Ariel Saldivar was planning her birthday party last year when she hit on an idea. At the time, friend and record producer John Congleton was recording an album with Montreal band SUUNS at his Elmwood Recording studio. Saldivar asked them to play at Texas Theatre for the party, and when…
Miles Davis is enjoying a renaissance in 2016. The jazz titan, easily one of the most pivotal music figures of the 20th century, would’ve been 90 years old this year, and he’s already received a fitting tribute in Don Cheadle’s labor of love film, Miles Ahead. Then a few weeks…
This is one small step for live streaming, one giant leap for live music in Denton. Dan’s Silverleaf has taken a page right out of the future and, for the past three months, has been streaming Paul Slaven’s weekly Monday night residency live on the Internet. And there may be…
Anthony Harwood is a Chicago native who relocated to Dallas more than a decade ago. You can find him playing around town, but only occasionally. Lately he’s been busy starting an internet radio station, not just programming the music but actually writing software code, and raising his daughter. The depth…
A bent stop sign with the pole still attached, cowboy hats, a sneaker, license plates, a rubber monkey, an empty Crown Royal bag, a longhorn skull with an image of KISS guitarist Ace Frehley tattooed on its forehead — reminders of a rock ‘n’ roll life surround Rita Haney in…
Frank Campagna Jr., known as Frankie or simply by the name of the Dallas punk band he fronted, Frankie 45, committed suicide more than five years ago. Just a few months later, Frankie 45 bassist Adam Carter also took his life. Foundation 45 is a nonprofit organization ran by the…
It creaks, it squeaks and sometimes it leaks. The basement of J&J’s Pizza in Denton certainly has its odd charm, but after 15 years of hosting live music it’s about to get a facelift. Affectionately known as the Old Dirty Basement, J&J’s will be closing the room through the end…
Omar Mustafa represents the brighter side of Dallas’ younger-generation DJ culture. He’s dedicated to the art of the mix, but as an audience member he’s a staple on the dancefloor of many other DJ’s dance nights. If you go out to see club DJs often enough, you are more than…
It’s been a bit of a weird year for Kanye West. Like, weird even for Yeezy. There was the whole bankruptcy thing, plus, of course, the album that we’re still not quite sure he’s done with, even though it’s been out for four months. So, hey, sounds like it’s about to…
Tensions were high in Oak Lawn on Sunday night. Afternoon thunderstorms had left the skies overcast and bleak, and all along the streets and in the doorways of the clubs there was a hard-to-miss police presence. Only hours before, a shooter had opened fire inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando,…
When Oaktopia first got its start in Denton back in 2013, it was built on a genre that hadn’t exactly been the backbone of previous festivals in the area: hip-hop. Booking headliners like Del the Funky Homosapien and Aesop Rock in its first two years, the young festival strayed off…
North Texas has been spoiled for choices when it comes to local talent making it on late-night TV. St. Vincent, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Leon Bridges have all become regulars in recent years. So it’s almost hard to believe that viral singer and Justin Bieber tour mate Post Malone…
Matthew Parks is a highly trained technician behind the decks. His humble demeanor is misleading, given the very aggressive style with which he mixes techno. Usually very banging techno, at that — the kind that often has more appeal to fans of industrial, noise, experimental, punk or even metal than…
EDM’s not dead. Not in Texas, anyway, and certainly not in Dallas. For all of last year’s talk about the genre’s supposedly waning popularity and predictions of a bubble that’s about to burst, Lights All Night — Dallas’ biggest EDM festival — is still in rude health. In fact, this…
For country music legend Charlie Pride, the death of longtime friend Muhammad Ali is a deeply felt blow. The 82-year-old will head to Louisville on Friday for the funeral. The Observer caught up with him backstage in Nashville, shortly before his appearance at a Darius and Friends show at the Wild Horse Saloon…
The Dixie Chicks have never been ones to shy away for calling out politicians — even (or maybe preferably) if it stirs up a little controversy. But as the three Dallas ladies embark on their worldwide reunion tour, they’re not wasting any time in getting back to it. In fact,…
Red alert, Dallas: the pug petting zoo isn’t happening this weekend. Blame Mother Nature, or blame the inscrutable ambivalence of the cosmos, but the dream of dressing up pugs with wings (thereby creating a “pugasus,” apparently) is dead. That’s because the first-ever Bulladora Music Experience has been canceled. The Experience…
Luke Sardello is so much more than just a veteran DJ. Sardello is the epitome of an old school Dallas vet, but he is also a music connoisseur, curator and part of the brains behind Josey Records. As a DJ he’s largely associated with house music, but — as a…
Israel Marcano Jr could be considered an ex-pat of the infamous 90s Dallas rave scene. He has witnessed Dallas go through it’s many phases over the years. Israel’s mix for this week reflects that by not settling stylistically. The propulsive pulse of house music with dashes of techno and breaks…
For those waiting to hear new music from John Dufilho, the second half of 2016 will be as loud and busy as the first half of this year was quiet and still. For a guy with as many musical connections as Dufilho, such a distinction is odd. But the lead…
After two long years of planning and negotiating, The Vaughan Brothers Art Project is finally ready to get cracking. The public art project will memorialize two of Dallas’ biggest contributors to the world of popular music, Jimmie Vaughan and his late brother Stevie Ray Vaughan. And now it’s officially a…
The Denton music landscape is changing again. After 19 long years of serving Denton’s DIY crowd, Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios will be closing their doors on Sunday, June 5. That leaves one big question unanswered: “Where will that music go?” Denton, with only a little more than 123,000 people, is…
