When you hear about someone who is called “the poet of the violin”, you automatically peg them as someone who spent their childhood tethered to a string instrument. Joshua Bell did have a knack for the violin as a child, there’s no doubt, but he didn’t lose his younger years to it. By all accounts, he got to veg out in front of the Atari, gorge himself on Star Wars,... Read more about this event >>
Dallas-based artist Patrick Romeo creates a site-specific show at the Dallas Public Library in the Lillian Bradshaw Gallery. Existing both in real life (IRL) as well as in digital form, Romeo crafts road signs and traffic cones that lead to nowhere, while a computer-generated voice reads poetry. Stop by the opening reception from 6-8 p.m. Thursday. Entry is free. Read more about this event >>
There are different levels of artistry: one on, there is art made for the sake of aesthetics; on another, there is art that goes beyond the purpose of appealing to people visually or aurally and seeks to effect social change or provide social documentation. There’s nothing wrong with art that’s solely aesthetic—but local arts organization Make Art with a Purpose (MAP) seeks... Read more about this event >>
Run the Jewels is the meow meow meow hottest thing in music right now meow. EL-P and Killer Mike's meow meow collaboration is so popular meow that they were able to fund a remix meow album that will consists of nothing but cat noises meow meow through Kickstarter with ease. Meow meow meow, meow. They leaked their own album to the meow meow internet, and Twitter meow decided that it's so good... Read more about this event >>
Opening Thursday, Kettle Art will present “Deep: Expressions of the Feminine Aura,” an exhibit featuring five female artists portrayed their commentaries on their gender through color and imagery. Deep is made up of Roxanne Mather, who paints scenic art for theater and cats, Corey Godfrey, an alumna of University of North Texas and an erotic yarn artist, Megan Petasky, whose arts... Read more about this event >>
Lionel Richie is a legend. First, he and a few friends formed the Commodores at Tuskegee University after combining the Mystics and the Jays. What followed was a slew of hits like the funk staples "Machine Gun," "Brick House," and those beautiful ballads like "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady." Richie left the group in 1982 to pursue a solo career only to give us classic track after classic... Read more about this event >>
Kristin Welchez, better known by her stage name Dee Dee Penny, has been operating the Dum Dum Girls since 2008 with a rotating cast of players who create smart and often dreamy music. Earlier this year her third long player, Too True, dropped on Sub Pop. The album has a bit of a retro '90s alt-rock vibe to it. This is reinforced by Penny’s name checking Siouxsie & the Banshees, Suede... Read more about this event >>
While not out to reinvent the wheel, the audio-visual artists in Flinching Eye Collective are out to sidestep the conventional expectations of performance art. A project that explores the connections between video, sound, and physical environment, FEC channel the ghosts of thinkers like John Cage and Marcel Duchamp to host interactive performances that challenge the very notion of what... Read more about this event >>
Think of the Continental Gin building as something of a dormitory for the artistically inclined…like UNT’s storied Bruce Hall, except the artists of the Continental Gin probably don’t stuff their pockets with boxes of cereal every morning and slink back to their studios to sleep until noon. They’d probably like to (and wouldn’t we all) but these are working... Read more about this event >>
When a city becomes plagued with unexplained fires, one man and his wife give shelter to house guests, who need a little bit of extra space in his attic for several drums of gasoline. Reignited by a new translation by Alistair Beaton and produced by the well-oiled comedy machine, Kitchen Dog Theater, Swiss playwright Max Frisch’s mid-century classic, The Arsonists, is sure to seem just... Read more about this event >>
You're not a true movie geek until you've been to the Alamo Drafthouse at least 1,312 times. They've become a growing mecca of pop culture goodness as new locations spring up all throughout the country. We've been gifted with our own theater in Richardson but one theater can't truly house the massive drooling masses who crave obscure classics, movie sing-a-longs and celebrity appearances.... Read more about this event >>
In daily life, pretty is quite the compliment. Sure, it may rank lower than beautiful or stunning. But every good flatterer knows the power of telling a woman she’s pretty. In art, pretty is perjorative. You want to insult a serious painter? Tell her that her life’s work is pretty. To be pretty is to be trivial, to be agreeable, to be shallow. But the declaration of beauty is far... Read more about this event >>
You, sir, look like you could use a fancy new pocketsquare. Or a bowtie. Look, if you’re going to reach your full potential as a dapper gentleman, you might want to check out Caviar Club’s menswear line. Because nothing says swanky like caviar and club. Stroll into the Winter trunk show Saturday evening at the new Glass Optical showroom (833 W. Davis St.). Nothing says winter like... Read more about this event >>
Ten years is a hell of a long time to go silent. After just two years touring on 2004's You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, Death From Above 1979 split and the album eventually became a posthumous classic, heralded as an utterly unique and heavy experience that was gone far too soon. The breakup likely added to the mystique, but either way this was a band with a following that knew exactly what it... Read more about this event >>
The English band, Bastille, is named after a French holiday to commemorate the Storming of the Bastille, which was a fortress and prison, at the beginning of the French Revolution. The triumphant, grandiose, celebratory nature of the band is encapsulated from the start, all by a name. It's the sort of mega arena ready pop found in latter-day Coldplay or current day Imagine Dragons, packed... Read more about this event >>
Crowd Sourced Art Crowds are the primary focus of Francesca Bifulco’s art, and this Saturday WAAS Gallery will welcome one in her honor for the opening of her debut solo show Inside Out of Touch. Bifulco is from Italy, but she has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 2012. The central piece in Inside Out of Touch is a large acrylic painting titled “At The Fair,” which... Read more about this event >>
As more dance companies opt to dance alongside recorded tracks, Avant Chamber Ballet is a local dance company committed to performing with live music. It’s made them a go-to company for dance and music lovers. Recently they launched a concert series (Just music, no dance). This weekend, the second in the concert series takes place at the Crow Collection of Asian Art (2010 Flora St.)... Read more about this event >>
This is an incredible show, well-worth the drive to Denton from Dallas or Fort Worth, and I’d be saying that even if Thee Oh Sees were playing alone. It is also worth noting that Thee Oh Sees will be performing as a trio with frontman John Dwyer backed by two new musicians, rather than the usual four-piece band that recorded their latest album, Drop. If you have never seen this... Read more about this event >>
Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. At least we hope. Shakespeare Dallas and AT&T Performing Arts Center are presenting all of William Shakespeare’s works and the 19th on the list is The Two Gentleman of Verona. If you skipped this story in high school, then here’s what you need to know: Proteus likes Julia and Julia likes him, but she’s too embarrassed to... Read more about this event >>
Still trying to figure out if The Pizza Underground is a real thing or if it's something that Carles from The Hipster Runoff conjured with the witchcraft of blog words? You can find out at Trees. This band essentially covers The Velvet Underground songs, but makes the said songs about pizza. Also, The Pizza Underground is fronted by Kevin McCallister, a.k.a. Richie Rich, a.k.a. Macaulay... Read more about this event >>
There’s not much to see in Denton. Rather, there’s plenty to see, and not much to do. Which might be why the Univeristy of North Texas gives us so many talented musicians and artists. They occupy themselves with their work. They’re creating and innovating on campus, and if you happen to be in Denton this week, you’re invited to stop by and see the minds of some of the... Read more about this event >>
While we're on the subject of the weather, which our weather gods tell us is changing from hot to slightly less hot, let's discuss one of the best places in Dallas to enjoy the great outdoors. It must be nice to be the Arboretum, which celebrates the four seasons like a holiday that never ends. Spring brings the serenity of pastel blooms, but Autumn at the Arboretum brings the fun of pumpkins... Read more about this event >>
Someone once said that if you're playing “a friendly game of poker” then you're really not playing poker at all. Poker is a game of deception, psychological manipulation and occasional cruelty. It's about fleecing your fellow man. Well, let's just hope the Mr. Grumpy Poker Puss who said that doesn't show up at Trinity Hall (5321 E. Mockingbird Lane) on Monday night when they host... Read more about this event >>
Like all great satirists, David Sedaris realizes that the best way to explore the foibles of human nature is to jump on the grenade and let all of your deepest fears and secrets splatter over every page. He can slice through just about any cultural taboo that the PC police would gladly write him a ticket for talking about, but his humble, self-effacing nature makes him a joy to read. Now... Read more about this event >>
Product placement can sometimes be a magical experience. Disneyworld, for example, is genius. It's like one big, interactive advertisement for all the films, TV series, and stuffed animals in the entire company. This holiday season, Dreamworks makes a smart move by tying itself to the mall experience of Santa Claus. Shrek and friends go on an interactive journey to find the man in the red... Read more about this event >>
The Fairy Tale Lives of Russian Girls has a lot going on. It’s a tale of the American dream in reverse; a family that has emigrated to the U.S. and yet sends their daughter back to their homeland of Russia for a better opportunity. It’s also a fascinating look at the history of Russia, told by way of folklore, mingled with a fascinating peek into its modern sociological landscape... Read more about this event >>
Back in August, Wiz Khalifa blew through Dallas on his Under the Influence Tour at the Gexa Energy Pavilion, hosting as emcee over his somewhat lofty attempt at a summer hip-hop festival. Now three months, a third studio album and one divorce later, he will flirt with a more intimate setting for two nights on his Dallas stop at the House of Blues. Wiz Khalifa’s Blacc Hollywood Big... Read more about this event >>
Scottish rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks revel a masterful execution of post-punk. The guitar riffs are loud and pack nearly as much rhythm as the drummer's beats. Vocalist, Adam Thompson's lyrics are confessional and cathartic, the wok of a beat poet reappropriated for a millennial generation. The angst is felt with an immediacy and is meant to be felt through the listener earnestly of... Read more about this event >>
The fifth anniversary season of The Nasher’s Soundings concert series begins with cellist Alisa Weilerstein in recital., and the offering is really something special. Before Bach’s six cello suites, there existed exactly zero compositions for solo cello. They remain some of the finest pieces of music Bach — or anyone for that matter — ever wrote for a string... Read more about this event >>
Everyone’s got a story to tell, even if they don’t think their life is all that exciting. The story of the Thanksgiving where you left dinner early to bail your boyfriend out of jail is actually a potential legend in the making—something your kids will confide to their kids on the car trip to Grandma’s house. Everything that follows “You know, your grandmother... Read more about this event >>
A great museum exhibition can serve as a time capsule. When The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth opens its newest exhibit, Urban Theater: New York Art in the 1980s, visitors will be sent back to one of the most exciting decades in contemporary art history. Think Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Jenny Holzer, Cindy Sherman, Julian Schnabel, and Andy Warhol for starters. Their work and more... Read more about this event >>