandate Is Over, So Mask Up!

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 of several Dallas music venues have responded to the governor by maintaining their mask policies for the sake of protecting their staff, and, well, all of us. Dallas musicians have also spoken out about their preference to continue performing at drive-in concerts and low-capacity crowds for their own and their fans’ protection.

If you’re going out this weekend, respect the policies of private businesses, respect the health of those around you and continue to mask up. People are still getting sick and dying from COVID-19 — about 190 people in Texas daily according to Thursday’s seven-day average.

In other news…

Touted as “artists [who] got us through a pandemic year,” Dallas drum prodigy J.D. Beck and collaborator DOMi got an outstanding write-up in The New York Times Magazine’s music issue this week. The interactive article “J.D. Beck and DOMi Are So Young and Virtuosic that it Feels as if They Must Be Kidding You” highlights Beck’s time drumming with drummer Robert “Sput” Searight of the funk-jazz collective Snarky Puppy, Erykah Badu’s band, bassist MonoNeon and experimental soul artist Jon Bap.

The Mason Adams Project is releasing their second volume of Quarantapes Friday, March 12. A follow-up to the band’s red dirt country side on Vol. I, Vol. II showcases the project’s softer side in song composition and vocal arrangements. The release also marks the band’s three-year anniversary of their first show together.

Haltom City will soon have a new record store to call its own. Turntable Texas, a boutique store specializing in vinyl, cassettes and collectibles, has already opened its online shop with a physical location on Denton Highway coming soon.

Indie-folk artist the matthew show released his tongue-in-cheek ode to “Pretty White People With Problems.” The song is pretty meta, with the subject matter focused on the people who come to see the band and the problems of the band’s singer.

Greyspot Syndicate, a seven-member Oak Cliff band known for its strange and novel performances, is turning individuality into narrative. One member, Udon, is working on a manga-style graphic novel that casts the members as seven rebels bound together by a sense of wonder and desire for expression.

Rapper Gotti Mirano recently spoke to the Dallas Observer about his “bad kid antics,” which inspired his new album 137. Born in Mexico City and raised in Garland, Mirano was selling drugs in his middle school hallway at the age of 12. When he was 17, his mother’s return to her religious roots compelled the young rapper to find his center.

Finally, on a sad note, Reno’s Chop Shop DJ and all-around Deep Ellum fixture, Josh “Trash” Hulsey died earlier this week. He is remembered for his kind heart and welcoming spirit. A vigil was held Thursday at Lee Harvey’s where Hulsey worked as a cook. A fundraiser has been set up in his honor to help his family.

Upcoming Shows

Funk, jazz and soul collective TryMore MOJO plays an Art Yard Show at Deep Ellum Art Company Friday night, March 12.

Punk, rock and surf band Crooked Bones also takes the stage that night at Lola’s Trailer Park in Fort Worth.

Saturday, March 13, marks the return of Mean Motor Scooter, who will perform at Tulips in Fort Worth with support from Jack Thunder and the Road Soda.

In Dallas also on Saturday night, O’Riley’s is back with its first live show since the lockdown with From Then On, Gypsy Blue and Today Chaser.

In Arlington Saturday night, it’s a night of classic rock feels when Lost In Nostalgia, David Christian, Clickbait, Electric Church and Kill The Jabberwocky perform at Mavericks Bar & Grill.