17 December 28, 2023 - January 3, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents The Year in Numbers BY EVA RAGGIO I t’s been yet another bustling year for music lovers in North Texas. And it’s no surprise, mathematically, that as Dallas-Fort Worth’s population grows, the area so- lidifies its tradition as a major music town by widening audiences and producing new talent. With entertainment complexes bursting into suburbs that some locals haven’t even heard of, artists becoming om- nipresent on TikTok and streaming platforms, major con- certs from titans such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé — and the equally powerful presence of Pussy Riot, who played to a small crowd in Fort Worth’s Tulips in November — plus the endless tunes rumbling into the nightlife, our senses were overstimulated. Many of Dallas’ own artists had a major year. After 16 years in the music business and a path to stardom derailed by a stint in prison, country artist Louie TheSinger found a Dickensian chance at redemption by getting signed to UMG Nashville. Vincent Neil Emerson, who’s long been a country-croon- ing favorite championed by Hollywood star Jason Momoa and contemporaries Leon Bridges and Charley Crockett, honored his Chocktaw-Apache ancestry and tussled with the ghosts of trauma with the Shooter Jennings-produced The Golden Crystal Kingdom. Abraham Alexander has been stealthily ascending through public consciousness for the past few years, finally releasing a full album with 2023’s SEA/SONS, (pronounced “Seasons.” “The slash is silent” the singer said with a laugh in a video). Alexander’s trajectory from Greek-born son of Nigerian immigrants to a life with adoptive Arlington parents (Alex- ander’s mother was killed by a drunk driver shortly after moving to the U.S.) has been well told. The album, a blues- tinted rootsy folk masterwork grounded in gospel, shows that, at least musically, Alexander has grown as Texan as a bluebonnet sprouting from a longhorn’s antler, then deep- fried. The singer has not been flashing in the pan, but rather slow-baking into a mainstay. Unlike the meteoric rise of his friend Leon Bridges, and much like his friend Charley Crockett — both of whom have strapped him into the pas- senger seat on their own rise to fame, with spots as a tour opener — Alexander has been methodically conquering audiences through extensive touring and steady online presence, earning 5.5 million streams this year. In September, we named Alexander the “Best Soon-to-be Legend” in our Best of Dallas issue. He’s among peers in Sea/ Sons, which features canorous collabs with Mavis Staples and Gary Clark Jr. Alexander toured 32 states in 2023 — plus a tour in Eu- rope — and he performed in more than 100 venues. As a victory lap around the old hometown block, he did three nights at The Kessler in the summer, capping off his year elegantly with a concert at the Majestic Theatre. Indie alt-pop artist Jacks Haupt and R&B darling Mu- riel, both from Oak Cliff, scorched onstage with Latin pride, while women dominated DJ and radio booths into say-the-safeword submissiveness. Promoter Callie Dee reported she booked 55 shows and produced 100 pod- casts, such as her own The Smitten Kitten. It was also a headline-heavy year for local venues. Ac- cording to numbers compiled by the Texas Alcoholic Bev- erage Commission, Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth topped the list at a whopping $94 million-plus in sales, while the city lost three venues, announcing in one week the closing of Lola’s, Downtown Cowtown at the Isis and Twilite Lounge. Dallas saw the reopening of the historic Longhorn Ball- room with concerts this year from Emmylou Harris, Old 97’s and many others, and the closing of Thunderbird Station and the Green Room. Yet sadder still, Dallas mourned the loss of local Daniel Jones, a Booker T. Washington High School for the Per- forming Arts graduate who was Janet Jackson’s musical di- rector and a friend and mentor to many Dallas musicians, as well as the eccentric Bucks Burnett, who was a record store owner and former Tiny Tim manager, known by many of our readers for his Namedropper column, in which he recounted his extraordinary anecdotes in the music industry. For this music issue, we remember those we lost and highlighted some artists you should find, with a Spotify-style wrap of Dallas music by the numbers. Molly Dickson Breakout star Abraham Alexander made a splash this year with a new album, SEA/SONS. ▼ Music Dallas Music Wrapped >> p18 What Dallas listened to this year, according to Spotify TAYLOR SWIFT IS JUST ONE ARTIST THAT DALLAS COULDN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS YEAR. HERE ARE MOST STREAMED ARTISTS IN DALLAS. BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY T he year 2023 was a standout in music, and Dallas was at the forefront of all of the year’s trends and pop cul- ture moments. We even have to data to back it up, as Spotify was kind enough to put our listening habits on blast. The No. 1 artist Dallas streamed on Spotify this year was Taylor Swift. This may be a bitter pill for some of our more contrarian readers to swallow, but we’re just the messenger. Also, we promise we believe your comments claiming you don’t know who she is and that you only listened to King Crimson this year. Swift’s top ranking falls right in line with United States and worldwide data, where she also reigns supreme. Time may have declared her its Person of the Year, but it’s going to have to share with everyone else. Most of Dallas’ top five artists were equally on trend, with Drake and Bad Bunny also landing at the top in both the U.S. and global rankings. Morgan Wallen, who ranked fourth in Dallas, clinched the third spot for the U.S. rank- ings but failed to rank worldwide. Peso Pluma was our third-most-streamed artist and claimed two of our five most-streamed songs. He also ranked 10th and fifth on the U.S. and global lists, respec- tively. Long story short, we are above-average Peso Pluma fans here in Dallas. And for the people banging out the word “who????” into the keyboard, our fifth-most-listened-to genre was “rock.” That probably includes something you like. We’ve included the top fives for artists, songs and genres for Dallas below. Spotify’s national and worldwide data can be found on their website. Dallas’ Top SpotifyArtists in 2023 1. Taylor Swift 2. Drake 3. Peso Pluma 4. Morgan Wallen 5. Bad Bunny Dallas’ Top SpotifySongs in 2023 1. “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma 2. “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen 3. “Kill Bill” by SZA 4. “Bebe Dame” by Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera 5. “PRC” by Natanael Cano, Peso Pluma Dallas’ Top SpotifyGenres in 2023 1. Rap 2. Pop 3. Hip-hop 4. Trap 5. Rock
