A few months ago, Katie Scott was standing outside her shop, The Groovy Coop in Downtown McKinney, when she came across the owner of another building on the square. His tenant, he told her, would soon be moving out. It was a long-standing salsa shop, “a staple,” Scott says, that…
There was a Blue Lives Matter rally at Friendship-West Baptist Church in southern Dallas last weekend. On Sunday, of all days. The church has a prominent Black Lives Matter banner displayed on its facade, and its music department has longtime ties with noted soul artists such as Shaun Martin and…
On July 29, U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesotar introduced the Save Our Stages Act in an effort to aid independently operated cultural and music venues affected by COVID-19 shutdowns. If passed, the act, which is endorsed by the National Independent Venue Association and the National Independent…
On April 8, Reid Robinson was having dinner with his wife, Julie, and their 11-year-old son Rowan at Keller’s Drive-In on Harry Hines. Dining indoors wasn’t an option. Bars and restaurants were shut down, including the Robinsons’, who own Brizo restaurant and the sublimely dive-y Forum Country Club, the oldest…
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra may have suffered pandemic-sized losses like most local cultural institutions, but they’re not sitting around playing a sad violin — at least not for their own benefit. While the organization was forced to furlough 31 employees, the orchestra members remain on staff, says Kim Nolotemy, DSO…
Some people sell old junk in their front yards. Some, like Matthew Kurzman, put on quality concerts for their neighbors. Kurzman is a real estate investor who used to own a CD store in Tucson. After moving back to his hometown of Dallas in 1999, the self-professed “music junkie” got…
Last year wasn’t just kind to Joshua Ray Walker, it bowed to his every move. Walker’s debut album, Wish You Were Here, became an unabashed favorite among critics in 2019, and the country artist swept the ballot at the Dallas Observer Music Awards. The artist took his first plane ride…
The movie theater business has had to overcome endless hurdles in a quest to stay relevant through the years as technology perpetuates human laziness, first with the invention of Cable TV; then VCR, DVD and Blu-Ray; and now with man’s best friend, Netflix. Theaters, however, continued to attract film lovers…
The COVID-19 pandemic has swept away lives, jobs, and individual freedoms. While more than 2.5 million Texans have filed for unemployment since April, there’s one sector of business that has been silently devastated by closures: arts institutions. According to a survey by The Arts Community Alliance, the Dallas Arts District…
In case you haven’t had the displeasure: “Karen” is an online term for entitled soccer moms whose sense of comfort is such a priority that they will cause whatever undue disruption is necessary for its sake. You know, the “Let me speak with the manager” types. The male counterpart to…
On Friday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order closing bars and requiring restaurants operate at no more than 50% occupancy. In the past few months, not everyone has abided by shutdown orders, like in the case of Shelley Luther, who became the mockingjay for the reopener movement by refusing…
Taron Lockett has spent his entire career as the drummer for some of the biggest names in the industry. Now he’s stepping from behind the drums to bask in the spotlight. In Dallas circles, Lockett is often introduced (though seldom to his face) as “Prince’s last drummer.” But he’s also…
Dealing with drunk people has always been an unpleasant part of the job for those in the service industry. Trying to get drunk people to wear a mask is a near impossible mask, local venue workers say. In part, that makes sense. People at bars need their mouths uncovered. The…
Looking at Christy Ray, Taylor Nicks and Ryan Nicolaidis, one wouldn’t ascribe them a care in the world. Ray is a successful DJ. Nicks is the lead singer of Atlantis Aquarius, and Nicolaidis is a medical aesthetician. They’re all popular characters in the music scene and could’ve easily started a band…
When Bill Wisener died in January, many mourned both the loss of a local music scene icon and an institution, his shop Bill’s Records. Now, the owners of Josey Records, Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello, are buying what remains of the business, Cameron tells the Observer. Josey is a favorite…
Although Nextdoor’s purpose is to unite communities, the digital platform has come under fire for what some see as cultivating a snitch culture among neighbors who aren’t always welcoming. The virtual neighborhood, where members sometimes encourage others to call the police on those who look “out of place” in their…
Being a parent requires a set of skills we’re forced to develop as they become needed. On top of providing financially and doing endless domestic work and errands, one must be a teacher, mentor and mediator. For black fathers in America, there’s even more to the job. They teach their…
It was a California summer day like any other when a group of four or five little boys got together to play on their street. They were tired of walking around the basketball court and moved on to the steps of the church on their block. They were 9 years…
Juneteenth has been the subject of much conversation in the past week. The holiday, June 19, commemorates the date that slaves in Texas learned of the emancipation proclamation (two years after it became effective in 1863). Last Thursday, Nike announced that it would join Vox Media, Twitter and other companies…
While much of the country has been busy trying to eradicate a bigger epidemic, systemic racism, the coronavirus still lurks around us. Confirmed COVID cases continue to increase daily, riding that second wave and putting Texas in the lead. We reminded you back in April of the many things you…
On April 27, Dallas police arrested and charged independent film producer Adam Donaghey with sexual assault of a minor stemming from an incident with a 16-year-old during the production of director David Lowery’s critically lauded A Ghost Story. The criminal charges brought forth a wave of allegations and stories from…
While the last two weeks have seen an outpouring of solidarity for protesters demanding racial equality, not everyone is joining in on the cause, so prominent Dallas DJs are on a mission to call out racism within the industry, starting with the racially insensitive posts made by their colleagues. In…
