Critic's Notebook

Wesley Jensen hasn’t lived in North Texas long, but his time here has been vital to fulfilling his creative potential. The longtime musician packed up his life and family and made a somewhat impulsive decision to relocate from Northern California to Denton in late 2015. “When I was over there,…

Ron Campbell may not be a household name, but he certainly brought many of them to life. Campbell had a hand in animating Scooby Doo, Rugrats, The Flintstones, The Smurfs, The Jetsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winnie the Pooh, as well the Beatles’ television series and Yellow Submarine. Now, the 78-year-old…

Do you consider yourself a Renaissance man or woman? Are you a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, with some hip hop, EDM, pop and classical tossed into the mix? Do thoughts of Dallas music, books, theater, art, TV, film, freaks (we mean that in a good…

In its inaugural year, attendance for Fort Worth’s Fortress Festival was so-so, despite a killer lineup. It drew the largest numbers for hip-hop headliner Run the Jewels, so it makes sense that for its second lineup, revealed today, the festival is doubling down on the genre. Nostalgic ’90s hip-hop acts…

Lots of goodness is coming our way with this week’s installment of concert announcements. Kendrick Lamar, Elton John, Slayer, and Belle and Sebastian are just a few of the big names rolling through town. Elsewhere, a couple of cool shows work their way to Irving, the Granada Theater gets some…

Just about the time we start missing the State Fair of Texas, its music festival sibling, the Old 97’s County Fair, comes along. This week, the festival announced the lineup for its third event, which returns to Main Street Garden Park on April 14. In addition to the usual cotton…

Dallas native JT Donaldson has spent the past two decades making a name for himself as a top-notch house DJ and producer. After years of traveling, in 2011, he returned to Dallas, where he’s worked closely with Josey Records and started his own record label. New Math Records has house…

For the last year and a half, Denton psychedelic outfit Acid Carousel has been dazzling audiences with its whimsical brand of rock ‘n’ roll, which draws influence from a variety of bands, ranging from the Damned to the Shangri-Las. This Friday, the band’s new EP, Street Cowboys, will be available…

Bummer news, Say Anything fans. The emo band has canceled the rest of its tour — including shows at Trees on Tuesday, Jan. 30, and Wednesday, Jan. 31 — for health reasons. This morning, the band’s official twitter accounted tweeted that frontman and founder Max Bemis has laryngitis.  “We are…

Heavy metal stalwart Slayer is ready for a nap. In the band’s 37-year career, it has released 12 studio albums, played thousands of concerts and won two Grammys for best metal performance (in ’07 and ’08). This week, the band called it a job well done and announced that its next…

Earlier this month, Paul Hernandez, the guitar player and vocalist for Fort Worth post-punk band Bummer Vacation, made an announcement. “This next [show] is something I’ve envisioned since day one and finally found the person to help make it possible,” he posted to Facebook. “Two piece BV.” That person is…

A venue’s sound is best when it’s not a distraction. You notice when the sound is bad — when a mic cuts out, when you can’t distinguish one instrument from another or when the feedback makes your ears feel like they’re about to bleed. When the sound is good, all…

It’s a challenge to think of three hip-hop acts that had a better 2017 than Migos, Gucci Mane and Chance The Rapper. Among them, they released platinum records, dominated the airwaves, became pop-culture icons and released a New York Times best-selling autobiography (The Autobiography of Gucci Mane). They also made…

When he was first diagnosed with esophageal cancer, Bruce Corbitt thought he had a pretty good chance to beat it. As a heavy-metal vocalist for Rigor Mortis and Warbeast, he’d faced tough battles over the years and even survived a knife attack. He’s the kind of metalhead who answers the…

“Barf Wave” started as a name for Eric Vaughn Eisenman’s band, Loafers, to book shows under. “Everything we do starts off as a joke; then it gets serious,” he says. He and his bandmates began to toss around the idea of a record label in 2015, when they released a…

A whole lot of rock and roll, of both the indie and classic varieties, is making its way to Dallas this spring and summer. Venues and artists are continuing to roll out their itineraries for 2018, and we’ve been graced with visits from many recognizable names. Start putting aside some…

Like so many industries, Texas music can seem like a boys’ club. That’s why visitors to the Texas Musicians Museum in Irving are surprised by one of its star exhibits, a 1912 wax cylinder recording of Mary Carson’s “O Dry Those Tears,” the first known recording by a Texas musician…

The legacy of house music in Dallas goes back decades, but part of what keeps it alive is the constant introduction of fresh, young talent. Tony Ellis, who performs under the alias Little Human, is a producer, DJ and artists and repertoire executive for Dallas-based house label Flunked Records, and he’s part…

As a tabloid regular, Grand Prairie native Selena Gomez has faced her share of criticism. But this week, the pop star and actress had an unusual attacker: her mom. Gomez’s mother, Mandy Teefey, called her out for starring in director Woody Allen’s upcoming film, A Rainy Day in New York…

A GoFundMe campaign for a local musician accused of domestic violence has raised nearly $3,000 in two weeks. Dallas County court records show that Scotty Isaacs, who runs the open mic at Deep Ellum’s Free Man Cajun Cafe, was arrested Dec. 12 on a charge of assault/family violence. A temporary…

You felt the difference the first time you attended a concert at the Granada Theater. You may not have been able to put your finger on it, but when one of the employees in black smiled at you, chatted with you about your day or helped you with a problem,…