Courtesy of Deep Ellum Foundation
Audio By Carbonatix
The roadwork goes on for what feels like forever. But the party never ends in Deep Ellum.
On Saturday, Nov. 22, the neighborhood will provide the setting for the 2025 Deep Ellum Block Party, featuring over 100 musical artists, performing across nearly two dozen venues. The shows are free to attend, with just an RSVP requested ahead of time. And, if all that wasn’t enough, the event’s organizers have added a new attraction to this year’s event: wrestling matches.
“We’re not doing a big outdoor stage this year,” Gavin Mulloy says, Dallas’ well-known promoter and marketing mind. “But we did want kind of a central focus point for the entire event. And so that’s where the wrestling ring came from.”
This is the second year Deep Ellum Block Party has been spearheaded by Mulloy, in collaboration with a team consisting of Stephanie Hudiburg, Moses Habtezghi and Tami Thomsen. Mulloy himself is heavily involved in booking the bands and venues.
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What makes it all worthwhile is knowing that the end result is something dynamic, more than just a standard setup with two to three bands playing a handful of songs and calling it a night. This is partly achieved by incorporating special appearances and collaborations that may not be included in the published schedule.
The surprises are one of the things musician Joshua Ray Walker enjoys about Deep Ellum Block Party. He took part in last year’s event, and his 2025 appearance will follow the release of his second album of the year and the announcement that he will be playing SXSW in 2026.
Courtesy of Deep Ellum Foundation
Playing shows in a neighborhood that has been integral to his career is always a special occasion for the singer/songwriter. He recalls fondly sneaking into clubs in his teens to catch shows in the area; now he’s center stage at those clubs. Not only is Deep Ellum important to him personally, but Walker also recognizes the area’s rich history and its deep roots in North Texas’ music scene. Events like the Deep Ellum Block Party are an opportunity to celebrate that.
“Every neighborhood goes through changes,” says Walker. “Sometimes there’s less live music than other [eras], and, unfortunately, that is the stage of life Deep Ellum is in right now. So I think having an injection of live music brought back to Deep Ellum…it’s just important to remind everyone what the neighborhood is really supposed to be about.”
The musicians who have walked Deep Ellum’s streets have represented every genre of music. The block party aims to honor that by having artists of different disciplines sharing the stage with one another. A hip-hop act may follow a country act, and then hand the reins off to a rock and roll group afterward. It may sound trite, but that degree of variety in a walkable neighborhood like Deep Ellum means that at any given moment, there should be something for everyone going on at one participating venue or another.
“The way I look at it is…nobody listens to one genre of music,” says Mulloy. “And if they do, those people are really boring… If someone’s like, ‘I only listen to metal!’ that person is usually pretty boring and I don’t want to cater to them.”
The other benefit of having different types of artists playing on each stage is that it may encourage people to circulate through Deep Ellum to catch artists they are excited about on different stages.
Which is good news for Deep Ellum, as the beleaguered neighborhood continues to contend with safety concerns, zoning disputes and the endless construction that has decreased patronage. Events like Deep Ellum Block Party give people a reason to come out and celebrate the neighborhood while providing much-needed business to the shops and bars that populate it.
Mulloy and Walker have both witnessed Deep Ellum’s evolution over the years and want to recapture some of its magic. In particular, Mulloy cites the rising cost of housing, which has made it difficult for artists to live in the Deep Ellum area.
“Used to be, if I walked into Three Links on a Friday afternoon, there were four or five musicians sitting out back. That’s not the case anymore,” says Mulloy. “So I think, like, getting all these people together is really more important than the concerts in my mind.”
Other bands and artists playing Deep Ellum Block Party include Cure For Paranoia, Baby Snakes & The Electric Co. (Walker says they were one of the acts he was most excited to see on the lineup) and Alex Irish. Participating venues range from Trees (where Walker will take the stage) to Club Dada.
“The way I look at it, it’s kind of a mash-up of Red Bull Sound Select, the Dallas Observer Music Awards, Fun Fun Fun Fest and just Deep Ellum,” says Mulloy. “If you put all those things together in a pot and stir them up, that’s kind of where I feel [Deep Ellum Block Party] is.”
Deep Ellum Block Party will kick off on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 12 p.m., with shows starting at 3 p.m. RSVP for tickets at deepellumblockparty.com.
