15 April 9 - 15, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Stephanie Meyer has said she took inspiration from Blue October to write the Twilight books. And you even once joined her on a book tour. Would you say you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob? I’m team the cool dude, not the one who turns into a werewolf. I’m Team Edward. I’m Team Robert Pattinson. The really good- looking dude. Foiled opened doors for you. At the time, you guys were mostly doing Texas shows, but then the album took you around the world. What was your fondest memory from this particular era? I think the most beautiful part about that whole album is that it was just a testament of leav[ing] someone alone and let[ting] them speak from their heart. If they’re honest, they can succeed at what they’re trying to say. You’ve been very open about your mental health journey. How did you balance this with that mainstream fame at the time? I didn’t. I lost my cool, I lost my mind, and ended up in a mental hospital. I made bad choices. I chose bad people to be in relation- ships with. I think mainstream fame could have been a blast, man. I think that if I had been present and sober, I could have really enjoyed it. I mean, Imogen Heap came down to LA, and we hung out, and she asked me the next day, ‘Hey, do you want to go to this red carpet event with me and be my date. Not like a date-date, we’ll be friends.’ I actu- ally said no, because I was just too scared, and I was just too paranoid and depressed. I really let depression run its course back then, when I should have stopped and just gotten healthy and gone to the gym and maybe gotten a little spiritual. But I let a lot of opportunities pass me by because I was scared, I was depressed, and instead of being healthy about it, I self-medicated, which ended up really hurting me. How do you plan to spend your time in Dallas on tour? I’m a perfume addict. Whenever I go to Dal- las, there’s a little place called The Scent Room, and it is fabuloso. It’s not like one of those cheap, little niche fragrance houses. These people care about these brands from Italy, and they’re amazing. I’m probably go- ing to drive around, go visit radio [stations] and say thank you to all of these amazing stations that have played us, and go do inter- views. If I had a full day off, I would go to the zoo. I would go back and look at my old apartment off Lemmon Avenue, and I would go to Deep Ellum, and I would take my girl- friend down to Cafe Brazil and I’d get one of those chocolate espresso drinks. Tickets for the Foiled 20th Anniversary World Tour are on sale now. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. ▼ FILM STRIKING A CHORD WE CAUGHT UP WITH DALLAS’ OWN NICK JONAS TO TALK HIS NEW FILM, FAVORITE RESTAURANT TO DROP BY WHEN HE COMES BACK AND HOW THE BIG TEXAS SKY INFLUENCES HIS WORK. BY PRESTON BARTA A ustin’s South by Southwest Film & TV Festival certainly has a specific kind of electricity. The city buzzes with the excitement of new art from all over the world. This year, that hum turned into a roaring melody at the North American premiere of Power Ballad. Co-written and directed by John Carney, the film brings together the comedic brilliance of Paul Rudd and the dramatic depth of Dallas-born musician Nick Jonas. Carney has a rare gift for weaving deeply human stories through the art of making music. He did it with Once and Sing Street, and he does it again here. Standing on the Paramount Theatre stage before the screening, the Irish film- maker confessed a deep connection to the Lone Star State. He explained that Texas filmmaker Richard Linklater is a massive influence on his work, believing Linklater gave him “permission to make films.” Car- ney admits that watching Before Sunset when his own career was struggling made him believe he “could do it again.” That spirit of finding your footing rests at the core of Power Ballad. The film tackles the modern struggle for artistic originality. It zeroes in on the relentless pressure to feed the attention economy and find self-worth in a world eager for validation. We follow a humorous wedding band called Bride & Groove, anchored by Rudd’s character. The beloved actor does what he does best by dropping hilarious zingers to keep the tempo up. Opposite him is Jonas, playing Danny, a former boy-bander trying to build a solo ca- reer, though he has taken the “scenic route.” Danny finds himself doing reality TV stunts — like eating bugs — while wrestling with his own artistic worth. For Jonas, stepping into this role meant drawing on his own deep roots. Before the flashing lights of the premiere, we caught up with him on the red carpet to talk about his North Texas origins, and it’s clear that Dallas shaped his artistic vision. “The big open skies and the vast nature” gave him “this feeling as a young person ... that there’s this great big world out there left to ex- plore,” Jonas told us. “The Texas sky is in prob- ably thousands of songs and will be for a long time because of those shared feelings.” Despite global fame, Jonas keeps his home- town close. When he comes back, his go-to spot is simple and perfect: “[Babe’s Chicken] out in Roanoke ... for some fried chicken.” He also pointed to a defining career moment right in our backyard at the State Fair of Texas, re- calling looking out at the audience and think- ing, “Wow, our lives are changed forever.” That hometown grounding helps him de- liver a performance full of internal dialogue in Power Ballad. You can feel the heavy industry pressure placed on his character by managers trying to manufacture content. Rudd brings an equally compelling weight to the screen. He plays a man whose life has not unfolded exactly as he had hoped. On the red carpet, Rudd explained how playing a character who is “somewhat long in the tooth” mirrored his own personal growth. As he gets older, he becomes “a little bit more aware of what is important, what it is that I really value, what it is that I trea- sure.” He noted that his life and his charac- ter’s journey “run parallel to one another,” which deeply informed his performance. Power Ballad succeeds as a fantastic hang- out movie. It sings with insanely catchy tracks that could easily become the anthems of your summer. At one point, a character describes a song as “a metaphor for taking a risk,” and that is exactly what the film feels like. Beyond the laughs and the music, the film holds a touch- ing father-daughter story. It delivers a massive emotional payoff by the final act that might leave you in a pool of tears. Carney proves once again that music can bridge the gap between who we are and who we want to be, underscoring the magic of collaboration. If you want to see a sweet, dramatically intense and creatively rich film about artistic ownership, Power Ballad hits all the right notes. Power Ballad held its North American premiere at SXSW on March 14. Before the film hits theaters nationwide on June 5, it will screen at the Dallas International Film Festival during its run from April 23 - 30 at Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Victory Park. Check the festival’s website for screening dates and details. Preston Barta Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd on the red carpet for the SXSW premiere of their new film, Power Ballad, in Austin on March 14. SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS
