If you take a look around, pretty much anywhere music lovers find themselves, you’ll likely see that classic rock is in the air. No, we’re not talking about the gentle tones of REO Speedwagon wafting overhead while you shop at Nordstrom Rack. We’re talking about the old-school rockers still out…
This week we let one major cat out of the DOMA bag: Our first lifetime achievement award recipient will be Erykah Badu, who will be attending the Dallas Observer Music Awards ceremony on Dec. 10 and receiving the award from none other than hip-hop legend The D.O.C. But before we can…
For anyone who may have walked past a Blot Out show at Three Links quickly on a weekend night to avoid the sound and spectacle of studded jackets and spiked hair, Zach Abrego doesn’t look the part of a hardcore punk: His black hair is too neat, his brown eyes…
Ray LaMontagne did a lot with a little Sunday night at the Music Hall at Fair Park, before an attentive, largely respectful room full of fans (itself a miracle; more on that momentarily). His Just Passing Through tour is a stripped-down affair. Apart from a guitar tech’s fleeting appearances to…
Jesse Cohea, also known as Outlaw JACC, first noticed the gloom when he left Universal Rehearsal, a popular rehearsal and recording studio off Walnut Hill Lane, to buy cigarettes at the gas station around the corner. It was late evening on Sunday, Oct. 20, and he’d been staying at the…
There are many shows to choose from this week, but here are a few to get the ball rolling if you’re not sure where to start. Singer-songwriter Angel Olsen will hit the stage for a magical night at Granada Theater on Friday. Also performing that night at House of Blues…
Dallas gospel singer Kirk Franklin took to Instagram on Monday to explain his decision to stop attending the Dove Awards, a celebration of Christian music. Franklin describes the awards as “the Christian Grammys.” Franklin explains in the video that during the 2016 Dove Awards, he called out the “civil unrest”…
You’ll have another opportunity, if you missed the first one last year, to catch a rock legend in person on a farewell tour. The days of enjoying the intimacy of seeing a genre-bending firebrand in venues like Dada and The Bomb Factory have officially passed. You’ll now need to bring…
It’s almost noon on a Monday when John Calvin Abney wakes up from some much needed sleep. He’d played a show in Sheffield, Alabama, hours before and stayed at a buddy’s place for the night. “I slept in like crazy,” he says in a follow-up text ahead of our interview…
Craig Finn has had a busy year, with the April release of his fourth solo album, I Need a New War, and the release of The Hold Steady’s seventh album, Thrashing Thru the Passion, in August. After a brief run through Antwerp, Amsterdam and the U.K., Finn is bringing his…
Ask anyone who’s ever attended an Erykah Badu concert and, inevitably, the same topic comes up: “Why does she have to start so late?” It’s a fair question: In the handful of times I’ve seen the Dallas native perform, exactly one concert has begun even remotely close to its scheduled…
“That was an exaggeration in the Texan tall tale tradition,” guitarist Buck Meek says with a laugh. He’s referencing a statement made by his friend Mat Davidson in press notes stating that Meek is a 16th generation Texan. However, he soon confesses to being an 8th generation citizen of the…
While the Cowboys may be doing rather … meh this season, there are still exciting developments in the world of Jerry Jones. This past June, Jones’ grandnephew Val Mooty released an EP called One Touch. Although he’s still in high school, Mooty is determined to create a legacy of his…
The last Kanye West lyric that got stuck in my head was “You’re such a fuckin’ ho, I love it,” from his 2018 track with Lil Pump, “I Love It.” So, like many West watchers, I was surprised to hear that he had become a born again Christian who did…
In the wake of what can only be described as America’s mass shooting epidemic, some local folks use music to express sentiments of camaraderie over fear and intimidation. During a cool late-October dawn, dozens of free-spirited musicians congregated toward the middle of the Ronald Kirk Bridge, tuning their instruments on…
From R&B to doom metal, there is no shortage of variety in this week’s concerts. The Screaming Females kick off the week at Club Dada. The same night, Summer Walker will be giving Deep Ellum a dose of R&B at The Bomb Factory. On Thursday, you can choose between Melvins…
John Belushi was punk rock. Onstage in Chicago or on TV in New York, the doomed but talented comic binged, bellowed and blustered his way into the hearts of an America that recognized the danger of embracing such dangerous habits, but embraced them anyway. His middle finger to respectable behavior…
Tyler, the Creator is late. The clock turns to 9:06, past the five minute grace period, and the legions of fans, mostly young, begin to get anxious. This wait gives a pair of teenagers in front of me enough time to discuss the merits of Igor, Tyler’s latest album, versus…
This week, we’ve got plenty of interesting dates to add to the live music calendar, with artists big and small across genres. Take a peek ahead at more things to expect this fall and next winter and spring. Big things are happening at Globe Life Field, the soon-to-be-home of the…
Novelty tunes have always been a part of Halloween, trading in dark and spooky for light and goofy. “The Monster Mash,” “Ghostbusters” and “The Time Warp” have been Halloween fodder for so long they’ve become passé. To freshen up that novelty playlist with something local, check out “Dracula Goes To…
Sasha, a Welsh-born DJ-producer, perks up when our phone chat veers toward the subject of food. He loves the rare Amazonian vegetables found in Peruvian cuisine and has great admiration for the sushi chefs in Tokyo. Music is forever his first love, but food is his side piece. We bat…
Justin Pearson is a busy man, with four part-time, active bands. One of these bands is the notoriously enigmatic and oft-misunderstood noise-rock band The Locust, in which Pearson sings and plays bass. The group is playing three Texas dates in addition to its first show in five years, which was…
