Celebrated Texas drummer Joe Cripps has been missing from his Arkansas home for two weeks, according to police and family who are asking for help in locating him. Cripps, the former drummer for Denton-based polka band Brave Combo, was reported missing by his family and last seen Oct. 19 at…
Christy Ray has had a front row seat for the DJ world since she was a child. Exposed to the inner workings of the DJ booth by her mom, DJ Spinderella, she is prepared her for her own career. In the past year that journey has seen her pop up for…
Thursdays are a night of show-and-prove for local producers. On that day every week, Crown & Harp on Greenville Avenue plays host to Beat Assembly, a monthly meeting of musical minds. It’s one half party, the other half a workshop of original instrumentals. Producer battles aren’t anything new, but hip-hop…
Dorrough Music is now the only hip-hop artist in the world whose merchandise is sold at an NFL team’s official pro shop. Last week the Dallas Cowboys announced a collaborative merchandise deal to sell the rapper’s hat and t-shirts. This partnership is only the third of its kind, following Drake’s…
Six Shooter is a recurring feature where we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians. The month of October is supposed to bring in the fall weather but that didn’t really seem to happen. You can, however, start to hear the fall mood in some of this month’s releases,…
The Off The Rails Country Music Fest today announced the lineup for the the 2017 show in Frisco, and it certainly has a more than a few A-list names. Miranda Lambert is headlining Saturday’s show, with the crowd warmed up by Tyler Farr and Justin Moore. Sunday’s show features Cam,…
Earlier this month songwriter Alejandro Escovedo invited the Observer to his Dallas apartment to discuss the long road he’s traveled between albums. During the visit he played an acoustic rendition of “Heartbeat Smile,” the first single off his new album, “Burn Something Beautiful,” released today. Recorded in Portland, Oregon, the…
A year after it happened, Chris Penn is still in a slight state of disbelief that the original Alice Cooper group reunited and played the record store he co-owns, Good Records. On October 6, 2015 the man born as Vince Furnier played with surviving members drummer Neal Smith, bassist Dennis…
Jonathan Graham has been a staple of local music since his teens, under his alias DJG. Graham had a long-running residency at Hailey’s infamous ’80s night. He’s a family man these days, but still manages to get out and play special events and guest slots under his new monicker, DJ Nowadays. Graham is known for…
The newly opened Lounge Here on Garland Road and the boutique under construction next door could be regarded as departures for the woman who owns them, Julie Doyle. She’s the co-manager of the choral rock band Polyphonic Spree, but Doyle sees these new outlets as just another medium to reach…
Nine months after their messy public break up, popular Dallas hip-hop duo A.Dd+’s final project will receive a posthumous release later this month. The 12-song Nawf America, featuring a star-studded cast of local rappers and producers, is out Friday, Oct. 28 via their former label High Standardz. It’s the locally-acclaimed duo’s…
He is Mark Ridlen by day, but Deejay Mr Rid by night. There are few musicians in Dallas that have earned veteran status, but Ridlen earned the distinction as a member of seminal art and psyche bands in the ’80s and ’90s. One of the original DJs at the legendary…
Joshua Balis might have a familiar last name, but with the release of his debut EP, Modern Gospel, he is quickly gaining his own musical identity. The 24-year-old son of Danny Balis — Dallas musician, radio personality on The Ticket and co-owner of Twilite Lounge — has grown up…
Maren Morris has been working the Hero status for much of the past year. Her debut album of that name may have only come out over the summer, but the Arlington native has been marked out as a rising talent in the country world ever since she dropped “My Church”…
Dallas went nearly three years without a Kanye West sighting. Now, having finally gotten one last month, it will only have to wait about eight weeks to catch him again. That’s because West has added another leg to his acclaimed Saint Pablo Tour and will be returning to American Airlines…
After years’ worth of his original music was stolen from his backpack at the end of September, it would’ve been understandable for local rapper So-So Topic (or -Topic for short) to wallow in his own sorrow. After all, three weeks later he still hasn’t gotten the music back — despite…
It’s a random Tuesday in Oak Cliff, and the lobby of the Belmont Hotel is jumping. Celebrated rocker Alejandro Escovedo has come downstairs from his apartment on the hotel’s second floor and is playing an acoustic version of his hit “Always a Friend” with Austin songwriter Jeremy Nail. In the corner,…
Dallas Observer Music Awards season is in full swing, and piece by piece the details of this year’s awards have been falling into place. First came news of the showcase, which takes place in Deep Ellum the first weekend of December, as it has the past two years. Then came…
Mike Kannon is best known for his role as morning show personality on the top 40-centered radio station KVIL, but the recent Dallas transplant also happens to have a deep relationship with underground techno. For this week’s mixtape, Kannon goes hard in the paint with a mix of techno largely…
Last week, we revealed the nominees for the 2016 Dallas Observer Music Awards. With five nominees each spread across 40 different categories, the ballot — which is open until midnight on Dec. 2, the night before the DOMA showcase — offers a pretty good overview of what the local music scene…
JT Donaldson is one of Dallas’ most accomplished DJs. With releases on a wide variety of labels including the legendary Chicago house label Casual, he has maintained a steady output. Along with his heavy involvement in Josey Records, Donaldson has been busy with his new record label New Math, which…
During the first 10 seasons of The Voice, 52 contestants have been from the Lone Star State with 18 of those being from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Voice apparently loves Texans, and Season 11 has proved to be no different. Five DFW residents or homeowners have made it past…
