The intimate experience, under a familiar purple lighting, draws a crowd of live-music lovers every week. Some rising artists who've hit the stage with Muzikal Alkhemitz The Band are Muriel, Michelle Renee and Meka Jackson, along with Dallas legends such as Mr. Pookie and Uno Loso. Lil’ Zane from the Starz series BMF hosted a DTXUnplugged during a Dallas stop one Friday night.
DirtBeats is one of the people behind several of the most popular independent multimedia projects in North Texas, including the Henny & Halos Podcast, Dallas Angels Media Group and RealLyfe Productions, who have put together much-talked about interviews with Danileigh, Freeway Rick Ross, NLE Choppa, Charleston White, P.R.E. Jay Fizzle and Rainwater, who was MO3’s former manager.
DTXUnplugged is just one avenue and platform DirtBeats has helped to build for North Texas creatives to show off their talent and also network and find ways to grow within the music industry.
The event started in 2015 after DirtBeats heard Q Philly The Drummer, who drums for Muzikal Alkhemitz The Band, playing while they were both at Honor Roll Studios for separate sessions. DirtBeats would come around the studio for the production of Dallas Angels Radio, which conducted interviews with people such as Tony Rock and MO3, while Q Philly The Drummer was there with the rest of the band, working on their own project.
The show went on for almost a year before life and other projects took priority over the production of DTXUnplugged, and after a four-year hiatus, the series was back on with a new venue and a fresh postpandemic energy. It wouldn't be DTXUnplugged without Muzikal Alkhemitz The Band, so they came back too.
“For me it is really about the transition from sonic sound to live instrumentation,” DirtBeats says. “I’ve seen people perform songs live and that made me like that song. And it made me like that song because of how I was feeling at that time. I’m in a good place, their energy is good, in this person’s performance you can see that they are passionate about their craft and if their passion is oozing out, you can feel that.”
“For me it's about bringing the people and community together and letting people thrive off of the network ... Relationships are the new currency. A relationship will change your life quicker than a dollar will.” – DirtBeats
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The lineup consists of 10 to 15 acts each night, but DirtBeats is also open to running the experience twice a week for any artists who want their own private DTXUnplugged set all to themselves.
DirtBeats says artists capitalize on the performance by building their fanbase, but most importantly by building relationships with other artists in the city.
“For me it's about bringing the people and community together and letting people thrive off of the network,” DirtBeats says. “Relationships are the new currency. A relationship will change your life quicker than a dollar will.”
DTXUnplugged has already taken the show on the road with stops in Austin for SXSW. The team will also be in Miami Oct. 15 for MiamiUnplugged. From there, they will make a stop in Oklahoma City on Nov. 4, and they plan to be in Houston before the year is over. With such a busy schedule, Dirt Beats stays motivated by staying focused on his purpose and mission, he says, and in knowing he provides value and opportunity for other creatives.
“I’ve always been a person to bring people and put everybody in a room together and change people’s lives based off of the relationships that are curated in the room," he says.
Tickets to attend or perform at upcoming DTXUnplugged events can be purchased on the group's website.
