30 DALLAS OBSERVER • KALEIDOSCOPE Gazed and Confused An alternative music festival in Deep Ellum is gearing up for its fuzzy, ferocious debut next month. BY PRESTON BARTA M usic that makes you feel—sometimes it aches, sometimes it soars, sometimes it shakes the ground under your feet. That’s the spirit at the heart of Gazed and Confused Fest, the new three- day event landing at Puzzles Deep Ellum from March 20 to 22. Instead of sticking to a single sound, the festival brings together a vibrant mix of alternative, metal and shoegaze bands. It’s a gathering for those who crave music with heart and guts. The idea for the festival sparked, as many great ideas do, from a moment of inspiration at another festival. Jewel Patani, co- founder, talent buyer and executive assistant at Third String En- tertainment, was at South by Southwest with her boss, Mike Ziemer, when they noticed a distinct trend. “We were just seeing a lot of these really cool shoegazey, emo rock acts,” Patani said to the Observer. The energy was undeniable, a renaissance of fuzz and feeling. Ziemer turned to her with a simple but powerful idea: create a fes- tival to showcase these incredible up-and-coming artists. The name came to him just as quickly. “And he was like, ‘what if it was called Gazed and Confused?’ And I was like, that is actually a perfect name,” Patani says with a laugh, acknowledging the clever nod to the classic Texas film. “Kind of playing off Dazed and Confused.” With the name set, Patani was given the reins to curate a lineup that would embody the festival’s spirit. Her vision wasn’t just to stack bands from one specific genre, but to create a dynamic, whiplash-inducing experience. She wanted to blend artists who were “similar, but also very different,” giving attendees a journey through the vast emotional landscape of modern alternative mu- sic. The result is a lineup that feels both cohesive and wonderfully unpredictable, featuring headliners like Bleed, Pool Kids and Holy- Watr alongside a deep roster of regional and touring talent. It’s a testament to the thriving, interconnected scenes bubbling just beneath the mainstream. One of those vital scenes is right here in Dallas-Fort Worth. For the members of post-hardcore outfit Gene Ross, North Texas is an essential part of their creative DNA. “I love playing in DFW because it’s a melting pot, and you get to work with people that have such diverse influences from you,” says guitarist Trent Adams. “But we’re all unified through the same values that this culture and scene hold.” Lead guitarist Jacob Barton agrees, describing the local music space as less of an industry and more of an “environment.” “There’s a really strong sense of community amongst bands and artists,” Barton explains. “Anybody working in music here, [we’re] very closely intertwined. And I think it’s really cool and very unique amongst large music areas that there’s just such a strong sense of community here.” This sense of community is palpable in the band’s music. Though their sound is a bruising, intricate blend of metalcore and post-hardcore, it’s built on a foundation of friendship and shared passion. The project began as a solo endeavor for vocalist Gene Orozco but transformed as each member brought their own unique flavor to the table.
