Just over a year ago, we caught up with Australian singer-songwriter Kasey Chambers as she was touring behind her excellent LP, Little Bird. That album not only showcased original material, but a return to the folk-rock form she used to become a ’90s country darling…
To call a place a honky-tonk is almost as nebulous as labeling a place a dive bar. Ask five different people what one is, and you’re more than likely to get six different answers. Of course, North Texas has dozens of places that complement any of them. The earliest published…
The modern landscape of Top 40 country music is littered — and for the most part, litter is an apt term — with fresh-faced fellas that boast an attitude that aims for bad-ass, but typically ends up closer to lame-ass. Current hit-makers and stadium fillers such as Brantley Gilbert, Jason…
When Dirty Projectors’ 2009 album Bitte Orca was released, it was treated as the second coming. Of course, there seems to be a new Album of the Decade crowned on a yearly basis. Even though I write about music on a regular basis for multiple outlets, I get annoyed with…
If it seems like we’ve been bringing you plenty of news about many of the fine regional country artists who are quick to lend their names and talents to causes whose worthiness can’t be questioned, well, that’s because there’s often a compelling story behind it. On Monday, July 23, treasured…
Last year, we detailed five fantastic post-rock bands that scoff at the term post-rock and, more or less, pissed on the very thought of being tagged as such. With Luna’s Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips conquering the grassy hill at the Belmont Hotel tonight as a part of KXT 91.7’s…
If you haven’t been following the path of Dallas’ Ronnie Fauss over the past couple of years, you have quite the treat ahead of you. Beginning with 2009’s New Songs for the Old Frontier and most recently in 2011’s tribute collection Any Lovin’ Way But Wrong, Fauss’ four EPs serve…
As we look upon the massive Texas country machine that’s been chugging along over the past several years, it’s easy to see 1997 as a pivotal one. In college towns and major metropolises alike, the masses were demanding more music from people that shared their pride, enthusiasm and thirst for…
It’s been a couple of years since Dallas’ Grant Jones & the Pistol Grip Lassos released their last album, a self-titled disc of supremely straight-forward country. For the new album, however, Jones chose to follow an inspired vision he’s harbored for the last few years. Saints, Sinners & Liars will…
New York by way of Texas husband-wife duo The Mastersons are too perfect of an idea to never happen. Chris Masterson has performed and produced for many others (Jack Ingram, Son Volt, Bobby Bare Jr.) while also releasing a bit of his own material in the past. Same for his…
As we look upon the massive machine Texas country has made chug along over the past several years, it’s easy to see 1997 as a pivotal time. In college towns and major metropolises alike, the masses were demanding more music from people that shared their pride, enthusiasm and thirst for…
I was fortunate enough to speak with legend Merle Haggard for this week’s print edition of the Observer. Aside from being in awe each time he mentioned Willie Nelson, Lake Shasta (his home for many years, which he refers to in multiple songs) or Johnny Cash, I was particularly struck…
At the age of 75, country music legend Merle Haggard is unafraid. Whether the topic is the environment, immigration concerns or the state of country music in the new millennium, Haggard hardly needs an invitation to share his opinions. During the course of a half hour or so, Haggard easily…
A couple of weeks ago, we told you how Red Dirt stud Stoney LaRue decided to follow other big names and host a charity golf and poker tourney in Grapevine, with the help of some his famous friends from the world of sports and music. That specific event, which benefited…
Visit any area honky-tonk or college-town pizza joint and ask five people what “Texas country” or “Texas music” is. Chances are, you’ll get two thoughtful answers describing the way in which the artists that fall under the nebulously defined category are linked by spirit more than sonic similarities, one blank…
If gambling hasn’t violently torn your family apart, then a day at the races could be a great way to entertain Dad on the day in which we gladly ignore the living room screaming matches of our adolescence and his ambivalence towards our allegedly frivolous dreams of simply wanting to…
This Father’s Day, there are a couple suitable options for a dutiful son or daughter to get Dad to get a little buzzed before he opens another round of ties from Kohl’s. For $40 a person,The Dallas Bites! Summer Beer and Burger Tour will provide a bus full of Deep…
Gillian Welch Majestic Theatre Saturday, June 9 In this week’s paper, Gillian Welch let us know what the live show might be like, when she described her recording process to us. “My favorite sound on Earth is the sound of voices and instruments combining in the air. We let it…
The Texas Rangers of 2012 have proven how long a 162-game baseball season can truly feel, even when the lengthiest season in sports (at least for the sports we care about) is less than half-complete. After getting off to the best start of any team, things have leveled off. One…
Now that 2011’s The Harrow & the Harvest has been out for close to a year, questions about a new Gillian Welch album abound. But one also must consider that she and her musical mate David Rawlings placed an eight-year gap between that album and 2003’s Soul Journey. Welch is…
The country music community of Texas and Oklahoma has been a fantastic supporter of children and their families battling various medical issues. Over the past few years, Ft. Worth DJ Justin Frazell has been a driving force behind the all-star Pickin’ for Preemies series of Labor Day concerts, with proceeds…
Every few years there’s a new it girl, and Best Coast’s leader, Bethany Cosentino, is one of them. That’s not to say the talented California native, who has a new line of clothing to her name, is an empty vessel who just happens to play guitar. Cosentino and her multi-instrumental…
