17 June 11 - 17, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Elizabeth De La Piedra Music on the Page This July, Hanif Abdurraqib and Jamila Woods join a lineup of local and global talent to unite music and literature for the inaugural festival in Deep Ellum. BY PRESTON BARTA F or one long July weekend, Deep Ellum will do what Deep Ellum has always done best: gather art- ists, make noise and bolster cul- ture in the city. From July 10-12, the inaugural Deep Vellum Music & Literature Festival, pre- sented by Deep Vellum Books, will spread across 11 venues with more than 20 events, performances and activations, bringing together visiting writers and musicians alongside a deep bench of North Texas tal- ent. If the premise sounds almost too per- fect for this part of Dallas — books, bands, poetry, conversation and a neighborhood built on creative friction — that’s because it’s by design. The festival’s scale is impressive on its own. According to programming director Madison Ford, the showcase will feature 22 visiting artists alongside 33 writers, poets and musicians from the DFW area and be- yond. But what makes the event feel espe- cially suited to Deep Ellum is the way the lineup is built to blur categories. This is a festival where readings spill into perfor- mances, where panels sit next to concerts and where language is treated less like something confined to a page than some- thing with breath, pulse and a backbeat. Ford says the festival’s goal of intention- ally intersecting art is embodied in the festi- val’s two marquee headliners, Hanif Abdurraqib and Jamila Woods. “We have two dream headliners for our inaugural year,” she tells the Observer. “Hanif Abdurraqib is not only a moving poet and incisive essayist, but seeing him read his work and engage in public dialogue is a sin- gular experience. You feel held in rapture by his thoughtfulness.” That alone would be enough to anchor a festival. But pairing Abdurraqib with Woods makes the event’s mission even clearer. “Jamila’s work as a poet and musician perfectly encapsulates the spirit of this festi- val, showing how music and literature are in conversation with each other,” Ford says. “Her work feels like an ode to the perfor- mance of language.” Their headliner show at Sons of Her- mann Hall will also feature Lawrence Bur- ney and Dallas music artist DAMOYEE, a local presence Ford folds into the festival’s larger sense of occasion. “I can already tell it will feel like magic is in the room,” Ford says. That phrase — magic in the room — lands because the festival seems intent on building exactly that kind of atmosphere, not just selling tickets to isolated events. Ford has placed serious emphasis on Dallas artists and writers, making the festival feel grounded in place rather than parachuted in. One of the most intriguing examples is an ongoing public poetry reading outside Poets Books. Ford calls it “poetry busking,” with Dallas-area poets rotating through the courtyard and sending their work out into the street. “We have a killer poetry scene here in Dal- las, and we wanted to create a piece of pro- gramming that featured their work,” she says. The image is a good one: poems drifting into Deep Ellum foot traffic, catching pass- ersby off guard, literature acting like live music. Stacked Schedule That local investment runs throughout the schedule. Dallas poets, including Aaron Brown, Alissa Park, April Sojourner | B-SIDES | t Music >> p18 Jamila Woods, poet and musician, will headline the festival. BURGERS PARTIES BRUNCH PATIO SATURDAY & SUNDAY BUILD-YOUR-OWN BLOODY MARY BAR OPEN UNTIL 4PM SATURDAY & 8AM TO 2PM BRUNCH SUNDAY - FRIDAY $1 OFF EVERYTHING BEHIND THE BAR COMPLIMENTARY CHIPS & SALSA DAY FRIDAY 4PM TO 7PM HAPPY HOUR 4615 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX 75206 214-265-9105 ozonagrill.com NDA Hand built not bougHt. Franklins TaTToo and supply 469-904-2665 • 4910 Columbia ave, dallas, TX 75214 proFessional TaTToo supply For pros only Call for your appointment or design commissions today!
