Discover Dallas’ historic contributions to music
In a city bordering where the south meets the great plains, Dallas Texas has never strayed away from its deeply agricultural roots and cowboy ideals. Today it is a united community of musicians intent on keeping its Blues roots alive as a cocktail of sub-genres formed around it.
At the heart of Dallas, its fastest growing scene lies imbedded within Deep Ellum where the neighborhood has been home to numerous affluent Blues musicians since the 20s. By the end of the civil war many warehouses were converted into venues and bars where for the first time musicians of all races would finally intermingle. It also became a significant hot spot during the Harlem renaissance for Black artists seeking to partake in that culture. Towards the late 80’s it was punk and by the 90’s it had managed to solidify the position of a musical mecca for Dallas where any kind of music you could imagine was allowed to thrive.
Photo: DeepEllum
Like most regions across the map catching onto the blues trend, so did Oak Cliff and South Dallas where they took the Blues back home and made something new of it. In these cities the Blues became Funk, Rap, Country Western and modernization of the R&B that we know today. Notable names such as Stevie Ray, Erykah Badu, and even Ray Charles played a large role in bringing the name into affluent spaces.
Photo: uDiscoverMusic
Highland Park is home to an unshakable population of musicians who’s claim to fame falls within the parameters of classical music, particularly their orchestra and chorale as well as a once thriving rock scene during the 70s.
Photo: The Dallas Morning News
When it comes to music Oak Lawn is best known for its symphonic band as well as well as having the largest queer choir in the nation. But, if you’re looking for something more casual, Oak Lawn is also the best place to find the widest variety of explosive pop music that you can imagine.
Picture: Oak Lawn Band
Downtown Dallas, like the others, continues with carrying on similar musical practices to the others with one of its major differing contributions being the development of a large electronic dance music community spanning from House to Dubstep and even Techno, with the majority of locations spread along the Historic District. On the other hand, the blues showed its face here again when one of the blues biggest contributors and the man who inspired the character “Sammie” in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners”, Robert Johnson called the city home for several years while producing much of his discography at 508 park Avenue in Downtown Dallas.
Picture: American Blues Scene
Today, Dallas is quickly amassing recognition as one of the nation’s leading cities within musical society, not to mention its recent designation as a Music Friendly Community by the state. Just last June, the City of Dallas announced the opening of their Music Office which will act to reinvigorate the music scene across the metroplex through their collaborations with numerous organizations, networks and venues in order to revive the return of live music back to the busy urban streets. Dallas has become more than a stretching agricultural plane, but a fundamental pitstop for all music lovers and one of the best options for artists to put down roots as well.
We are currently hosting free concerts for our Lakefront Live Series at the Bath House Cultural Center every Tuesday and every other week during the Fall and Spring seasons. We encourage artists of all walks to come out and show the crowd what they’re made of, so make sure to register while slots are still available! Find more information at bathhouse.dallasculture.org/lakefront-live
Stay up to date with everything arts and culture by visiting the OAC Events Page, Dallas Public Library events page, and the AT&T Preforming Arts Center Culture Calendar.
This blog was written and published by Nya Ashe, Marketing Intern for the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture. Nya is a student at the University of North Texas studying Interdisciplinary Design with a minor in Marketing.
