Oaktopia is still about six weeks away, but it’s already shaping up to be a pretty good festival this year. What started as the little-hip-hop-festival-that-could just a few years ago has developed a pretty eclectic lineup of indie and emerging rap talent, from Rae Sremmurd to Andrew W.K. to the…
M3SA and Pintalabios recently started making the rounds of the Dallas party scene as a duo operating largely within the realm of techno, with added hat tips to classic industrial and synth pop. That crossover is a trend that has existed in club music for many years, but gained extra…
Football season is almost upon us, and with the kickoff of the Cowboys’ training camp Dallas football fans are one step closer to erasing the words “Blake Weeden” from their memories. Tony Romo will rebound. They’re still in the junk pile known as the NFC East. 9-7, here we come…
Could there have been any other candidate to headline Billy Bob’s 35th anniversary concert? Even though Willie Nelson picked up and moved his annual 4th of July party back down to Austin, the Red Headed Stranger will always be synonymous with the World’s Largest Honky Tonk. In fact, in the…
Six Shooter is a recurring feature where we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians. The summer is never an easy time to be in Dallas, but the tragedy that rocked the city in July makes it one month that most likely aren’t sad to see go. All the…
When Richard Haskins showed up to court on Thursday morning, he had no idea that he was going to receive his sentence. Arrested in December 2012 for attempting to rob the Well Fargo bank on University Drive in Denton, the Wee Beasties singer has been in jail since last March…
Uchin Chung has secured veteran status by deejaying and promoting shows since the early ’90s. Chung has seen the Dallas scene develop from the audience and behind the decks. Although Chung is not currently holding down any residencies, his name pops up on rosters for numerous local parties. Not only…
Kris Kristofferson’s return to the stage at Newport Folk Festival last weekend was a landmark in the country music legend’s career. It was there in 1969 that he made his debut as a guitarist for Johnny Cash, who had just discovered Kristofferson after hearing his demos. Forty-seven years later, Kristofferson…
Emeka Ibe is surrounded by three 40-inch monitors, candy red JBL speakers and multiple, nearly-filled-to-capacity dry erase boards. “I wanted to be living proof that you can do anything,” he says, loading his audio production software. Over the past year, Ibe released a single and performed at the Oaktopia music…
Willie Nelson, Texas’ favorite import, is the nation’s most famous pot smoker. (Sorry Snoop.) You may not be able to toke with him at his 4th of July picnic, but thankfully you’ll have a chance to smoke his weed. Starting this month, his long-anticipated brand of cannabis, Willie’s Reserve, will be for…
Joel Zoch, most often performing under his alias Jethro Tilton, bridges Dallas’ DJ culture and its experimental scene. Zoch was on the front line in various projects and played the infamous Hazy Daze parties back in the rave days. His music knowledge of the somewhat obscure is off the charts,…
Moments before he’s due on stage, Paris Pershun is pacing back and forth in the Trees greenroom. It’s a place he’s been plenty of times before and he’s surrounded by friends, including artist Bobby Sessions who’s the night’s headliner. Yet he’s desperately trying to drown out their conversations to better…
Dallas hip-hop has always played in the shadows of Houston’s superstar hip-hop scene, but every so often a local rapper or group from the city produces a song that catches fire. These songs resonate in the streets (often found in the legendary T-Town Music & More record shop in Pleasant…
Mo3 is different man now than he was at the beginning of the year. “I started living off rap this year and I love it. I’m shining,” the Dallas rapper says. “I look different — you got a different vibe when you’re struggling and trying to figure out where you’re…
Bob Haydon’s ears perked up when he overheard a fellow student, sitting behind him, complain about his aching fingers. The student, Steve Miller, had stayed up until 1 a.m. playing the guitar. Haydon turned around and told him that he played guitar, too. Miller said he was looking for a…
DJ Red Eye is at the center of Dallas dance music for decades, laying the foundation for the recent burst in activity. Along with residencies at bars in town, he’s a scout for talent for the Audiophile Deep record label. His technical mastery behind the decks, along with his depth…
There may be hope yet for Lower Greenville. Long after the once rough-and-tumble live music neighborhood gave way to rooftop bars and valet service, the closure of Ships Lounge last summer looked like the final sign of the changing tide towards Uptownization. But now there’s a plot twist. Tomorrow, almost…
Tommy Delano spoke to Patrick Zamarripa the night before the police officer’s murder. Every Wednesday for six months, Zamarripa, an officer with the Dallas Police Department, worked off duty at the Candle Room, Delano’s Knox-Henderson bar. Last week, a gunman in downtown Dallas shot and killed Zamarripa, a 32-year-old Iraq War…
Through their record labels Audiophile, Audiophile Deep and Audiophile XXL, Jimmy Freer and Chris Wu have become cornerstones of Dallas dance music. Outside of the dance community, their labels may be overlooked in Dallas, but Audiophile has a higher profile than the vast majority of local record labels. They release music…
It’s been a charmed year for Grapevine native Post Malone. He’s gone from an unknown kid posting his own recordings on Soundcloud to touring the world with Justin Bieber. Now Malone has hit another milestone, and The Biebs himself helped him celebrate. Malone turned 21 on Monday, sharing a birthday…
Darius Rucker is backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the foundation and epicenter of mainstream American country music. He’s ready to perform, looking calm and casually hip in jeans, a black T-shirt and over-the-ankle lizard-skin cowboy boots. Rucker has decided to close his three-song set, on opening night…
This week’s Dallas Observer Mixtape features the exotic beats of radio show host DJ Flying B. Through his shows The Flying Burrito Music Show and Global Beats, Flying B explores modern around the globe. This may go down as one of the strangest installments in this series. The mix itself is…
