Rolling Stone published an interview last week with one of R. Kelly’s ex-girlfriends, Kitti Jones, a former Dallas DJ for radio station 97.9 The Beat. The interview follows BuzzFeed’s July article detailing R. Kelly’s alleged sex cult of women. Jones says Kelly forbade her from leaving her room, going to…
Are we concert-ed out yet, Dallas? This fall has shown no signs of slowing down. There are so many shows filling the calendar pages for the remainder of 2017, and the upcoming months continue to look promising. Keep up the energy and keep putting a little cash aside because this…
The unofficial mother of Deep Ellum died of liver disease Oct. 2, leaving orphaned musicians and artists behind to mourn. Jeanne Blanton, 60, was a self-made millionaire who married into Don Blanton’s real estate empire. The Blantons’ holdings stretched across Deep Ellum; he was one of the original four investors who…
Aaron Hensley got his start in the mid-’90s rave culture, and two decades later, he still has a special connection to the dance floor. Hensley’s deep roots in house music have informed his deejaying, which is always evolving. He recently branched into deep house and started learning to produce. For…
There are two types of musicians: those who were born for the stage and those who are forced onto the stage to share their songs. Dallas’ Ronnie Fauss is the latter. He toyed with songwriting for most of his life before working up the gumption to perform at an open…
A cool breeze ran over the Continental Avenue pedestrian bridge Sunday afternoon while dozens of guitar-wielding musicians strummed, picked and plucked their favorite six-stringed instruments in harmony. The fourth annual Open Carry Guitar Rally invited hippies and rockers to free-jam rock, blues and folk classics such as Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe”…
Denton musicians Clayton Norris and Dylan Rice have been making music together since 2013, primarily trafficking in electronic instrumental soundscapes. As Vogue Machine, they’ve turned heads in North Texas, where there simply aren’t as many synth purveyors. The duo works with Fort Worth label Dreamy Life Records, which has helped…
Police in Mangham, Louisiana, pulled over actor-turned-singer Corey Feldman for speeding Saturday night. He was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, speeding and driving with a suspended license. At his show in Dallas on Thursday, Feldman prophetically told Dallas Observer writer Eva Raggio that he was nervous to drive through Louisiana. “They…
During the early years, it seemed that rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were on a rising trajectory. Their first tours stopped at Rubber Gloves in Denton. Later, they played Dallas establishments, like the Gypsy Tea Room and the House of Blues. But DFW hasn’t seen much of Ted Leo…
When we shared the ballot for the 2017 Dallas Observer Music Awards last month, we told you we’re doing things a bit differently this year. In the past, DOMA winners have been determined by a monthlong public vote. This go-around, we’ve curated a group of 20 judges who live and breathe local…
Kiss Destroyer, Texas’ premiere Kiss tribute band, has been performing across North Texas for more than a decade. When vocalist Robby Wayne (Paul Stanley), guitarist Bob Thomas (Ace Frehley), bassist Steve Cleere (Gene Simmons) and drummer Dave Bower (Peter Criss), took the stage at Lola’s Trailer Park in Fort Worth…
Denton-based indie rock supergroup BNQT will play the Granada Theater tonight with Motorcade and White Denim, but before the show they invited videographer and Observer collaborator Casey Carr into their studio to chat about how the band came to be and film them performing a few songs off their first…
Although drummer Rich Redmond has called Nashville his home for 20 years, his time living and playing in North Texas had a major impact on him. Redmond is best known for his work with country rocker Jason Aldean. He’s been Aldean’s drummer since the beginning of Aldean’s career, touring with…
Spring will bring an opportunity to see a country megastar perform, and everyone’s favorite polka artist will be here to serenade folks with some of his biting commentary on top of a new Deep Ellum venue’s delivery of some star power. There’s all of that and a bit more in…
Unlike generations of DJs before him, Stonewall Klaxon has been glued to a laptop making tracks since he was 11 years old. He played in rock bands before developing an interest in electronic music and eventually finding his niche in trap music. Stonewall Klaxon deejays frequently, which gives him a…
During an afternoon off in late 2015, Dallas-based trio NHD found themselves riffing on acoustic guitars in band member Salim Nourallah’s apartment. What started as horsing around turned into a cover of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town.” The song is the lead track on the trio’s debut…
For the better part of two decades, musician, poet, writer, rapper, actor and philosopher Saul Williams has been challenging the status quo. “At the end of the day, I just make beats while the world burns,” Williams tells the Observer. He’s a quiet man with a reserved disposition and speaks in…
In 1977, Dallas welcomed its first “fern bar,” San Francisco Rose, and thus began the city’s love affair with trendy bars and kitschy cocktails. The fern bar concept was born in the mid-’60s, when the original TGI Fridays opened on 63rd Street in New York City. The only remaining bar…
Lukas Nelson, son of Willie, performed with his band, Promise of the Real, last week at House of Blues. His famous last name may the reason you attend one of his shows, but his talent is the reason you’ll stay. His star wan’t even dimmed when he stood next to…
If you were up late last night Googling that weird rash on your foot or reading conspiracy theories, you already know what we’re about to tell you: Google Doodle is all about iconic Mexican-American pop singer Selena Quintanilla. Twenty-eight years ago, Quintanilla — who grew up in Lake Jackson and…
For many people, landing a job at Google is the job of a lifetime. Steven Markowitz left his job at Google in 2011. Markowitz, who goes by the stage name Hoodie Allen, has since had a No. 1 album on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart, and he released his third studio…
Dan’s Silverleaf hosted the 20th Rock Lottery on Saturday night in Denton. The concept has remained consistent for two decades, but it has taken place in a number of cities. Musicians met at Dan’s on Saturday morning for breakfast and to throw their hats in the ring for a lottery that…
