Music

Growing is an essential part of life, and that’s a message that Dallas-based singer and rapper Amore Bey conveys in every one of his songs. After facing deep losses, Bey is using the hard life lessons he’s learned to plant seeds of wisdom into his art, while planting literal seeds…

When Danielle Grubb and Delaney Hillan were in high school, they got in trouble for kissing. The two artists, both Dallas natives, were dating while enrolled at Booker T. Washington ten years ago. One day, a teacher caught them exchanging PDA in the hallway, and started yelling. “I don’t want…

While streaming is the most popular method for music consumption, many purists still value the art of radio broadcast. Over the course of many decades, Dallas-Fort Worth has produced many legendary sportscasters, DJs and personalities, and this November, four North Texas radio personalities will be inducted into the Texas Radio…

Concert and nightclub promoters are a unique tribe, and there’s no shortage of them in every major U.S. market. The least common denominator among them can include unsavory individuals who oversell and under-deliver, but those who do their job well are the curators of good times and the driving force…

Taylor Swift once wrote “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative,” and while it wasn’t a song lyric, it sounds similar to lyrics from the song “Burn” by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda: “I’m erasing myself from the narrative.” All of this to say: Many similarities exist between Taylor…

Eric Pulido and Ranger Ewing knew years ago they wanted to go into business together, even if it was just in a dimly lit garage for several hours a day. It would still mean time spent outside of their then full-time jobs elsewhere. Today, though, they’re thankful for more light…

For most of us, the cancellation of the State Fair of Texas means being deprived our fix of deep-fried foods, suffering a near heatstroke while waiting in line for rides and making other glorious, expensive memories. For North Texas musicians scheduled to play the State Fair this year, the news…

Let’s hope your internet provider’s got some speed since our new way of enjoying live music mostly involves computer or television screens. Many artists are hustling to get their sets stream-worthy, and we should be grateful that’s even an option. So, while we wait longer to start paying cover prices,…

Here in the news business, we have a certain affinity for the internet acronym “RTFA,” which stands for “Read the fucking article” (or “read the featured article,” if you’re a softie who insists on a bowdlerized version). Misinformation in the era of “fake news” often parasitically festers because people have…

In an effort to detect as much of 2020’s silver lining as we can, it’s important to note that while live music hasn’t been much of an option in recent months, new music from our favorite local artists has thankfully not been in short supply. Just this week a couple…

Last year wasn’t just kind to Joshua Ray Walker, it bowed to his every move. Walker’s debut album, Wish You Were Here, became an unabashed favorite among critics in 2019, and the country artist swept the ballot at the Dallas Observer Music Awards. The artist took his first plane ride…

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down almost all live entertainment, and our hopes for a return to normalcy have been exiled to next year. But while one avenue of the music industry has been temporarily closed, artists keep fans entertained with in-home engagements and a ton of fresh new music…

Todrick Hall released “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” nearly one year ago. But now, he’s re-recorded the song to make it quarantine-friendly. What was once: “Nails, hair, hips, heels, ass fat, lips real / Purse full, big bills, bitch I’m a big deal” is now “Mask, gloves, soap, scrubs, TikTok, Grubhub /…

On Saturday evening, music mogul Kanye West celebrated Independence Day with the announcement that he is running for president in the November election. Breaking the news on Twitter, he wrote, “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am…

It’s June 30, 4:12 p.m. CST. We call Loners Club via Zoom. “Can you hear me? Can you see me?” she says. “Perfect. So, what were you saying?” I answer. “Man, to be honest, I think I forgot,” she says. “Oh wait, no I didn’t. We were talking about who…

When he appeared on the 16th season of American Idol, Plano native and singer-songwriter Ron Bultongez was excited to make a name for himself. While Bultongez was eliminated shortly after making it to the top 24, his hometown still celebrated him. Over the course of the past three years, the…

While we’re supposed to be staying at home, Texas rappers are making sure we still feel the Hot Girl Summer spirit.  Megan thee Stallion received her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 last month with the Beyoncé-assisted “Savage Remix,” and now Dallas-based rapper Erica Banks is hot off the release…

Fissionary, aka Charlie Stubbs, is a one-man experimental pop superstar in the making. A relatively unknown artist in the Dallas music scene, Fissionary quietly released its first album Descriptions in late 2018 — a frenetic album filled with message and purpose. Since then, Fissionary has put out a smattering of singles leading…

On Friday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order closing bars and requiring restaurants operate at no more than 50% occupancy. In the past few months, not everyone has abided by shutdown orders, like in the case of Shelley Luther, who became the mockingjay for the reopener movement by refusing…