UPDATE: 5.12.25: The location for Thursday’s memorial has changed, Jenn Penn said. The event will now be held at Old City Park, after an error allowed the original site of Winfrey Point to become double-booked.
“The superintendent of the city of Dallas Parks & Rec department quickly provided me a short list of alternative venues, the Arboretum being one of them,” Jenn wrote on Instagram. “But after visiting all, I found the quirkiness of Old City Park one that I think Chris would have loved. I think he will love it. It’s got major Luck Reunion vibes, which we all know Chris adored. I anticipate many to come, and I do not think space will be an issue for either the formal memorial or the celebration of his life afterwards.”
The North Texas music community will gather to remember Chris Penn on May 15.
His widow, Jenn, shared the news Wednesday via Instagram.
“We will be memorializing Chris, a.k.a. ‘The Master of Ceremonies,’ on Thursday, May 15th from 5 p.m.-sunset at Winfrey Point (White Rock Lake),” she wrote.
Parking will be extremely limited, and attendees are encouraged to use rideshare services for transportation. The dress code is come as you are, but “Dickies coveralls are strongly encouraged,” Penn wrote.
The memorial will be livestreamed, she wrote, but details were not yet available. A benefit concert will also be staged in the coming weeks.
Chris Penn, co-founder of Good Records and long-time co-manager of Tripping Daisy and the Polyphonic Spree, died on April 23 in Dallas as a result of a fall outside Good Records on March 17, which left him paralyzed and in intensive care over the ensuing six weeks.
Penn was 54. He is survived by his wife and partner of 21 years, Jennifer, and his three sons, Oliver, Archie and Grover.
“His injuries were just too great for his ravaged body to continue,” Jennifer wrote in an update shared through Good Records’ social media channels. “These are the hardest words I have ever had to write, to witness and process. My kids have lost their father, I lost my partner of 21 years, his brother has lost his hero, many have lost a dear friend and Dallas has lost a treasure.”
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
