Meltdown Festival Moves to LaGrave Field in Fort Worth

Meltdown Music Festival, the enormous EDM festival happening this Saturday, has just announced a venue switch, from QuickTrip Park in Grand Prairie to LaGrave Field in Fort Worth. In a release posted on the fest’s web site, organizers cite fewer restrictions on sound and the opportunity to go later as…

Record Store Day 2013: Your Guide to DFW Events

April 20 might be the biggest music day in North Texas this year. We have Untapped Fest in Fort Worth, Har Mar Superstar will turn Bryan Street Tavern into the area’s best dance party and Dada will have some of the best local hip-hop in the area. 4/20 is also…

The Search for the Perfect Guitar, Part II

Editor: In last week’s music feature, Christian McPhate began his search for a guitar. Not just any guitar, but his Trigger, his missing part. In that story, he went north to our weird music utopia, Denton, and came away with nothing. Here, he tries his hand in Dallas. I’ll start…

Jay Farrar Has the Driest Sense of Humor on the Planet

Whether solo or in Uncle Tupelo or Son Volt, singer/songwriter Jay Farrar has created a canon of alt-country and Americana music that may be unrivaled. Brooding and intense, Farrar’s songs chronicle the darker side of human emotions and like his songs, Farrar isn’t the most upbeat guy on the block…

Rihanna Postpones Dallas Show

Rihanna has postponed tonight’s Dallas show because of illness — she did the same for last night’s Houston show. Live Nation is instructing fans to keep their tickets for an as-yet-unscheduled replacement date. Those seeking refunds should go to the point of purchase. The full announcement from the company is…

Go Outside and Listen to the New British Sea Power Album

British Sea Power’s new record Machineries of Joy is out this week, and it’s everything you’d hope for from one of the most underappreciated and upbeat indie rock acts of the last few years. Marking ten years since their debut The Decline of British Sea Power, Machineries of Joy beguiles…

Richard Thompson On Getting Older and Losing Meaning

Besides being a stellar guitarist, Richard Thompson is a superb songwriter and one hell of a witty dude. Over the course of four decades, Thompson has evolved from an above average, British folk rocker to a legendary guitarist plying his craft across several genres. Speaking from a tour stop in…

Phil Ramone Made Crappy Music the Right Way

Phil Ramone, who died Saturday following an aneurysm, produced an astonishing number of albums it’s not cool to enjoy. Wikipedia helpfully provides a category full of them. He was in on Rod Stewart’s first pop standards album; he did the Sinead O’Connor album after the one Sinead O’Connor album; he…

The Alchemy of Vulgar Fashion: Patience, Magic and Blood

Denton death-synth duo Vulgar Fashion is about as enigmatic as it comes. If you’re scouring their website or Facebook profile for a crisp, straightforward shot, you’ll turn up empty-handed. The only real way to see and experience them–Julie Mckendrick and Andrew Michael, who fantastically go by the stage names Kubic…

Rock Band DLC Shuts Down: How A Geek Sport Briefly Became A Party Phenomenon

Rock Band is over. Well–kind of over. It’s been “over” in the people-who-wouldn’t-otherwise-touch-a-Playstation-caring-about-it sense since a few months after Beatles Rock Band came out, but now it’s “over” inasmuch as after April 2, when “American Pie” will be released (nice timing), developer Harmonix will shut down the downloadable content pipeline…

Country Divas Ashley Monroe and Kacey Musgraves Have a Need for Weed

Kellychristinephoto.comWhere the weed at?This week the Golden, Texas native Kacey Musgraves finally releases her eagerly-awaited debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park. Indeed, it’s fitting that she’s from a town named Golden, as the new album is but the most recent example of some serious Solid Country Gold that’s come from…

Okay, Illegal Downloads Probably Are Hurting The Music Industry

This would have surprised me no matter who had turned it up, but there was a special irony in learning that illegal music downloads “aren’t hurting the music industry” from a beleaguered print magazine’s free-news arm: Illegal downloads aren’t hurting the music industry, new study claims | ti.me/10371Ow (via @timeculture)—…