Dallas singer-songwriter Angel White. Photo: Tobias Jacob.
October is Local Music Month, KXT’s celebration of the sounds reverberating throughout North Texas! Each day, we will highlight different local artists you can hear on KXT. Check back here, find us on our social media or tune in to 91.7 FM to see the day’s featured artist.
The look and sound of modern country music is changing, and Dallas’ Angel White wears it well.
To pigeonhole White as a country artist would be a mistake, though. The singer-songwriter originally from Cleburne might have a natural affinity for country music, but you could spin any wheel in this post-genre age we’re living in and arrive at a sound White could tear up just as easily.
North Texas doesn’t get enough credit for its homegrown crop of artists similar to White who have pushed genres like country music forward — Arlington’s own Maren Morris and Mickey Guyton come to mind, of course. And should he follow that path, White is a perfect successor for the next class of musicians busting down the door on gatekeepers that uphold stereotypes of what Texas music is.
His earlier work seamlessly laced rhythm and blues with pop and rock & roll in a parallel fashion to genre rebels like Steve Lacy and Blood Orange. The smooth southern groove heard in 2022’s “Long Way Up” is heavy-handed on the electric end of the spectrum, while “If You’re Gonna Leave” aches a little more softly, like a slow-burning heartbreak.
His newest single, titled “RED BLANKET,” just dropped earlier this month and is a soulful, touching tribute to loved ones. White describes it as “a reminder that the keepsakes of our elders allow them to be with us regardless of time and space.” In fact, you might have already heard it, as it appeared on the October 20 airdate of The KXT Local Show. And there’s more where it came from — White has teased that he’s got an album in the works.
Fresh off the stage of his Austin City Limits debut, White is set to head out on the road for a tour across the United States in support of his fellow rapidly-rising Texans, Shane Smith & The Saints. You can try to catch him by keeping up with his Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).
You can hear even more local music at noon Mon-Fri on Local Bites and on the KXT Local Show on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. If you’re an artist from North Texas, you can submit your music to KXT for consideration right here.
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