64 September 19 - 25, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER CONTENTS | READERS’ PICKS | SHOPPING & SERVICES | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | FOOD & DRINK | SPORTS & RECREATION the end of 2024. They’re a vivid, visual reminder of the value of fostering creativ- ity within a city hard-wired for cold, hard capitalism. dart.org/about/news-and-events/dart-x-badu Best Feel-Good Throwback Silver Skylarks If you’ve never spent an afternoon rifling through record store bins, only to discover a lost gem tucked away in the stacks, it’s possible The Number One Set and Sound might not elicit a delighted gasp of recog- nition. Local music legends Danny Balis and Jeff “Skin” Wade, who previously joined forces in the late, great Bastards of Soul, re-teamed after that group’s dissolu- tion in the wake of Chadwick Murray’s untimely death to create Silver Skylarks, a dynamic duo whose sinuous, striking jams evoke the thrill of crate-digging, and whose debut LP delivers one bona-fide, vintage-flavored banger after another. Best Promising Singer- Songwriter/Certified Financial Planner Stephanie Sammons The Venn diagram of financial planners and singer-songwriters who’ve turned heads at the Kerrville Folk Festival proba- bly overlaps minutely. Like, maybe there’s just one artist like that in all of Dallas? Enter Stephanie Sammons, a Dallas-based financial planner who has also crafted one of the year’s most arresting, beautiful re- cords with her debut, Time and Evolution. Produced by folk eminence Mary Bragg, the LP traces Sammons’ own reckoning with being queer in a conservative, South- ern religious culture. Far from a furious screed, it is instead tender, inquisitive and often profoundly moving. These songs are the textbook definition of soulful. stephaniesammons.com Best Boundary-Breaking Artistic Space New Media Contemporary The esoteric and avant-garde have always struggled for a foothold in Dallas, a land be- sotted by the shiny, expensive and simple. The fascinating, different or groundbreak- ing is often relegated to the corners, away from the glare of the mainstream, far from the brunching crowds. So, when upstarts like New Media Contemporary, an artist- run gallery, studio and research space founded by James Talambas, make their presence known, it’s a case of run, don’t walk for those who value art that pushes the envelope and electrifies the soul. Inter- disciplinary boundary-breaking is tough to find — patronize those who prize it. 830 Exposition Ave., No. 102 newmediacontemporary.com Best Featured Artist Post Malone Many of this year’s biggest songs by the most popular artists all have three little words in common: “featuring Post Malone.” Taylor Swift and Beyoncé fea- tured Malone on “Fortnight” and “LEVII’S JEANS,” respectively. In both songs, he is cast as a love interest opposite the towering pop divas. Not bad for a guy with “always tired” tattooed on his face. He’s has also been collaborating with country artists, performing with the likes of Morgan Wal- len and Reba McEntire to build up some cowboy cred ahead of his country album F-1 Trillion. Artists looking to craft a chart- topping single should be taking notes. A Posty collab seems to be the secret sauce. Best Beef The Infamists vs. AI We’re not usually ones to take sides in drama, but it’s hard not to when one side is an established local band and the other is a robot. In March, the Denton-based blues rock band The Infamists learned that an unauthorized album full of 45-second songs had been uploaded to their Spotify page. Between the brevity of the songs and the fact that they sounded like garbage, the band quickly deduced that the album was AI-gen- erated. With the help of other artists who had been through the same thing and an ef- fective social media campaign, the dubious album was taken off streaming. Though we still don’t know who was behind this stunt, we’re glad The Infamists found recourse to silence them. Best Viral Moment The Week Keith Lee Was Here When the influential TikTok food critic Keith Lee visited Dallas in January, all eyes were on the restaurants he chose to review. Businesses like brunch spot Brunchaholics in DeSoto and Pakistani- TexMex ghost kitchen Halal Fusionz in Farmers Branch received praise and experienced “the Keith Lee effect,” which refers to businesses receiving a boost based on Lee’s recommendation. Food truck Sweetly Seasoned was not so lucky, as a viral scandal involving the owners pocketing a $4,000 tip meant to be shared by the staff resulted in its closure. We may be dealing with the aftermath of Keith Lee Week for years. Best Box Office Worker Vianca Vega, Texas Theatre “The Girl Who Works at the Box Office,” as Vega is known on Instagram, goes above and beyond what you’d expect from a movie theater employee. She sells tickets, of course, but also publishes a zine, The Marquee Times, organizes creative events (such as screening The Twilight Saga: Eclipse during the solar eclipse) and works tirelessly to build upon Dallas’ community of film enthu- siasts. Her growing Instagram account is rife with film recommendations and dazzling photos of her extensive collec- tion of DVDs and VHS tapes. In a world of pedantic film bros, Vega’s earnest and passionate presence is a breath of fresh air. instagram.com/thegirlwhoworksattheboxoffice Best Cowgirl/Supermodel Bella Hadid Hadid has lived in Fort Worth since May, so we’re jumping at the chance to claim her as a bona fide North Texan. While we admire her contributions to fashion and humani- tarian causes, we’re particularly fascinated by her status as a horse girl. She’s a lifelong equestrian and recently put her model- ing career on the back burner to focus on training for Western-style cutting competi- tions across North Texas. She’s in her Bella Yeehaw-did era, if you will. While we don’t know much about the sport, we think she looks cool as hell in her cowgirl gear. Best Film The Iron Claw Dallas was ready for its close-up last No- vember when The Iron Claw, a film about Denton wrestling family the Von Erichs, premiered at the Texas Theatre. Stars Zac Efrom and Jeremy Allen White were present for the red-carpet event. The film went on to be considered a high point of 2023, earning rave reviews from both crit- ics and audiences. It’s nice to not only see a local story reach a wide audience, but for an iconic landmark like the Texas Theatre to be part of it. Best Music Video Amethyst Michelle, “Where Have the Angels Gone” The up-and-coming Dallas alt-rock band has put out several compelling visuals this past year, but the dark and moody video for “Where Have the Angels Gone” is among their best work. The Luke Asper-directed visual has a gripping Southern Gothic aes- thetic, centering on a fire-and-brimstone- preacher, his troubled congregation and the frontwoman Amethyst Michelle (the band’s namesake) invoking icons like Paramore’s Hayley Williams with her cutting voice and magnetic stage presence. Both the video and the band are ones to watch. music.youtube.com/watch?v=QVNLpNy7o80 Best Place to See a Transcendental Experimental Show The Wild Detectives This café-bookstore-bar has been writ- ten about in the past (in last year’s Best Of, we named it “Best Place for a First Date”), and it will almost certainly be written about in the future. But we would be remiss not to point out how special it is that Sir Richard Bishop, the guitarist and vocalist of Phoenix avant-garde and Eric Chakeen The Iron Claw // BEST FILM
