Dallas (Texas)

Test-Sniveling Movement Takes Root in Dallas School Board. Just What We Needed.

Two stories in yesterday's Dallas Morning News were bookends for the debate on school rigor. In one, three Dallas school board members launched a campaign against too much testing, saying it's mean to the kids. In the other, the head of the biggest company by far in Dallas and one of the biggest in ... More >>

The Best Concerts in Dallas This Weekend, 12/5-12/7

This weekend we're doing our Dallas Observer Music Awards showcase and you should definitely do that. Not that we're, er, biased or anything. Otherwise there are a slew of great showss to catch. Ryan Adams plays at SMU, which makes tons of sense. Caspa does the dubstep at Trees. Blackalicious does i ... More >>

HOT 93.3 FM Has Already Given Up on Classic Hip Hop

And then there was one. The debate over which of Dallas' two new classic hip-hop stations is the best has already reached its (perhaps inevitable) conclusion, just a lot sooner than most of us would've expected. HOT 93.3 FM, which suddenly started playing old-school hip hop early last month at exact ... More >>

Eric Garner Protest Peaceful; Dallas Police Keep Marchers off I-35 This Time

For the second week in a row, demonstrators took to Dallas streets to protest an out-of-state grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer for killing an unarmed black man. Unlike last week, Dallas police blocked off access to Interstate 35 and kept demonstrators from closing the freew ... More >>

In 2007 We Voted for a Toll Road in a Flood Zone. Remember What Else We Did That Year?

Last night's Trinity River toll road debate in Oak Cliff was a barnburner. A crowd of 450-plus broke into repeated emotional applause for City Councilman Scott Griggs, who delivered a series of speeches attacking the road that were a cross between Winston Churchill and Tom Cruse - powerful to the po ... More >>

Hand Drawn Records Puts a Local Spin on Christmas with The Holiday Record

'Tis the season for locally crafted holiday compilation records. That's how it goes, right? Er, never mind. Dallas label Hand Drawn Records just put out a holiday-themed compilation album, The Holiday Record, that's been getting more clicks than a Cyber Monday flash sale. Hand Drawn Creative Direct ... More >>

LiveNation Announce Plans for New Pavilion Concert Venue in Irving

So apparently the suburban dream isn't dead. It's just that it's moved from Plano to Irving. Last week, fans of the Suburbia Music Festival, which enjoyed a respectable and generally promising first year at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve in Plano, were dealt a blow when it was announced that Liv ... More >>

DC9 at Night Mixtape with Josh Kynd

This week's mixtape brings the focus on to scene vet Josh Kynd. As a DJ, producer, promoter, label owner and vinyl retailer he has been a cornerstone of the Dallas scene for two decades. Along with his partners Jason Ramirez and Johnny Leake, he runs the Our House Crew who have been a constant among ... More >>

The 20 Best Songs Ever Written About Dallas

Oh, Dallas. You give us all the feels. Sometimes we love you, sometimes we get tripped up on your over-sized ego. But mostly we just love you, and in particular we dig your music. We're not the only ones, either: Artists from around the world have been inspired to write songs about this city, whethe ... More >>

New City of Dallas Media Plan Is All About Message Control

Sana Syed had a baptism by fire. Just after she took the city of Dallas' public information officer job, Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola. Syed did an admirable job filtering and distributing the torrent of information that would come out over the succeeding weeks. She would also show th ... More >>

Austin Psych Fest Announces Killer 2015 Lineup

Austin has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to music festivals. In the past two months alone the capitol city has hosted Austin City Limits and Fun Fun Fun Fest, and lest we forget they also boast SXSW. But the festival that shouldn't be overlooked (and which arguably has the biggest cool fa ... More >>

Nitrogen-Charged Coffee Has Arrived in Dallas

If the baristas at Mudsmith in East Dallas are anything, they are curious coffee makers. I've developed a habit of newspaper-reading while sitting at the bar, and on a few occasions I've watched as they tinker with something new. There was a brief stage where mixing stout and coffee seemed the thing ... More >>

Greg Prickett is Dallas' Most Adventurous Guitarist, and Possibly Its Best

One of the most challenging periods in the development of any musician is known as "the plateau." It's when the musician's initial approach to his instrument leads to a dead end, a dearth of inspiration and progression that can be extremely frustrating. Some musicians get so fed up during the platea ... More >>

The Dallas Observer Music Awards Ceremony Will Be Prom-Themed and Also Ridiculous

In just a few more days, it all happens: The 26th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards. This coming Saturday, we'll round up more than 60 of our favorite bands from North Texas and cram them all into venues around Deep Ellum for the Chevy Music Showcase North Texas Presents the Dallas Observer Music ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Dallas This Week, 12/1-12/7

We hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Now it's time to usher in the Christmas season, which will certainty be shoved down your throat for the next four weeks. This can be annoying, but let it be known: If you don't like Christmas music you're just fighting things that are unasham ... More >>

The Best North Texas Live Acts

With the 26th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards just around the corner -- in fact, the band showcase happens this Saturday night all around Deep Ellum -- we've been spending the past several weeks highlighting some of the nominees for this year's awards. And when we say that these artists are the ... More >>

Lana Del Rey and Courtney Love Coming to Dallas in May 2015

Lana Del Rey and Courtney Love go way back. All the way back, in fact, to that time that LDR did her cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" and Love tweeted, "You know the song is about my Vagina, right?" Well, apparently such are the things that lasting friendships are made of, for Del Rey and Love ... More >>

The Best Concerts in Dallas This Weekend, 11/28-11/30

Wait a minute, what are you doing on the Internet today? Shouldn't you still be staying as far away from rest of the world as possible? Oh, right, it's Black Friday. So the whole family thing is kind of already out the window again, isn't it. In that case, there happens to be a whole bunch of concer ... More >>

The Best Concerts in Dallas This Thanksgiving

This week is all about family. It's great, really. Sure, there are always pitfalls to getting together with all the relatives, be it the in-laws or even just the immediate family. There's always those nightmarish "debates" about sex and politics, and if not then there's a lot of awkward silence. But ... More >>

DC9 at Night Mixtape with JV

Jason Vasilas has been mixing it up on the decks under the alias JV for almost a decade and a half. With over 20 releases, all on vinyl, JV is another local vet with a significant body of work, but who is known and played mostly far outside of the city limits. Extremely prolific despite dealing with ... More >>

One of the Ferguson Protesters Was Arrested for Something Called a "Sidewalk Use Violation." What's That?

Until the very end, Tuesday night's demonstration in Dallas against the grand jury's decision in the Ferguson case was uneventful. Marchers congregated at Dallas Police Department headquarters in the Cedars then walked through downtown to protest the grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson, Mi ... More >>

The Five Best DFW Stout Beers to Warm You This Winter

After Dallas' usual two weeks of beautiful fall weather the cold arrived with a vengeance and we skipped straight to an actual snowfall, in November. This means it's time to do away with those wimpy summer beers you've been slurping on for the six straight months of Texas summer, run past the 14,000 ... More >>

Dallas Tows That Went Horribly So Wrong That Someone Was Maimed Or Killed

A Dallas tow company called Longhorn Wrecker may soon owe the state $88,900 in fines over towing violations. Reached for comment a few weeks ago, a bitter company representative said it was "all bullshit" and that his company had never been in trouble before. He apparently wasn't taking into account ... More >>

10 Reasons Dallas Diners Should Be Thankful

Does your family follow this tradition? After the table is set and a steaming turkey is placed just in front of your nose, your mother or some elder at the table makes everyone hold hands and announce what they are thankful for. At this point you've been watching football all day and are probably si ... More >>

Dallas Hero Decides Against Illegally Evicting Poor a Week Before Thanksgiving

There are heroes all around Dallas. Today, let's highlight the work of Ari Nessel, a developer who has decided against suddenly evicting all the residents of a Lake Highlands condo building he recently purchased. "Tremendous progress has been made, and it's because of the pioneers like Mr. Nessel," ... More >>

Dallas City Hall and Trinity East Have Teamed Up to Keep Their Fracking Fight in the Dark

Back in February of 2013, Schutze shook loose a secret memo showing that City Manager Mary Suhm had struck a secret deal with Trinity East Energy to allow gas drilling on city parkland while, at the same time, promising the City Council that there would be no gas drilling on city parkland. The memo ... More >>

For the Couple Behind Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters, a Hobby Became a Full-Time Job

All week, we're bringing you stories from Dallas' burgeoning roasting community. See other extended interviews in our coffee archive, or see them all in one place in this week's feature story, "Roasting Dallas." Every Saturday, Kevin and Mara Sprague get up before the sun and set up their tent, tab ... More >>

Nobody Has Counted to 10 Yet in that Lockey/Mackenzie vs. City of Dallas Bout

Couple weeks ago just before leaving town on vacation, I told you the city of Dallas won big and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs lost big in a settlement of the 5-year-old HUD complaint against the city for racial discrimination. Wouldn't you know, court papers were filed the day af ... More >>

The 15 People You Meet in Dallas Night Life

By Amy McCarthy and Jaime-Paul Falcon Bars, clubs, and music venues are generally great places to be, especially when you factor in copious amounts of alcohol and loud live music. Still, there are plenty of people in Dallas who are dead-set on harshing your mellow while you're taking in a show at C ... More >>

In the Garage Alliance Looks to Help Dallas Musicians Who Lack Health Insurance

Being in a band is a full-time job. Anyone who has played in one will tell you this. Between jams to write music, rehearsals, recording and gigging, it is exhausting and taxing. The trouble with playing in a band is that musicians see very little from it, aside from a select few who go on to broader ... More >>

Egghead Researchers Say Dallas Is Not a Smart City. Hah! We Is To.

Boston is the smartest large city in the United States, according to a new study from New Geography. Dallas did not fare nearly as well. The numbers behind the rankings are straightforward. Weight is given to the number of college graduates in each of the Census Bureau's Metropolitan Statistical Ar ... More >>

DC9 at Night Mixtape with Seal Bass

Seal Bass is part of an extreme minority amongst Dallas DJs. He plays techno in its purest form. While he's not so well known in the regional DJ circuit, Seal Bass has over 20 years' experience behind the decks. He still plays vinyl and his breadth of knowledge of classic techno is deep and reflecte ... More >>

Noble Rey Brewery Is Headed to the Design District, Which Has Become Dallas' Beer District

The Design District is on its way to becoming known for its beer culture as much as it is high end furniture and art galleries. The folks behind Noble Ray Brewery have announced they'll be setting up shop as the fourth beer maker in the neighborhood. Meddlesome Moth's seemingly endless run of beer t ... More >>

Dallas Is Finally Trying to Address the Vast Fresh-Food Desert in Southern Dallas

It's no secret that people living in parts of Dallas that lie south of the Trinity River struggle for access to fresh, healthy food. Whole Foods and Central Markets and farmers markets are abundant in wealthier parts of Dallas, but people in poorer neighborhoods often rely, necessarily, on convenien ... More >>

Local Over Everything Flies the Flag for Dallas Music on the Radio

On Thursday night, the Deep Ellum on Air show Local Over Everything began its second season. The show's hosts Rodney Blu, Mo the Bear and Simon Phoenix brought in Dallas rapper Blue, the Misfit to mark the occasion. The show has done well with its unconventional, but authentic program format. Local ... More >>

Dallas Hip Hop Needs a Unified Sound to Get National Attention

The most popular rapper to have ever come from North Texas is one Robert Matthew Van Winkle. You probably know him as Vanilla Ice. This is nothing short of equal parts silly and embarrassing. Vanilla Ice is the Psy of the '90s and "Ice Ice Baby" is hands down the "Gangham Style" of those times. Drop ... More >>

Dallas Group Files a Complaint with the Department of Justice Against City, DPD for Police Brutality

On Thursday, a Dallas community organization will file a formal complaint with the Department of Justice against Dallas and its police department for fostering what the group sees as an environment in which police officers can kill blacks and Hispanics without fear of consequences. The complaint is ... More >>

A Fancy French Bistro Called Cépage Is Opening in ... Deep Ellum?

If you haven't made it to Deep Ellum in the last year, you may not realize that it's currently undergoing a massive facelift. Segments of the streets and sidewalks are missing, all in the name of renovating the old neighborhood with a uniquely grungy reputation. Now, it looks as if that process coul ... More >>

Transportation Planners to Combat Hatred of Toll Lanes With Fabulous Prizes

Which New Dallas Old-School Hip-Hop Station Should You Listen To?

Since early Saturday morning, the people of Dallas are momentarily retiring their auxiliary cables and tuning into not one, but two new radio stations, both specializing in a virtually untested format. As we reported Monday, both Boom 94.5 FM and Hot 93.3 FM made an unprovoked about-face early Satur ... More >>

The Best Concerts in Dallas This Week, 11/17-11/23

This week offers a rather good mix of concerts for your entertainment pleasure. Blonde Redhead plays Granada Theater, horror punk outfit the Misfits play Gas Monkey Live, metal Gods Slayer play in the suburbs at Verizon Theatre, Jeezy (formerly Young Jeezy, but not yet Old Jeezy) is set to explain h ... More >>

The Best North Texas Experimental and Noise Acts

It's no secret that Dallas is an arts-minded city, one that is welcoming to experimentation and exploration in all its forms. This city's experimental music groups pull from a variety of wells for inspiration, from metal to electronic. When polled local music experts earlier this fall to help set ou ... More >>

And the Winners of Meat Fight 2014 Are ...

Imagine this: Saturday night, while you and your fuzzy-ass slippers shiffled to the thermostat to crank your heater to 11, four teams of fancy chefs were huddled around smokers in a muddy West Dallas parking lot, drinking beer and cooking meat overnight in freezing temperatures, all in the name of c ... More >>

Sturgill Simpson at Club Dada Could Be Dallas' Craziest Show This Fall

2014 has been a rough year for country music. Florida-Georgia Line is selling more records than anyone else in the genre, Luke Bryan is the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year, and any traces of Willie, Waylon, and Hank seem to be stamped out of country music's most popular acts. Exc ... More >>

Eight Awesome Food Events in Dallas This Weekend, November 14-16

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Gee, these all-you-can-eat pancakes sure are tasty. But you know what would make them even better? A cash bar, art by over 50 emerging artists and live body painting demonstrations." Yeah, I didn't think so. But some weirdo genius did, and they turned that thought ... More >>

There's a Twelve-Dollar Burger at the New Clark Food & Wine Co., and It's Gorgeous

I'm not sure if it's a trend or a genuine movement, but something feels different about Dallas' newest gastropubs. It feels like reinvention. It's not just about gathering freshly-farmed Swiss chard, pigs that had names 10 hours before you ate them or local beer anymore. Now there are iconic foods l ... More >>

Dallas City Council Doesn't Think Construction Workers Deserve Rest or Water Breaks

At Wednesday's City Council meeting, a group of Dallas day laborers and representatives from the Workers Defense Project were out in full force to advocate for local workers' rights. Their appearance yesterday was the latest in a push over the last several months to require Dallas employers to allow ... More >>

Mystery Skulls Hit the Majors on Forever

Alejandro Jodorowsky's art-house masterpiece, The Holy Mountain, is about many things. Capitalism, religion, greed, immorality and materialism are all critiqued by the filmmaker throughout the duration of the 1973 film. One of the foremost and prevailing themes is the quest to self-discovery in a cr ... More >>

DC9 at Night Mixtape with Donny Young

Donny Young has been an active part of the Dallas DJ community since the early '90s heyday of rave -- first as a fan, and then as a DJ since 1996. Young is mostly associated with the DJ crew Motif and their parties. He has been a constant face amongst the local techno and house party scene, bringing ... More >>

The Best North Texas Alt-Country Bands

With the 26th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards just around the corner -- in fact, voting is open right now at musicawardspoll.dallasobserver.com -- we're looking to spend the next several weeks taking the opportunity to highlight some of the nominees for this year's awards. And when we say that t ... More >>