Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Four Dallas Beats Producers You Need to Hear Now

When it comes to genres that have been allowed to flourish in the age of the online music cloud, few have risen to greater prominence than future sounds, better known to most as beats. An all-encompassing chimeric blend of electronic, hip-hop and soul that, beats takes DJs and producers of more trad ... More >>

The Triple D Adds a Dallas Twist to the Gangster Movie with Help of Local Rappers

By James Khubiar We've seen the story about young and poor people trying desperately, and often violently, to make something out of nothing. We saw it in New York with Paid In Full and Belly. We saw it in Atlanta with Snow On Tha Bluff. The task for first-time director Juan Salas and Dallas rap mai ... More >>

Paul McCartney at American Airlines Center, 10/13/14

Paul McCartney American Airlines Center, Dallas Monday, October 13, 2014 It's a funny thing, seeing one of the Beatles. On the one hand, it's not as rare of an opportunity as you might think; after all, Ringo Starr just played his second show in the area in less than three months. And that show cam ... More >>

Crystal Yates Chased Her Country Music Dreams from Florida to McKinney

As a child growing up in the tiny town of Niceville, Florida, McKinney transplant and country singer-songwriter Crystal Yates couldn't avoid the twangy sounds of country music even if she had wanted to. "My mom says I could sing 'Why Don't You Love Me' by Hank Williams before I could say my ABCs," e ... More >>

The Best Punk Venues in North Texas

Punk venues are a little like snowflakes: Each one is different and they're all uniquely special. Well, okay, maybe that comparison will be lost in this part of the country, but the point remains the same. Which is to say, as far as music venues go punk venues are a special breed, meant more often t ... More >>

Rodgers & Hammerstein

Laughs Invitational

Kacey Musgraves at Granada Theater, 10/1/14

Kacey Musgraves With John and Jacob Granada Theater, Dallas Wednesday, October 1, 2014 Kacey Musgraves and I come from similar backgrounds. Musgraves grew up in East Texas, Mineola to be exact, and I come from a little town just about 75 miles north of there. Musgraves' debut album, Same Trailer Di ... More >>

Shine Bright Like a..

Good Morning, Vietnam!

Party Static is Dallas' Most Wildly Fun Band

Party Static light up a room. With their five members carousing on stage and their scuzzy, nonsensical music, they're a band who truly lives up to their name. There's the locked-in, simple rhythm section of Billy Kuykendall and Alex Mitchell. There's the fuzzy riffing of Brett Michael Strawn. And th ... More >>

Best Concerts in Dallas this Weekend 9/19 - 9/21

Well, it's the weekend once again. We here at DC9 hope you powered through the week and that you're looking for some relief. We want you to go to some bars and have a few drinks. We want you to pregame beforehand. (That's just being fiscally responsible.) But most importantly, we want you to check o ... More >>

Lily Allen at House of Blues, 9/15/14

Lily Allen With MR Little Jeans House of Blues, Dallas Monday September 15, 2014 On her first visit to Dallas at the House of Blues, Lily Allen took the stage purple-haired and dressed like a shiny bit of Christmas tinsel. She was surrounded by a backdrop of large baby bottles that lit up, perhaps ... More >>

The Old 97's Played an Impromptu Set at Twilite Lounge Last Night for Rhett Miller's Birthday

This one might've gotten you by last night. It nearly got by us. Thursday night at Twilite Lounge is normally the territory for Good Luck Karaoke, but last night the routine got put on hold and singer-songwriter Madison King played a show instead. Oh, and it was also Rhett Miller's birthday. Which ... More >>

Lyric Stage and Fiddler on the Roof Are a Match Made in Musical Heaven

Uncertainty about the Path of a Dallas Company's Toll Road Worries Property Owners

At some point next year, a Dallas-based toll company may get permission from the Texas Department of Transportation to build the only toll road in Texas that is totally supported by private finance. The exact route is something that the Texas Turnpike Corp. is still figuring out, but rural property ... More >>

Aretha Franklin at Winspear Opera House, 9/6/14

Aretha Franklin Winspear Opera House, Dallas Saturday, September 6, 2014 Tuxedos and glittering, fancy dresses were the preferred attire Saturday night at the Winspear Opera House. And no, the well-heeled in attendance were not there to see a production of Wagner. Soul music queen Aretha Franklin w ... More >>

The Hardline's "Fun With Country Music" is a Brilliant Skewer of Bro-Country Lyrics

For music writers, it seems like there has never been a lower-hanging fruit than the ascension of bro-country into the mainstream. Acts like Florida Georgia Line are getting near-equal airtime on pop and country radio while selling millions of records. What's worse, they're also influencing a class ... More >>

Sebadoh

The Best North Texas Hip Hop Concerts In September

Howdy, folks. The best thing that's gonna happen this month is the one and only State Fair of Texas. It's in your best interest to head on down to Fair Park and daze at the 55 foot gargantuan glory that is Big Tex. Gorging on fried foods that have the propensity to stop your arteries by the aroma al ... More >>

The Simpsons' 30 Best Musical Cameos: 15 - 1

Yesterday we got the ball rolling on our picks for the best musical cameos from The Simpsons' first 25 years on the air, in honor of the show's ongoing marathon of 552 episodes on FXX. We went through the first half of our list of 30 episodes, meaning it's time for us to finish what we started. So, ... More >>

Lance Lopez Brings the Blues to Coach Joe's Hat Tricks Each Week

Lance Lopez knows the blues. The Dallas native has been sharpening his blues' slinging chops since he was a child. He can feel it in his bones, through his fingertips as they slide across the fretboard. Lopez's guitar skills sometimes seem otherworldly as he bends his strings to create something sou ... More >>

Robert Cray on Being a Blues Legend: "At the End of the Day, You Have to Play Tomorrow"

Prior to 1986, Robert Cray was just another talented blues guitarist wondering where his next gig was going to be. But after the Strong Persuader album and the hit single "Smoking Gun," Cray became a viable commercial proposition across several genres. Cray has parlayed that success into a four- dec ... More >>

Jukebox Rhapsody

Sarah Jaffe at Majestic Theatre, 8/23/14

Sarah Jaffe With Josh Pearson Majestic Theatre, Dallas Saturday, August 23, 2014 As local artists go, few in the Dallas scene are as widely beloved as Sarah Jaffe. After the 2010 release of "Suburban Nature," it was almost a foregone conclusion that Jaffe was destined for a long career as an indie ... More >>

The Best Concerts in Dallas This Week, 8/25 - 8/31

For once, going back to work on a Monday comes with a pay-off in sight: This week we'll get a three-day weekend, courtesy of Labor Day falling a week from today. So that, at least, is something to take comfort in. What else is there to be excited about? Why, all the fine concerts coming through Dall ... More >>

Dallas' Libraries, Among the Nation's Worst Funded, May Actually Get Some More Money

On Wednesday, book lovers from across the city showed up in force at the Dallas City Council meeting. It was the first time council members were able to throw amendments at the proposed city budget for the next fiscal year. And supporters of Dallas Public Libraries wanted them to carefully consider ... More >>

Country Music's 10 Biggest Pop Crossover Successes

The line that designates what is and is not country music is muddier than most of us are willing to admit. What is abundantly clear, though, is that country music appeals to more people than just rednecks and sappy beer drinkers. Taylor Swift may think she's reinventing the wheel in her journey from ... More >>

Panic! at the Disco, Aerosmith, Slash, One Direction, Black Kids, OneRepublic, Clint Black

3 Doors Down

The Fort Worth Symphony Gets Romantic

The 10 Best Blues Clubs in Dallas-Fort Worth

Texas music bleeds the blues, but finding a place to enjoy them in Dallas-Fort Worth area seems nearly impossible these days. A younger generation of rising starts like Jason Elmore and Larry Lampkin make their guitars moan the blues like masters Lance Lopez and Stevie Ray Vaughan once did. They wer ... More >>

Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden at Gexa Energy Pavilion, 8/17/14

Nine Inch Nails With Soundgarden Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Sunday, August 17, 2014 While some folks may have been attending religious services this Sunday evening, I found myself wandering around Fair Park in need of some classic alternative rock of the '80s and '90s variety. Seeing that a terri ... More >>

The Best Concerts in Dallas This Week, 8/18 - 8/24

It seem hard to believe, but it's already that time again: school is just around the corner. (Granted, if you're reading this there's a good chance that school isn't really at the forefront of your mind, but whatever.) That means that there are only so many more summer nights left to squeeze in thos ... More >>

Founding Father of Techno Kevin Saunderson Plays It'll Do Club Saturday

This Saturday It'll Do Club brings one of the original architects of Detroit techno to town. Kevin Saunderson was part of the first wave of techno artists in the late '80s. Along with fellow Belleville High School students Derrick May and Juan Atkins, he laid down the foundation of what became know ... More >>

Bowen House Trades Vintage Skirts for Chicken Wings

A familiar Uptown shop is reinvented through booze and bar food.

10 Reasons 1994 Was Pop Music's Greatest Year

By Art Tavana Was 1994 the best year for pop music in history? Quite possibly. Sure, some of it was terrible, but overall it was amazing: Nordic black metal, Britpop, pop punk, trip hop, and the best R&B of the '90s (Boyz II Men were peaking). Hip-hop's Golden Age was winding down, but a new, ... More >>

Stars of American Ballet

Here's Our One-Minute Play About a Festival

DC9 at Night Mixtape with M.Parks

Houston ex-pat M. Parks has been making the rounds of area DJ nights as one of the only proper techno DJ's on the Dallas scene. Techno is often thrown around as a catch word to describe all dance music when it is actually a very specific genre. If you ever wondered what is the difference between tec ... More >>

Loretta Lynn at Bass Performance Hall, 8/8/14

Loretta Lynn Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth Friday, August 8, 2014 It's safe to say that the golden age of country music is long over, and we've lost so many formative artists in the last several years. Based on the current state of country, it's clear that fans are in dire need of a history les ... More >>

Mayhem Festival at Gexa Energy Pavilion, 8/9/14

Rockstar Mayhem Festival Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Saturday, August 9, 2014 This year's Mayhem Festival was more than just a collection of metal bands like Trivium, Asking Alexandria, Korn and Avenged Sevenfold dominating the stage with mind-blowing music that warped the lines of metal genres. I ... More >>

Tim McGraw at Gexa Energy Pavilion, 8/8/14

Tim McGraw With Kip Moore and Cassadee Pope Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Friday, August 8, 2014 On Friday night at Gexa Energy Pavilion, Tim McGraw made his grand "Sundown Heaven Town Tour" entrance by simply walking out on the stage. There were no gimmicks, no over-the-top stage antics. It was jus ... More >>

What If’s Daniel Radcliffe Explains Why He’ll Never Do a Rom-Com with Emma Watson

William Clark Green is a Hidden Gem of Texas Country Music

In terms of what is classified as country music, the definition seems to be expanding at a faster rate than ever. Southern rock, folk, and even hip hop have all recently cemented with Nashville artists that have historically been resistant to a whole lot of change. Fortunately, scenes cropped up acr ... More >>

The 10 Best Punk Rock Movies

Punk rock has been a part of cinema ever since the music was created in places like Los Angeles, New York and London in the mid to late '70s. Aside from the music, either live or on record, the big screen provided another medium to convey what punk truly stands for: not giving a fuck what anyone els ... More >>

The Phantom of the Opera

Texas Music Needs Cedric and Omar To Be OK

Antemasque/Le Butcherettes Trees 8/5/2014 We've all had friends who got married to each other. It's strange when these friends fight with each other. It's even stranger when these friends get divorced. What side do we take? Who do we support? Who do we boo? When it comes to Texas alt-rock, we've g ... More >>

Baring Teeth Elevate Local Metal to New Heights

By Jezy J. Gray What if I told you that the most sonically adventurous outfit in DFW music is a death metal band? If you've ever caught a live performance from Baring Teeth, you wouldn't be surprised. Whether leveling cramped local DIY venues or opening for behemoths like Dillinger Escape Plan, the ... More >>

The Best Dallas DJ Events in August

Every now and then Dallas gets a string of shows that make you forget that we live in a Southwest region that often gets passed over by underground artists. The month of August will feature plenty such reminders, with the new few weeks bringing some cornerstones of underground DJ culture through the ... More >>