Author: Preston Jones

10 North Texas acts to help mark Deep Ellum’s 150th anniversary

a full band plays music

Deep Ellum, from its earliest days, has been a fertile creative playground for all manner of artists, particularly musicians. From gritty blues and raw-boned country to punk, rock, jazz and hip-hop, the area just outside downtown Dallas has long been a sonic melting pot, blending together the sounds of those born and raised here along… Read more »

Roxy Music hits Dallas for the first time Friday. Here are five songs to get you ready.

The members of Roxy Music face the camera

To put it mildly, Roxy Music’s reputation precedes it. The influential English rock band, which smashed together experimental impulses with impeccably styled pop cool, is marking its 50th anniversary by hitting the road for its first extensive tour in more than a decade. The Bryan Ferry-led group will swoop into Dallas and the American Airlines… Read more »

This Mesquite recording studio hosted Erykah Badu and St. Vincent. Now it’s moving to Fort Worth.

The inside of Niles City Sound shows an array of pianos, along with a cowskin rug and a disco ball hung above the instruments.

Over the last 14 years, Mesquite-based Klearlight Studio has hosted a glittering roster of local, regional and national stars: Erykah Badu, St. Vincent, the Flaming Lips, Bobby Sessions, Power Trip and Anderson.Paak are just a few of the artists who’ve spent time in the space owned by Jimi Bowman. But now, Bowman has decided to… Read more »

“Lonesome Blues” explores the ghosts of Dallas musical history

Downtown Dallas is haunted by the ghosts of blues legends. It might be difficult to spot them, but throughout the Deep Ellum neighborhood and in various corners of downtown proper, you can find traces of some of the genre’s most legendary players, many of whom got their start busking on area street corners. One of… Read more »