17 June 25 - July 1, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Month XX–Month XX, 2014 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER | CONTENTS | UNFAIR PARK | SCHUTZE | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | MOVIES | DISH | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | State Fair Reveals Music Lineup No one goes to the State Fair of Texas for the music, but maybe this year they should. BY PRESTON BARTA S ome things at the State Fair of Texas never change. Big Tex still towers in his denim. The corny dogs still sizzle. And the line for fried whatever-they- dreamed-up-this-year still snakes around the midway. But this year, the music wafting through all that funnel-cake fog deserves its own headline. The Chevrolet Main Stage lineup dropped last week, and it’s surprising to say the least. From opening weekend on Sept. 25 through week three on Oct. 18, you can catch live sets every day, all of them free with your fair admission, though you may find yourself going to the fair just for a concert. Kansas anchors the marquee, and that’s no small thing. Fifty-plus years deep, the prog-rock institution behind “Carry on Wayward Son” still plays like it’s 1976. Bring your lungs. You’ll need them for the chorus. Hometown heroes show up in force. Clint Black, raised in Katy, carries the country torch. Denton’s Bowling for Soup turns every set into a comedy club with power chords. Fort Worth’s Toadies arrive fresh off “The Charmer,” recorded by the late, great Steve Albini. Dallas legends Tripping Daisy cele- brate more than 30 years of “I Am an Elastic Firecracker,” blooming back into the Deep Ellum spirit that made them. Baytown’s Rae- Lynn brings sharp, modern country, and Houston icon Paul Wall slides back in with that unmistakable screwed-and-chopped swagger. Keeping the classic-rock flame burning, Dallas-Fort Worth’s own Petty Theft, a tribute act, channels the music of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The gems of the lineup will offer pure, glo- rious fun. Mini KISS, the Guinness-certified “World’s Shortest Band” comprised entirely of little people, delivers KISS in miniature and maximum spectacle. The Red Hot Chili Pip- ers rock harder than any bagpipe has a right to. 2010s radio mainstays 3OH!3 bring elec- tro-pop chaos, Queensrÿche bring prog-metal muscle, and the Pink Floyd Laser Light Show bends the night sky into color. And for all the’‘90s kids out there, Deep Blue Something takes the stage, so get ready to jam out to “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” one more time. The lineup opens up with fresh, new voices. JayDon, an 18-year-old R&B phenom co-signed by Usher and Chris Brown, has al- ready been crowned “the future of R&B” by Ty Dolla $ign, and you might recognize his voice as Young Simba in the 2019 remake of “The Lion King.” Joy Oladokun, a Black queer folk-Americana songwriter who calls herself a bridge builder, turns a crowd into a community. EDM duo Two Friends keep the energy soaring, and a collective set from Steve Ray Ladson, Pynk Beard and The Boy- kinZ rounds out a bill that reflects the state- going crowd. Prog rock, country, hip-hop, folk, metal, EDM, lasers and four little people in face paint. That’s not a lineup. That’s a love letter to Texas in all its wonderful variety. General daily tickets aren’t on sale yet. Season passes, for $52, are available now, and with unlimited visits all season long, a pass pays for itself in fewer than two trips through the gates. So, pick your nights. The music’s already paid for. ▼ EVENTS FANGS OUT, SUCKHEADS SKIP THE FIREWORKS THIS YEAR FOR A VAMPIRE PARTY THAT PROMISES BLOOD BAG DAIQUIRIS AND A NIGHT STRAIGHT OUT OF THE MOVIE ‘BLADE.’ BY PRESTON BARTA F orget the bottle rockets. This Fourth of July, Deep Ellum is trading the usual red, white and boom for some- thing that’s all red and far more anemic. The Blade Rave returns to Dallas on July 4, and it has no interest in your patriotic po- tato salad. Picking up where last year’s bloodletting left off, the party slithers into Puzzles Deep Ellum (2824 Main St.). They’re calling it “Red, White and Blood- bath,” which is the most honest event title this city has seen in years. If you’ve watched the movie “Blade,” you know the infamous vampire club scene. A clueless mortal stumbles into an under- ground club, the re- mixed beat from New Order’s “Con- fusion” starts thumping and then the sprinklers open up. Hundreds of gal- lons of blood rain down on a crowd of vampires until Wes- ley Snipes, as the daywalking vampire hunter Blade, shows up to ruin everyone’s night. It is, without exag- geration, one of the greatest openings in movie history. And now Dallas suckheads get to live it. Yes, the ceiling will weep crimson. Yes, you will leave sticky. That’s the whole point. The dress code writes itself: fangs in, leather on, dignity optional. The Fang Gang is running the show alongside the Dream City Dimes, so expect the kind of crowd that owns more trench coats than khakis. At the bar, the signature pour is a blood bag daiquiri, be- cause nothing says “land of the free” like sip- ping something red out of a medical pouch while industrial beats rattle your bones. Tickets run from $20 to $25. That’s right, you can get drenched in pretend plasma for less than the cost of a single overpriced fire- work stand sparkler pack. Cheaper than a hot dog made from discernible meat, and in- finitely more memorable. There’s something gloriously Dallas about all this. While the suburbs light up the sky, Deep Ellum goes underground, turns the lights low and lets the freaks have their night. It’s messy. It’s silly. It’s a little bit profound, in the way only a room full of strangers raising their arms toward falling blood can be. So, skip the cul-de-sac. Choose blood gush over fireworks. Grab your fangs, book your ticket and meet the rest of the city’s beautiful weirdos under the sprinklers. Visit the official website to secure your place on the dance floor. Doors open at 9 p.m. You must be 21 to enter. ▼ EVENTS A BETTER CHICKEN DANCE WINGSTOP IS THROWING THE BIGGEST PARTY OF THE YEAR FOR FREE. BY ALYSSA FIELDS W ingstop has given the world many gifts: an incredible lemon pepper dry rub, TSA-approved portions of their unbeatable ranch for inter- national travelers who have become ranch-enthusiasts, and now a free 10-day party with an A-lister headlining. The “House of Flavor,” as they’re call- ing it, will occupy the Bomb Factory for 10 days straight, starting on June 24 and last- ing until July 3. The event will have bar- bers, tattoo artists, World Cup watch parties, free wings (while supplies last, of course) and a headlining set from A$AP FERG on the opening night. The rapper, best known for songs like “Plain Jane” and “Shabba,” is a key member of the A$AP Mob. Another member of the mob, A$AP Rocky, delivered a powerful show in Dal- las last week There’s no ticket or reservation re- quired, and it’s first-come, first-served gar- lic Parm fries. Club Wingstop members get exclusive access and perks, so it may be wise to download the free app and make an account if you’re determined to score honey garlic wings. “When the world shows up for the game, we bring the flavor and the culture,” Wingstop Chief Brand Officer Donnie Up- shaw said in a statement. “House of Flavor is built for that energy, bringing fans together through culture, community and craveable flavor you can see, feel and taste.” Doors open each day at 11 a.m. and close “late.” Lines at the Bomb Factory easily cir- cle around the block. The House of Flavor is an international campaign that the Dallas-headquartered Wingstop launched in 2024 in Paris to coin- cide with the Summer Olympics. For weeks, Parisians could stop by the pop-up to try mango habanero-flavored chicken and then immediately play pick-up basketball on a miniature green court. The company, keen on gauging global interest, launched an- other iteration in February of this year for the Winter Olympics in Milan. It was an- other smash hit. A smaller iteration of the House of Fla- vor met World Cup onlookers in Toronto for a three-day stay, as well as a show head- lined by FERG. But now, the company is bringing it back home where flavor truly gets its wings. The massive party will also feature live music performances by Houston’s Tay Pow- ers, local DJ Brandon Blue and Chicago rap- per Noname. World-famous tattoo studio Elm Street Tattoo will be poking people, Ninety Degrees Barber Company will be cutting hair (hopefully very far from the free wing distribution center) and makeup art- ists will be doing face painting. Local street- wear label By Way of Dallas has designed exclusive city-pride merchandise for the night, and from what we can see, it might be the thing worth waiting in line for the most. In the words of Wingstop: This is going to be huge. Courtesy of Blade Rave “RED, WHITE AND BLOODBATH” IS THE MOST HONEST EVENT TITLE IN YEARS. Fangs in, leather on, dignity optional — The Blade Rave returns on July 4. | B-SIDES | ▼ Music
