Critic's Notebook

Clad in his trademark gray fedora and reflective circular sunglasses, Astro James walks into Charlie’s Star Lounge, his neighborhood dive bar, beaming from ear to ear.

Baseball bat and clothing apparel company Warstic announced they will be hosting a grand opening of their flagship store and headquarters in Deep Ellum on Nov. 6

It’s a good time to be Jaci Butler. Jaci is pronounced like “Jackie,” and she’s a Rowlett native who’s been extraordinarily busy for the past 19 months.

Just before their show on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at the Deep Ellum Art Co., two members of the Arkansas indie rock band Brother Moses caught someone breaking into their van.

Bowling for Soup have been a mainstay in the music industry since the band first formed in the mid-1990s. The Wichita Falls pop-punk band has earned a Grammy nomination and certified radio hits such as “1985” (trust us – you’ve heard it.) and lent the theme song to the mega popular animated Disney series Phinneas and Ferb.

Last Thursday, musician Ryan Bingham performed for the 22nd Rise Roundup at The Rustic in Dallas. Aside from offering a live performance from the multi-genre singer and songwriter, the event raised over $500,000 for charity.

Lucid Shinobi has embarked on various journeys. He was born in Lubbock, but his father’s job as a truck driver caused the family to move frequently.

On Saturday night, a hardcore show took place the The Gold Room at Golden Boy Coffee & Cocktails in Denton.

After a breakup, most of us console ourselves by going to bed with two men named Ben and Jerry. Bianca “BeMyFiasco” Rodriguez made a healthier choice, and created a jazzy and soulful R&B mixtape.

A couple of days after Labor Day, University of North Texas grad Jeff Coffin was in good spirits, although he was in full recovery mode from an unexpectedly wild holiday weekend.

There’s more to Halloween music than “Monster Mash.” No, you’re probably not going to get a lot of Halloween carolers, unless your neighborhood has a particularly fervent A Nightmare Before Christmas troop of fans.

Before Matt Skiba was tapped to replace Tom DeLonge in blink-182, one of the most iconic trios of our time, he was known for his work in another famous punk rock trio – one with a higher pH, if you will.

North Texas star Demi Lovato has been a role model since first appearing on Barney & Friends in the early 2000s. We’re trying hard to root for the singer-actress, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Demi’s wokeness is rarely even demi-congruent.

Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum is finally able to relax. Ahead of the band’s show with Beach Fossils at Amplified Live in Dallas on Wednesday, Oct. 13, Tatum is speaking to us from a hotel room in Chicago.

Folk singer Kevin Morby is sitting in his home Missouri, thinking about baseball.

While many artists have used the pandemic and political unrest to come up with thought-provoking lyrics, a Texas duo is letting the music speak for itself, and choosing to forgo lyrics altogether.

Did you know Blue Öyster Cult’s “Godzilla” was written in Dallas?”True, that’s where it was written,” says lead guitarist and occasional singer Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser.

Yasmeen Nasir lives her life in two completely different worlds. By day, she works as a project engineer for the aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corp. She’s also an up-and-coming musician.

It’s hard to make a good music documentary.The film genre usually boils down to two different types: sanitized “peeks” into an artist’s personal life – inevitably and regrettably gatekept by those same artists (see Katy Perry’s Part of Me) or unnecessarily unfiltered portraits of raging egomaniacs (such as Madonna’s Truth or Dare).

It’s a drive, a train ride to St. Paul Station and a walk down to Main Street Garden Park. It was about screaming for equal rights – reproductive rights. And about speaking truth to power.

John Legend’s fans should expect to leave his upcoming concert feeling uplifted. We spoke to the 12-time Grammy Award-winner ahead of his Oct. 6 at tour stop at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, and he discussed his love of touring and family – and getting through grief.

George Harrison once said you can tell a lot about a person based on how they tend their garden. At the moment, singer Nicole Marxen’s garden is in full bloom.