Ashley Falgout sings in improvisational hip-hop band CoLab, and when she met Dead Flowers frontman Corey Howe, it was her only experience performing with a band. The two met through Evan Johnson, the bassist for both CoLab and Dead Flowers, and via Howe’s former gig as a bartender at the…
We’re not even a week into 2018, and Erykah Badu has already been at the center of two weird, and likely related, stories. On New Year’s Eve, the neo-soul songstress and Dallas native posted an Instagram video during a supposed traffic stop by Dallas police officers who “just wanted to…
At 2 p.m. Saturday, Exposition Avenue was completely empty except for a handful of people dressed head-to-toe in mid-’60s garb. As they filed inside Eight Bells Alehouse they were greeted by other men and women who were also decked out in everything from flowery headbands to long, curly wigs; fringe…
Before things froze over, Red, Hot & Blue sculpted a new, outdoor music venue. It’s the franchise’s first beer garden that‘s also set up for live entertainment, says Ryan Brown, general manager of the longtime eatery located at 9810 N. Central Expressway at Walnut Hill Lane. “We were closed down…
In the blogiverse, Gorilla vs. Bear is one of the best-known resources for music aficionados. It’s been around since 2005 and was touted by Rolling Stone in 2008 as one of the best music blogs on the web. Here are just a few more of the superlatives on Gorilla vs…
Six Shooter is a recurring feature in which we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians. Soulzay – “Body Roc’N Like This” Soulzay’s art is proof positive that he’s a student of the rap game. His catalog of music reaches back to the days of UGK’s “Ridin Dirty” and…
Thanks to the holidays, it’s a shorter list than usual of upcoming area concert announcements. However, there are a couple of big-ticket shows heading to nearby casinos, there’s a choice hip-hop show at Trees, and Shakira announced a new date for her postponed show at the American Airlines Center. Also,…
The Dallas Mavericks have a new star, but not on the court. DJ Poizon Ivy, the artist behind every song and sound that rings through the rafters during Mavs games at American Airlines Center, has been nominated for a Global Spin Award for Best Female DJ of the Year. It’s…
UK garage is a small niche of house music in the United States, but in the UK, the impact of the genre on pop culture is huge. It’s a more uptempo take on house music, with shuffling beats, and it’s a parent to dubstep. Its most mainstream appearances in the…
For an eighth year, all things epic, neon, lit and bass will gather for two evenings of Lights All Night in Dallas. Like previous years, the 2017 lineup is rich with electronic dance music’s most popular DJ-producers and served with a small side of hip-hop. Porter Robinson, Seven Lions, AC…
In ancient Roman times, citizens began the year by offering hopes for the future to the god Janus, thus beginning the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. Folks back then probably had fairly practical requests (“no plague this year, please”) while today it’s common to resolve to improve one’s career,…
Sometime around 10:30 p.m. Friday, as the shuffling of patrons’ feet above reached its apex, comedy headliner Shane Torres paused to reflect. “Yeah, I was on Conan,” he said. “Look at what it did for my career. I’m playing a creepy basement underneath a pizza parlor for you clowns.” The…
Lower Greenville’s La Panaderia Chichen Itza has an unexpected ally in the fight against gentrification. The restaurant has a history of hosting concerts, and next month hardcore punk and grindcore musicians will throw a benefit concert to help the restaurant meet its rising property taxes. “Chichen Itza let us play shows…
Fortress Fest is selling more than tickets to its second annual music festival April 28-29. The festival’s co-founders and co-owners, Ramtin Nikzad and Alec Jhangiani, have created an entertainment presenting company, Fortress Presents, and they’re inviting the public to buy stakes in it. “We anticipated this [starting a presenting company]…
As 2017 continues to wind down, concert announcements for 2018 continue to roll in. It’s shaping up to be a banner year for live concerts. Here are the biggest shows announced this week. This month, R&B songstress K. Michelle released her fourth studio album, Kimberly, The People I Used To…
Robert Earl Keen plays the House of Blues on Friday, Dec. 29 and Bass Performance Hall on Saturday, Dec. 30. This time of year, most musicians pause their tours to head home and spend time with friends and family. Not Robert Earl Keen. The country and folk singer-songwriter is busying…
Dallas’ Erykah Badu went on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon yesterday to promote a new box set of Fela Kuti’s music that she curated. Knitting Factory Records has released this and three other vinyl box sets of the late afrobeat pioneer curated by famous musicians such as Brian Eno,…
Sixteen months after Dentonites showed up to mourn the loss of one of their most beloved music venues, J&J’s Pizza’s basement music venue is again open for shows. “Hey Y’all!! The Ol’ Dirty Basement is back!!!” a post to J&J’s Facebook page last night read. The first show back will…
For the fourth year in a row, DJ Santa gifts us an Observer mixtape filled with his latest and greatest Christmas jams. In the offseason, Santa travels the world playing his unique brand of “elf house.” This year, he has been part of of the rising tide of Christmas electro…
It hasn’t even been a year since Dallas’ Dezman Lehman, aka Dezi5, left Dallas to pursue a music career in New York City, but Lehman is already signed to a new bicoastal label, 11A, and is gearing up to release his first EP as a New York-based artist. At the…
At the Dallas Observer Music Awards ceremony earlier this month, we asked eight local bands to cover songs by their favorite Dallas musicians. The songs chosen by 88 Killa, Starfruit and others were by artists such as rapper D.O.C. and indie rock-pop auteur St. Vincent. In reviewing the best albums…
Two Texans are going at it this month. Dallasite and conservative pundit Tomi Lahren, who got her start on Glenn Beck’s Irving-based news and entertainment network The Blaze, referred to “police hating Beyonce” on Twitter. Houston native Beyoncé was in New York City to present former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick…
