Author: Preston Jones

Make Music Day celebrations set for North Texas

A musician on stage

A global music celebration that has its roots in France makes its way to the Lone Star State, and Dallas, on June 21. Billed as Make Music Day, this global celebration which, per press materials, “brings people of all ages and skill levels together to make music,” will unfold across 15 different Texas cities, including Dallas, Denton, Frisco and McKinney.… Read more »

Synergy 2024 returns to blend local live music and dance

After making its premiere in 2023, Pegasus Contemporary Ballet is bringing back its multi-disciplinary performance series Synergy on June 21 and 22 at the Moody Performance Hall. The inaugural staging saw rock and jazz fusion blending with dance, and for the second installment, the organizers are incorporating a wholly different sonic palette — percussion, jazz… Read more »

Dallas singer-songwriter Matt Hillyer roams free on ‘Bright Skyline,’ his latest solo LP

For Bright Skyline, his second solo album in as many years, Matt Hillyer is clearly not sitting idle. Skyline follows last year’s Glorieta, which was the singer-songwriter’s first proper solo release in nearly 10 years. It’s a looser, rowdier affair — relatively speaking — than Glorieta, even as it reunites him with that LP’s producer,… Read more »

Dallas singer-songwriter Stephanie Sammons wrestles with faith, queer identity on debut LP

There is a directness, beauty and clarity to Stephanie Sammons’ full-length debut that is breathtaking. The Dallas-based singer-songwriter’s freshman LP Time and Evolution — a title which often as not seems indicative of the circumstances leading to the creation of these 10 indelible songs — is incredibly self-assured. By day, she’s a a certified financial… Read more »