The State Fair has packed up, the pumpkins are still out, and Dallas finally has weather that makes you want to leave the house. This weekend, October 23 through 25, brings Rachmaninoff at the Meyerson, a folk hero at the Majestic, a Texas songwriter in one of the city’s oldest dance halls, and three very good meals in between. Here’s how to spend it.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Every neighborhood should be so lucky as to have its history hold the best corner. In Deep Ellum, that corner is 2551 Elm Street, where the Knights of Pythias Temple has stood since 1916, designed by William Sidney Pittman, Texas’ first Black architect and son-in-law of Booker T. Washington. It was the first commercial building in Dallas built by, for, and with the money of Black citizens, and for more than two decades it served as the social heart of Black Dallas — its top-floor ballroom hosting dances, graduations, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers, its lectern held by the likes of George Washington Carver, while out on the street below, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lead Belly were turning Deep Ellum into the blues capital of the Southwest.
Today the building carries its architect’s name as The Kimpton Pittman Hotel, and it remains the best argument in town that a building can change jobs without losing its soul.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Two of the biggest shows of the year land on the same Tuesday night, Rush is playing four nights in Fort Worth, and the small rooms are holding their own. This week gives you almost too many reasons to be somewhere with speakers pointed at you. Here’s what’s worth your time, by night.
Continue readingFiled under Crave, Steven Doyle
This is one of those weekends where Dallas stacks everything on top of itself. Father’s Day, Juneteenth, the World Cup still running, a free block party in the Arts District, and a music calendar that goes from Randy Rogers to Killswitch Engage to the Dallas Symphony in a single Friday night. Pick your lane and go.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
This is one of those weeks where Dallas reminds you why it punches above its weight as a live music city. The range alone — Australian post-punk legends, an 80s synth-pop double bill that belongs at an arena, a country songwriter who has been quietly building one of the best catalogs in Texas, and a hip-hop producer who has spent the better part of thirty years rewriting what electronic music can do — is the kind of lineup that drops on a Tuesday and you realize you’re already behind on ticket buying.
And that’s before you account for the bars that don’t make the Ticketmaster calendar but have been running their own music programs every weekend without asking for credit. Here’s what’s worth your time this week, by night.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
In Deep Ellum—a neighborhood long defined by amplified guitars, brass sections, and late-night movement—The Free Man Cajun Café & Lounge has operated since 2011 as both restaurant and working music room. Its model is deliberate: Gulf Coast cooking executed with technical discipline, paired with a nightly performance schedule that rarely leaves the stage dark.
The culinary identity is firmly Cajun and Creole, grounded in classic technique rather than novelty. The kitchen builds depth the right way—through roux development, layered aromatics, and calibrated heat. Gumbo arrives dark and structured, its body signaling time and attention rather than thickening shortcuts. Jambalaya carries a smoky backbone, the rice properly infused instead of superficially seasoned. Crawfish Étouffée leans into butter and spice, while Red Beans and Rice delivers the slow-cooked comfort that defines the genre.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Delilah Dallas is ready for its highly anticipated debut and is now accepting reservations before opening to the public on Tuesday, February 3. Delilah Dallas’ opening marks The h.wood Group’s fourth location of the famed roaring ’20s inspired supper club and expands the group’s global footprint. Situated in the heart of Texas, Delilah brings a new dimension to Dallas nightlife where Southern charm meets old-Hollywood glamour in a transportive, high-energy environment designed for elevated dining, socializing, and staying out well past midnight.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Hardworking to her core and guided by an instinct for honest storytelling, Chloe Hoecker has been building her career the long way—one stage, one song, and one audience at a time. Often referred to as “Missouri’s Country Sweetheart,” Hoecker combines powerful vocals, energetic performances, and a warm-but-witty presence that makes her immediately disarming. It’s a balance of sweetness and quiet fire that has become her signature.
Continue readingFiled under Crave
