In 2011, guitarist and vocalist Brian Smith was in a buzzy heavy-metal band. Maleveller was breaking through the DFW area with a sound reminiscent of Iron Maiden and Metallica. But two years later, the band slammed on the brakes. Other adventures had gotten in the way. Smith had started managing…
Last weekend, 10 off-duty police officers patrolled Deep Ellum as part of a collaborative effort between the Deep Ellum Foundation, the Dallas Police Department, and property and business owners. “I was in Deep Ellum late on both Friday and Saturday of last week and was very encouraged by what I…
All good Texans know the official symbols of Texas. State flower? Bluebonnets. State nickname? The Lone Star State. State tree? The pecan. But who can name the Texas State Musician? This year’s is the king of country music, George Strait. Although we haven’t yet reached the halfway point of 2017,…
Detroit Swindle play It’ll Do 10 p.m. Saturday, May 20 Since their formation as Detroit Swindle in 2011, Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets have had a meteoric rise in the world of house music. The Amsterdam-based duo have put out a steady stream of albums, and the entire history of…
It’s not too early to make plans for 2018, especially if you are a Katy Perry fan. She’ll be making her way through town in January — which, believe it or not, is right around the corner. In other announcements this week, locals will get an opportunity to see an…
The brick building at 3010 Gaston Ave. sits empty except for debris like red Solo cups and scrap wood. A Dallas Observer newsstand, just inside the front door, stands alone, left behind when the owners of the Elbow Room bar moved out. All of the fixtures of the beloved bar…
SoFar Sounds is a London-based company that throws secret, intimate concerts in 350 cities across the world. It’s been in DFW since 2012, but over the past few weeks, Dallas musicians have questioned the company’s business model on social media. SoFar shows are more showcase previews than what you’d see…
The sad news spread quickly this morning that Chris Cornell, frontman of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and Audioslave, was found dead last night in a hotel room in Detroit. It was mere hours after Soundgarden performed at the Fox Theatre. He was 52. The band was set to come…
On the second Tuesday of every month at Double Wide, Brad Sigler slips into his DJ Dead Wax alias to spin the finest in country, rockabilly, western swing and Americana. Sigler only started deejaying in bars a few years ago, but he has roots as a radio DJ that go all…
Denizens of goth and industrial communities are preparing to descend upon Dallas this weekend. A seminal goth festival, Convergence, is being hosted here for the first time in its 23-year history. The Convergence festival got its start on online forums in the early ’90s, enabling members of the subculture to…
Deep Ellum fixture Bob Crawford — better known as “Keyboard Bob” or “Deep Ellum Bob” — is in the hospital. He’ll be at Walnut Hill Medical Center for at least week, recuperating from an undisclosed surgery. At 67, the short, silver-haired iconoclast can often be found walking around Elm Street…
In March, when wildfires ravaged more than a million acres across Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas, Plano restaurant and bar Love & War in Texas quickly lent a hand to the families who lost property, livestock and loved ones. Now it has partnered with country musician Gary P. Nunn, a native of…
Gabe Reed opened the door to the house he shares with his daughter, grandchild and a couple of younger roommates in a middle-class neighborhood on the east side of McKinney. The modest house on Legend Drive is a far cry from the mansion, yacht and expensive sports cars and motorcycle…
There are some old traditions at baseball parks: Singing anthems, eating hotdogs, overpaying for beer. There are some new traditions as well, including keeping an ear peeled for a player’s walkup song, the tune that plays when he takes the plate. Globe Life Park in Arlington is no exception to this …
As a high school senior, Josh Fleming hoped that in 10 years he would miss his class reunion because he’d be on tour. This year, Fleming’s wish comes true: When the reunion takes place this spring, he’ll be on tour with Vandoliers, the six-piece country band he fronts. But now…
Though no new concert listings came from the big-ticket venues this week, there was much news elsewhere. It was a big week of show announcements for fans of post-punk, indie rock and singer-songwriters, as some recognizable faces and some new innovators are making their way to area stages. Lots of…
The video for “Bad Baby,” the propulsive title track and first single off of North Texas musician Sarah Jaffeis an audio-visual scrapbook of what Jaffe describes as the album’s connective tissue: collaboration. L.A.-based photographer Lindsey Byrnes shot the photos of Jaffe in New York and art director John Lisle, a…
The Deep Ellum Foundation is taking a new step this weekend to combat crime in the neighborhood. Ten off-duty Dallas Police officers will be working 20 shifts on Friday and Saturday nights in Deep Ellum, and private security officers will serve as a deterrent to crime during weekdays and on…
Most people quit their vices the day after Fat Tuesday. But John Jay Myers, frontman of jazz band The Free Loaders and owner of Cajun restaurant The Free Man, isn’t most people. “Right before Fat Tuesday I thought that I’d had enough,” he says from a dingy couch in the…
The downtempo, contemporary R&B music on Larce Blake’s new EP invokes calm, a fitting sound for the 22-year-old producer,. He says he’s at peace now that he’s finally found the time to release new music. Blake is a full-time student at the University of Texas at Dallas majoring in mathematics,…
After three years of construction, a new 17-block entertainment district in Las Colinas finally has an opening date. The centerpiece, simply called the Pavilion, will be one of the largest and most high-tech venues in Dallas-Fort Worth when it opens Sept. 1. Local bookers and musicians say it could result in…
Dance music genres go in and out of fashion, but drum and bass has continually defied the odds to remain relevant. Two:Tone Crew ahem done the same. They’ve provided a consistent platform for drum and bass music at their Thursday night residency at Wit’s End, where they regularly host…
