Critic's Notebook

The members of It Hurts To Be Dead must’ve felt exactly what their band name suggests when the group went through a death of sorts.

On a Friday night in Deep Ellum, xbValentine plays for a packed house at Trees. With a baseball cap, black t-shirt and torn jeans, she’s keeping her masculine and feminine energies at a divine balance.

Mask mandates are starting to die, but the controversy around mask wearing is still very much alive. As public performers, musicians can get caught in the middle.

Despite all the clichés that say otherwise, country music consists of a wide variety of moods. From Patsy Cline to Sierra Ferrell, Charley Crockett to Charley Pride, and Loretta Lynn to Mojo Nixon; all fall under country’s wide umbrella.

When rapper Patrick “Peej Capeesh” Jackson found himself in an unlikely position to pursue his music, he made a new path for himself.

Diya Craft fronts Denton band Mutha-Falcon, a punk-fusion outfit that mixes funk and hip-hop while keeping a solid foundation in punk rock music. The band’s frontwoman is just as multifaceted.

Becoming a 1 percenter wasn’t exactly what Jerry Warden had in mind when he threw his hat into the ring for Arlington mayor. Warden, 60, a well-known metalhead from the band Warlock, collected just over 1 percent of the vote during the May 1 mayoral election after he was thrown…

The events of the past year no doubt stung more deeply without the joy of live music, and this past weekend we got a concrete reminder of what we’d been missing when two of Dallas’ prodigious natives came together at The Kessler.

Madukwu Chinwah’s career started out like that of many musicians, by playing in a high school garage band. It was called Krystal Klear, and while the band didn’t quite make it, Chinwah would become one of the main originators of the neo-soul genre.

As events begin to pick up again, downtown Cowtown will be booming with the sounds of New Orleans. The Roots of Music series, at Downtown Cowtown the Isis at the Fort Worth Stockyards, has an upcoming program highlighting Black music, packed with jazz, blues, R&B and hip-hop.

The Weeknd isn’t the only one who’s been blinded by the lights of the Grammy nomination process. After he was snubbed by the Grammys for the 2021 season, the singer spoke out about how unfair the secret nomination process can be to top-performing artists. After dropping a chart-topping album with…

It was right after churches let out Sunday afternoon. An older couple was driving down Hickory Street toward the Denton Square, possibly discussing their lunch options. The woman turns her head away from her husband as they approach Fry Street, looks to her right and sees Richard Haskins, the big-boned…

Dallas-based singer-songwriter Kevin Hawkins had an emotional transformation that started well before the pandemic. Over the course of five years, he wrote and recorded his debut album Mixed Emotions, which was released last fall. Through the 15 tracks, the musician walks through his past and makes sense of his old…

Your Facebook menu will be getting a lot more crowded. New audio tools and monetization for creators — lamely called “Soundbites” — will be available soon through Facebook and Messenger. Like the copycats social media platforms Facebook and Twitter are known to be, (first Snapchat-style stories, then “reels” mimicking TikTok)…

Joining the coveted ranks of Dallas artists who have gone viral on TikTok is singer Christi Lux. Her catchy new song “BEBE” has TikTokkers busting Latin-inspired moves to the reggaeton jam. While “BEBE” sounds like a love song, Lux insists that it is more about a feeling than it is…

Trying to understand cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be annoying AF, but the amount of cash being made and spent in the crypto space can’t be ignored. Artists and musicians have been independently making millions of dollars by selling digital versions of their art, music, video clips, photos and…

Imagine inviting local artists and producers over for recording sessions, drinks and BBQ all in one place without ever leaving your driveway. That’s just what Mike Ziemer did with his time during the pandemic. After feeling disconnected from a silent music scene, a huge staple in his life after 17…

Dallas music maven and 14 Records store owner Bucks Burnett dedicated a large part of his life to the career of the eccentric and incomparable Tiny Tim, the mischaracterized “novelty” musician who became one of music’s most uniquely eclectic pop stars. A new documentary called Tiny Tim: King for a…

As made evident with the mass popularity of K-pop and reggaeton, language is not a barrier in pop music. Artists and bands such as BTS and Bad Bunny, whose 2021 concert tickets are on resale for $18,000, are proving that fans can enjoy music regardless of their language. This is…

A few minutes into talking to Jacob Sereno, he makes an arguable statement. “The press doesn’t cover ASS.” ASS is an acronym for his band American Shit Storm, of which he’s the lead singer. The band’s next show is on April 30 at Three Links, which will mark the release…

Burette and Gabrielle Douglas have been playing together since they met through mutual friends. Their first a music project, Buck Jones, broke up three albums and several tours later, but Burette and Gabrielle never did, and have been married for nearly 30 years. The couple founded Fort Worth psych-rock band The…

The trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has reopened some wounds for artists still trying to heal from the trauma stemming from the killing of George Floyd. La Bell, a Dallas rapper, singer and producer, processed her emotions over Floyd’s death in a song and music video titled “Floyd’s…