When Bryce Butler was a little kid, he often waddled into the kitchen while his parents watched old Eagles concerts and beat on bowls with wooden spoons. Twenty-two years later, Butler is still beating on things as the drummer of North Texas metal bands Seeker and Lizard Professor. But he…
Here at the Dallas Observer, we show love to local music year round, but last night concluded our annual celebration of the Dallas music scene. At Saturday’s Dallas Observer Music Awards showcase in Deep Ellum, our ears were overwhelmed by talent. Some of our favorites from Saturday were Dome Dwellers,…
About a dozen U.S. veterans who served in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East are gathered for band practice at the Veterans Administration building in Fort Worth. The Guitars for Heroes program is helping them cope with their trauma and injuries through music. Some sing Merle Haggard tunes, strumming acoustic…
More than a year and a half after Joe Cripps’ disappearance, what happened to the internationally recognized percussionist is a still an unanswered question. Cripps was best known for his work with Denton-based, Grammy Award-winning polka band Brave Combo. He moved from Denton to his hometown of Little Rock in…
In a world gone digital, a Denver-based record-a-month club called Vinyl Me, Please is keeping the analog party rockin’, one record at a time. The 5-year-old company has been making a name for itself locally with events and local artist spotlights at Dallas bars such as Shoals Sound & Service…
Dallas bluesman Jimmie Vaughan carved his nickname, “Jimbo,” into the back of a 1951 Fender Broadcaster before handing it down to his younger brother. Guitar lore has it that Stevie Ray Vaughan, after altering it somewhat, eventually traded the instrument for a red Epiphone. He later regretted it, but “Jimbo”…
“A Day in the Life …” is a series that focuses on the daily routines of prominent figures in the local music scene. Jeff Liles asks me to meet him at the Kessler Theater around 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17. As the Oak Cliff theater’s artistic director and talent buyer since 2008,…
Dead & Company American Airlines Center, Dallas Friday, Dec. 1, 2017 As John Mayer introduced his song “If I Ever Get Around to Living” at a show in San Antonio last August, he told the crowd that the album it’s on, Born and Raised, hadn’t sold very well. “I’ve played the…
If you haven’t noticed, holiday music is everywhere. And if turning the dial to Star 102.1 for a ’round-the-clock reminder of the season is overkill in your opinion, this week’s best concerts lineup offers a couple of great holiday concerts that will give you just enough warm fuzzies without overdoing…
Oak Cliff reality rapper C. Struggs has always rapped about his struggles. He now has a big new one: his health. Last week, a video of the 31-year-old rapper being rushed to the hospital went viral on social media after rap blog Say CheeseTV posted it. The video didn’t indicate…
One thing is certain: Dallas has got the blues. To determine their depth, we walked down a radio station hallway plastered with blues festival and chili cook-off posters to talk with David Pippin, a DJ who began subbing at KNON-FM 89.3 a decade ago. Pippin now hosts his own Wednesday…
After a brief slowdown in announcements, the concert calendar is quickly filling up in anticipation of the new year. Classic rock icons and a hotshot roots artist team up to play the American Airlines Center, a string of fantastic rap and hip-hop shows are booked at local venues, a pair…
When Kim Noltemy becomes the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s first female CEO in January, she’ll bring with her 21 years of experience vitalizing the Boston Symphony Orchestra — and a brain full of ideas for the one Dallas knows and loves. Noltemy says the city’s growth, excitement and cultural organizations drew her…
Justin Vaughan began deejaying in Dallas in the early aughts at Deep Ellum dance club Sandbar. These days, he’s active with the party promotion group House of Champagne, which throws a popular rooftop party every weekend at Nora on Lower Greenville. Justin brings the House of Champagne vibe to this…
In the new biography Delbert McClinton: One of the Fortunate Few (Dec. 6, Texas A&M University Press), author Diana Finlay Hendricks describes the Texas singer-songwriter as a kind of Forrest Gump character, “bumping into history” throughout his extraordinary life. For example, in 1962, McClinton and fellow Texan musician Bruce Channel…
Six Shooter is a recurring feature in which we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians. The Outfit, TX — “Told That Bih” The Outfit, TX’s video for “Told That Bih,” off its new album, Fuel City, is nothing short of a marvel. The rap trio is known for…
Jingle Ball with Kesha, the Chainsmokers, Hailee Steinfeld and more American Airlines Center, Dallas Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017 It was a who’s who of young pop acts Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center, which hosted KISS FM’s Jingle Ball. Kesha declared she’s a nasty woman, Charlie Puth rocked out…
Before guitarist Justin Casey moved to his current home, he had already decided what he was going to do with the one-car garage. He was going to assemble some cheap microphones and basic editing software and use the garage as a home studio. That was in 2009, and in 2011,…
Jimmie Vaughan’s new album, Live at C-Boy’s, is a big step forward and backward for the guitarist and Dallas native. The track listing reads like a hip mid-1960s jukebox. It comprises some straight-up blues covers of Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Smokey Smothers, ballads such as “Frame for the Blues,” several soul…
Every November when the Recording Academy releases its list of Grammy nominees, a handful of North Texas musicians are on it. Last year, Maren Morris, Snarky Puppy, Kirk Franklin and Pentatonix were just a few of the musicians with local ties who received nods and ultimately went on to win…
Amy Miller had prepared herself to hear a lot of county music when she moved to Dallas to accept a job as program director at KXT-FM 91.7. Miller is originally from the West Coast, but she’s worked at radio stations in California, Virginia, Pennsylvania and now Texas. When she got…
Sixteen Dallas music industry veterans are milling about on a Deep Ellum patio on an unseasonably warm evening in November. It wouldn’t be odd to see any one of these promoters, radio personalities, musicians or DJs in thriving Deep Ellum on a Thursday, but it’s strange to see them all in…
