18 November 20 - 26, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Giving Jazz a Hand Outdated Dallas codes threatened live jazz until the people spoke up. A task force aims to regain public trust and keep the tunes alive. by Eric Diep I n Bishop Arts, there’s a live music bar with its doors open, where on a good night every seat is filled as jazz bands perform in an intimate setting. On this Wednesday night at Revel- ers Hall, people are enjoying bites and drinks as Dallas saxophone legend Shelley Carol and his band set up for their 8 p.m. set, preparing to play a smooth jazz gig to get lis- teners over hump day. A new sign hanging at the bar reads: “Revelers Musicians Dona- tion. $6 Per Person. *Can Be Waived Upon Request.” Carol starts to make his saxophone sing, taking over the room with a solo. The music spills out into the streets as people pass, and the scene is as close to New Orleans as you can get in Dallas. A few are watching from the parklet out- side. Others are contemplating coming in, lured by Carol’s sweet sounds. Carol plays through a song that has his bassist, drummer and keyboardist all in beautiful harmony. The atmosphere is one of improvisation. After he introduces his band, he places his saxophone case at the front to encourage more donations, with a couple of bucks al- ready in to entice more guests to tip. Almost a month ago, people were out- raged over the Night Entertainment Team (NET), a strike team housed under the city of Dallas’ Code Compliance department. The team had been cracking down on busi- nesses that charged a cover fee for live music so they could pay the musicians. Revelers Hall and The Free Man in Deep Ellum had been charging cover fees to pay artists for more than half a decade when they were told to stop because the rules behind their restaurant permits didn’t allow it. They were understandably unhappy and took to social media to let the city and their customers know. In a city not known for being particularly friendly to entertainment venues, people from all over Dallas chimed in, worried the city was going to lose its live music. The people banded together, and the city responded swiftly. So what happens next? Task at Hand O n Oct. 31, a few days before Carol’s show, Revelers Hall hosted a news conference that announced the Hos- pitality and Nightlife Task Force. City Coun- cil member Chad West said the 14-member task force will review the music fee issue and propose a new framework, re-examine the city’s noise ordinance and explore the creation of a new entertainment permit that supports innovation and flexibility. Led by Terry Lowery, former director of Dallas Wa- ter Utilities, the board comprises voting members who are business owners in Bishop Arts and Deep Ellum, as well as non- voting members from the offices of West and Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Moreno, along with representatives from other organiza- tions. Josh Roberts, one of the owners of Revel- ers Hall, is part of the task force. The pres- ence of City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and other city officials was evidence of Dallas’ commitment to working with small businesses to resolve “pain points.” The latest pain was announced on Oct. 9 when The Free Man’s Facebook account outlined “the massive, unnecessary chal- lenges” hitting it from all sides. Already suf- fering from ongoing street reconstruction in Deep Ellum, scheduled to last until early 2027, The Free Man owner John Jay Myers called the end of the cover charge “the fatal blow.” Myers said code compliance officers be- gan visiting him around September. After calling out for support from the community, he said it’s been a “mixed bag” in terms of business growth. “We have actually seen a great deal of customers coming in during the week that normally would not, likely due to the cover,” Myers said. “On the weekends, traffic is about the same; the only difference is, no one is paying the cover, [and] weekend covers help us to pay for bands throughout the week.” The Free Man charged $10. The cover guaranteed the bands got paid, it funded the ambiance, and it created a barrier distin- guishing The Free Man from bad operators in a district where crime has risen. Without a dedicated income stream, live music at The Free Man is in jeopardy. “It was enough to make it worth doing for musicians,” said Myers, who fronts the six-piece jazz band The Free Loaders. “It wasn’t great pay even with the cover, but it’s a good gig, especially for off days. We were bringing in roughly $45,000 a month in cov- ers. We would also subsidize that with mini- mums in case it wasn’t great.” Gaika James, a trombone player who leads the Rogues Gallery and has frequently performed at The Free Man, remembers the ’90s when bands were guaranteed $1,500 a night. The pay has dwindled for musicians, and he wonders why the city chose to do this now. “It’s just one of those things where is the city of Dallas really that hard up for money, and are our musicians just an easy target?” James says venues such as The Free Man are a “learning facility,” where musicians can hone their craft with other players. The Free Man serves as an incubator for young talent, and silencing live music puts its fu- ture at risk. “Chances are, it may have to go underground or maybe some other sort of venue or organization will have to do some undertaking,” he said. A trumpet player who asked to remain anonymous because of worry about ICE shares a personal connection to The Free Man after being welcomed by the Deep El- lum community. For the past 10 years, he was supported by other Deep Ellum jazz players as an international student, eventu- ally playing in bands at The Free Man and Revelers Hall. He speaks highly of Myers’ generosity in charging covers for musicians of all skill levels, which keeps The Freeman’s doors open, allowing live jazz music to spill out onto the street and creating a positive at- mosphere. “I think it’s really good to cover those playgrounds for people who are eager to learn something,” the person said. “Some- times that education happens in school, but it’s always about the people. Sometimes it needs some place, some sort of occasion to gather around.” Myers said The Free Man is a local music hub and a home base for Dallas’ most tal- ented players. “We have been having live music seven nights a week on two stages from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. for the last seven years. And 14 years on our original stage. It’s like nothing else,” he said. “I feel like if we needed ‘donations,’ that’s the end of us. Eventually, you run out of donations, unless it’s Mark Cuban or Elon Musk. The place is great, we just need more people to be aware that we are keeping music alive, and the best way to keep us alive is just come out and eat, have a drink, tip the band.” The demand for change from the city was palpable, as evidenced by the strong com- munity support that emerged in Facebook comments and tagging city officials. The Free Man let people know that “the combi- nation of crime, construction and anti-busi- ness mandates is destroying Deep Ellum.” On Oct. 20, Roberts shared an article on The Free Man’s struggles, stating Revelers Hall was in the same boat. He told people this was “effecting [sic] several venues right now,” Andrew Sherman Gaika James leads the Rogues Gallery. He says pay has dwindled for musicians. ▼ Music
