Top 5 Acts to See at JMBLYA (and Why Lil Nas X Is No. 1)

As we reported back in late February, the seventh annual JMBLYA Festival will be headlined by one of the biggest acts in hip-hop, Travis Scott, as well as one of the genre’s most influential torchbearers, Lil Wayne. It’s an exciting offering every year, and one that gets plagued with curveballs…

Dallas Observer Exclusive: Great Heart Debuts ‘Mr. Monocle’ Video

Last year Dallas prog rock band Great Heart released their first EP, The Sunrise Machine, an album which took listeners on a journey of self-reflection, heartbreak and personal salvation. Today, the band is releasing its first video for the song, “Mr. Monocle”—one of the album’s most introspective moments. A kind…

Real-Life Mortician Band ManifestiV Release Two Remixes, Radiohead Cover

ManifestiV is a tough band to categorize. Consisting of an electronic vibraphone played by Eve Walding (aka EvE) and guitar player Paragraph Taylor, this experimental industrial couple trades vocal duties while making music that sounds synth-backed and filled with crushed beats and fuzzy guitars. ManifestiV released their second album, God…

War Party Release New Video, Single as Part of Farewell

War Party are not a band content to go quietly in that good night. The Fort Worth turf rock outfit has been awfully busy by most bands’ standards — especially one getting ready to say goodbye. Tuesday saw the release of a new video for their song “No Exit” from…

Atlantis Aquarius Evolves Into Sound Wholly Its Own With Leo’s Rising

Rock bands teeming in psychedelic schtick are a dime a dozen. Rock bands with rich, familiar musical influences, catchy melodies and compelling, distinctive lyrics — all dripping with authentic psychedelia? Not so common. But Dallas’ Atlantis Aquarius weaves their sound with all those threads and more. The quintet’s new album, Leo’s Rising,…

Maren Morris Comes Full-Circle With Emotional Hometown Return

Maren Morris The Bomb Factory, Dallas Friday, April 19, 2019 Before Maren Morris could move forward, she needed to step back. “I’m gonna conduct a straw poll,” the singer-songwriter told the sold-out Bomb Factory crowd Friday night, near the end of her performance, as she lightly strummed the opening chords…

Haley Reinhart Talks Post-American Idol Life and Musical Longevity

Singer Haley Reinhart’s velvety vocals are highly delectable, to the point that one would hope for a case of synesthesia — a condition that often results in an ability to taste music. Her sultry, growled phrasing moves teasingly along her unpredictable arrangements, landing Reinhart in third place on Season 10…