23 May 2 - 8, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Sounds Like Texas The best local music radio shows and pod- casts. BY PRESTON JONES T he local music scene contains multitudes, so it’s fitting that the ecosystem that has sprung up around it — and helped sus- tain it through fertile and fallow times alike — is likewise idiosyncratic. For the longest time, the only way to keep tabs on what’s happening, as well as to gain a his- torical sense of things, was to listen to locally based radio stations or make it a point to read the music writing in your local alt- weekly or daily newspaper (or, with the ad- vent of the internet, blogs, and digital zines). But with the rise of relatively affordable re- cording equipment, there is, more than ever before, a surprisingly robust collection of local, music-focused broadcast options, whether over radio waves or in podcast form, for your entertainment and education. Here, in no par- ticular order, are some of our favorites. The KXT Local Show Host: Alec Spicer Where you can hear it: KXT 91.7 FM; stream- ing at kxt.org If it’s Thursday night at 7 p.m., it’s The KXT Local Show. A long-time fixture of the Dallas NPR music station’s line-up, The Lo- cal Show recently underwent a sea change, as host Nilufer Arsala departed the station and producer Alec Spicer took the reins. The show serves an eclectic, well-curated mix of North Texas music across a variety of genres (from cumbia to hyperpop), culled from knowns and unknowns alike. (This writer is a regular contributor to KXT.) North Texas artists interested in being considered can submit music via kxt.org/submissions. Wheels Off with Rhett Miller Host: Rhett Miller Where you can hear it: Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Osiris Media Wheels Off is billed as “a podcast about the messy reality of living a creative life,” some- thing with which Rhett Miller, the Dallas-bred singer-songwriter and co-founder of beloved alt-country act Old 97’s, is intimately familiar. Launched in 2019, Miller’s show has inter- viewed a slew of famous names and taken care to mix in a few fellow Texans as well. Jackalope Tales Hosts: Lisa Umbarger and Charles Mooney Where you can hear it: YouTube and Apple Podcasts Co-hosted by two of the founding mem- bers of Fort Worth rockers Toadies — bassist Lisa Umbarger and guitarist Charles Mooney — Jackalope Tales purports to “pull back the curtain on the strange, spooky and sometimes shocking urban legends that lurk within the music industry.” The gregarious Umbarger and Mooney have tackled every- thing from Post Malone covering Nirvana to vintage Toadies recordings. Dallas Famous Host: Andrew Sherman Where you can hear it: Deep Ellum Radio, Spotify If you see Andrew Sherman around town, he’s more than likely armed with his camera and in the pit, photographing the ac- tion on stage and helping document the ar- tistic life of the region. A veteran musician and photographer, the Dallas-based Sher- man produces a podcast that pulls from all walks of North Texas creative life — full dis- closure: this writer has been a guest on the podcast — and is informed by his genial, in- quisitive interviewing style. North Texas Music Fanatics (NTXMF) Host: Jason Janik Where you can hear it: Audible Another veteran of the North Texas mu- sic scene, photographer Jason Janik has captured images of nearly every artist of consequence living in or passing through town over the last 25 years. Janik’s weekly podcast, which debuted in November, finds him sitting down with an array of artists — guests thus far have included Pikahsso, Ken Bethea and Ashley Leer — for fascinating, in-depth conversations. KNON Hosts: EZ Eddie D, Dave Chaos, Jenn Leigh and many more Where you can hear it: 89.3 FM; the KNON app For 40 years, the nonprofit, listener-sup- ported KNON has been an instrumental part of the local music community, providing a platform for an array of voices and a window into the creative soul of North Texas. From Early Morning Gospel and Overnight Jazz to reggae and Latin Energy, there’s something for every sensibility here at any hour. Hip Hop Headz Host: Christina Angelique Where you can hear it: Audible The Dallas Public Library might not be the first place you’d expect to find a Dallas hip- hop-focused podcast, but last summer the in- stitution launched Hip Hop Headz, a weekly, roughly hour-long dive into the North Texas (and beyond) hip-hop scene. Guests have in- cluded producer-musician Jah Born (who also co-produced the show’s intro and outro music) and reggae artist Salako Music. The Local Show Host: Austin Cox Where you can hear it: 95.9 FM; streaming at 959theranch.com Perhaps the newest entry on this list, this recently launched weekly, hour-long Sunday show on Fort Worth’s beloved radio station “The Ranch” is hosted by Austin Cox, of the band Desert Folk. This Sunday night show skews a bit more country, folk and rock, high- lighting artists such as Joshua Ray Walker, Bonnie Bishop, Vandoliers and Josh Weathers. The Ghost of Blind Lemon Host: Chris Mueller Where you can hear it: Wherever you stream music This one is a bit of a technicality. For more than 15 years, the Dallas-based Muel- ler anchored The Ghost of Blind Lemon blog, which championed North Texas art- ists, and he regularly appeared on Deep El- lum Radio. Even though he has wound down those efforts, he still keeps a hand in via his “Monday Mixteen” playlists, which he shares via a private Facebook group. The Godfather’s Greatest Hits! Host: Frank Campagna Where you can hear it: Deep Ellum Radio As the press materials say, “Frank [Cam- pagna] doesn’t need an introduction as a godfather of Deep Ellum.” One of the neigh- borhood’s leading lights and a pillar of the North Texas artistic community, Campagna presents a weekly Saturday morning show on Deep Ellum Radio that affords him a chance to dive deeply into his varied collec- tion of songs, pulling up, as one promotional poster says, “Lots of crazy stuff you may have never heard before.” The Strangest Gig Host: Chris J Norwood Where you can hear it: Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Podbean Dallas-based singer-songwriter Chris J Norwood turns the tables somewhat in his podcast, which centers on interviewing other musicians about, well, “the strange, weird, wild, wacky, terrible and/or amazing gigs we have to take in order to make it as freelance and gigging musicians.” Guests have included Sean Russell, Salim Noural- lah, Scarlett Deering and many more. Jason Quigley Old 97’s singer Rhett Miller hosts a podcast with interviews of Dallas-based and national artists. | B-SIDES | t Music Dream Jobs - Dream Talent Since 1998 THE PLACE TO BE AND BE SEEN Scan Me Baby!
