October is Local Music Month here at KXT and across North Texas and this year we celebrated in a BIG way! Each day of Local Music Month this year, we highlighted a different artist on the air and on our social media and on the web.
There’s nothing like seeing your favorite artist live, though, so we teamed up with Sweet Tooth Hotel for a free concert series called The Playlist that featured some of our favorite NTX artists! Each week artists like Parker Twomey, DAMOYEE, Northlake, Rafa, Alexandra, and Ben C. Jones gave a stripped-down performance of songs you can hear on KXT.
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And, of course, our big GET LOUD celebration was held again this year at Klyde Warren Park in the heart of downtown Dallas. This year, we had three amazing artists on the bill- each representing a different part of the community that we love so much. Fifteen-year-old phenom Jack Barksdale opened the show, followed by Dallas’s sweetheart Remy Reilly with the band Midnight Thirty, and Fort Worth hip hop artist Lou CharLe$ closed out the night with a high-energy performance that was backed by a live drummer and DJ.
Local Music Month keeps getting bigger and better and we love to see it! Next year, we hope to add to the fun, but in the meantime be sure to submit your songs and check out The KXT Local Show as well as Local Bites each weekday at noon to get your local music fix. Here’s a list of each of the artists we highlighted in our daily feature:
Pearl Earl
The all-female neo-psych rock band that was formed in Denton and is gearing up for a European tour. Stay tuned for the plot twist at the end of “Evil Does It.”
Jess Williamson
Williamson is a Flower Mound native who is also half of the duo Plains with Waxahatchie’s Katie Crutchfield. She recently released her new album, Time Ain’t Accidental.
Chroma
The Latin hip-hop collective recently released a new mixtape called The Age of Starlight. The 14-track album that features artists Ariel & the Culture, A-Wall, Pat Ron and Zebra Troop.
Fit
The four-piece band is made up of veterans in the Dallas music scene. Despite not yet releasing a full album, the band consistently plays to packed houses across North Texas. You can catch them at The Kessler on Nov. 10.
La Bell
The KXT DJ wears many hats– not only will you find her at the station playing you some of her favorite r&b jams each Saturday and Sunday at 3, La Bell is a talented musician who performs around North Texas almost every weekend.
Ben C. Jones
The Fort Worth artist blends different genres together seamlessly to create his signature sound. Jones has been featured as an official Amplify 817 Day artist and played our free concert series, The Playlist, at Sweet Tooth Hotel this year.
Los Gran Reyes
The 8-piece new cumbia group out of Dallas really does bring the party… just check out the video for “AMBNT”.
Matthew McNeal
McNeal grew up in East Texas and is now based in Fort Worth. He founded Matte Black Sound Company with musical partner Andre Black and the independent record company has set a standard of contributing to the excellence of the North Texas musical community with their support of artists like Ghost Cloak and Harry Zimm. KXT was honored to announce Matthew McNeal’s upcoming EP, Love Was, which will be released on November 3.
Sarah Johnson
The Dallas-based musician and visual artist was all set to release her debut EP when Covid hit- forcing her to make other plans. Johnson persevered and did what she does best- she got creative. She even went on to create the Girls of DFW songwriters showcase to help support other women blazing a trail through the musical landscape of North Texas.
Bobby Patterson
The soul legend started performing when he was just 10 years old and has gone on to have a career spanning more than 60 years. Patterson even hosted a popular morning show on (now defunct) soul station KKDA-AM here in DFW. Patterson released the album I Got More Soul in 2014 (at 70 years old!) to high praise- he ended up playing SXSW and landed a feature on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Slobberbone
Formed in Denton in the early 90s and fronted by Brent Best, Slobberbone garnered the attention of a LOT of people- including KXT weekend host Eric Bright and horror author Stephen King. King went as far as to say that the song “Gimme Back My Dog” is one of the top three rock and roll songs of all time.
Averi Burk
The Fort Worth musician says she’s a rock-pop artist but connects with her audience with elements of blues and soul. Burk has been featured on The KXT Local Show and was a featured artist at the Amplify 817 Day showcase.
Pretty Boy Aaron
Pretty Boy Aaron is hands-on- he writes and produces his own songs and his hard work is paying off. His songs have millions of streams and he is showing no signs of slowing down. This Dallas hip-hop artist is going places!
Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians
The Dallas Legends got their start performing at iconic venues in Deep Ellum and landed a top 10 hit with 1988’s “What I Am.” The band broke up in the ’90s, but has reunited sporadically for releases with its core lineup of musicians – Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow, Brandon Aly, and John Bush, as well as their bassist, the beloved local musician Brad Houser, who died earlier this year.
Cure For Paranoia
The hip-hop collective is based in Dallas and is fronted by Cameron McCloud. The group that fuses elements of rap, neo-soul, jazz, and funk had an impressive run on this year’s NPR Music Tiny Desk Competition- being featured on both the Youtube show NPR Music Tiny Desk Top Shelf and the Houston stop of the NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest On The Road.
Alex O’aiza
O’aiza is not one to stay stagnant- his releases have elements of blues, indie, pop, dance, and more. The Grand Prairie artist is constantly evolving to achieve his goals.
Centro-matic
Musician Will Johnson started the Denton band as a side project in 1995 with Matt Pence, Scott Danborn, and Mark Hedman. Together, the musicians were able to showcase the band’s different personalities. Centromatic played its’ “final” show in 2014, but got back together last year for a reunion, so maybe there will be more?
Jack Barksdale
The phenom got his start playing at the tender age of 9. Now 15, Barksdale writes his own music, and he plays the guitar, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica, piano and resonator. The future looks bright for this young musician who played our GET LOUD concert at Klyde Warren Park this year.
Remy Reilly
Reilly has grown up in the spotlight. The now 20-year-old first started performing around North Texas when she was 13 and recently released her second EP Avalanche. Reilly and the band Midnight Thirty have teamed up to perform an exhilarating live show, which they shared with us at KXT’s GET LOUD concert.
Lou CharLe$
CharLe$ has released two full-length albums and multiple singles since his debut in 2015. His hard work has paid off- CharLe$ boasts over 40,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and has opened for artists like Ludacris and Cam’ron. Most recently, CharLe$ headlined our GET LOUD concert at Klyde Warren Park and has a Nov. 1st show scheduled with Talib Kweli.
Allison Ponthier
Growing up in Allen, Ponthier dove into her creativity. After two years studying at UNT, she moved to New York City where she started living her truth out loud. Pontier’s debut EP, Faking My Own Death, was released in 2021 and she returned to North Texas to headline this year’s Dallas Pride Music Festival.
Rosemont Kings
Shortly after Prince died, a group of neighbors in Oak Cliff got together to remember the legendary artist. From those jam sessions, The Rosemont Kings were born. The now 8-piece ensemble plays a mix of soul and funk that they call “feel good” music.
Erykah Badu
You cannot talk about North Texas music without mentioning the icon that is Erykah Badu. Badu was born and raised in Dallas and is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Her debut album Baduizm was released in 1997, and since then there has been no slowing down. Badu has toured for decades, even putting on a series of shows that were live-streamed from her house during Covid lockdown. KXT weekend host La Bell summed it up perfectly when she said that Badu is “…telling stories of ancient ancestry, of love, of self-discovery – of life, over music that can’t help but make the listener feel more grounded and connected to themselves and the world around them.”
Midlake
The Denton psych-rock band has been through many changes since it was formed by UNT Jazz Studies students in 1999. KXT weekend host and long-time Denton resident Eric Bright took a look at his personal history with the band Midlake.
Hannah Jadagu
Raised in Mesquite and now based in New York City, Jadagu recorded her first EP on her iPhone while she was in high school. Jadagu recently released her debut album, Aperture, which landed her on the list of NPR’s Favorite New Artists of 2023. The future looks bright for Hannah Jadagu…. and she’s just getting started.
Northlake
The alt-rock band mixes elements of new wave and pop into their music and is inspired by everything from INXS and The Doors to Peach Pit and The 1975. The band has some big shows under their belt- they opened for Bon Jovi at the American Airlines Center in April of 2022 and played our free concert series, The Playlist, at Sweet Tooth Hotel this year.
DAMOYEE
DAMOYEE is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas and a recent alum of Berklee College of Music. There really isn’t anything she can’t do- she is a composer, musician, singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, and recording artist. We were excited to have DAMOYEE perform at our free concert series in celebration of Local Music Month, The Playlist, at Sweet Tooth Hotel this year. where she blew us away with her vocals and strong lyrics.
The GO GO Rillas
The runaway group of gorillas are capturing hearts and bananas with their intricate backstories and serious guitar riffs. Fans of KXT will recognize the song “Gone Ape” as the theme song for The KXT Local Show.
Angel White
White is originally from Clebern but spent his fair share of time busking around Deep Ellum, as NTX musicians tend to do. Since then, the country artist has grown to perform at SXSW and the CMT Music Awards Block Party. The sky is the limit for White, who recently released the new single “Red Blanket” as a tribute to his grandmother.
The Dirty Shirts
If there is one thing every music roundup list needs, it’s some glam rock. That is just what you get in Dallas band The Dirty Shirts. Led by frontman Nick Santa Maria, the group has been pairing their signature fashions with touring and releasing new singles nonstop. “Midnight Cassanova” just dropped today.
Nilufer is the midday and Local Show host on KXT. She’s also the Manager of Radio Operations for North Texas Public Broadcasting.
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