The nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center announces the 2015 Spring lineup of Patio Sessions, a free music series in Sammons Park. The weekly Patio Sessions features a diverse schedule of local musicians from the DFW area, the first week will feature The Roomsounds with RTB2 opening.
The performances from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. are aimed at the downtown, after-work crowd, adding to an already vibrant lineup of activities in the downtown Dallas Arts District on Thursday evenings.
Attendees are encouraged to enjoy food and drinks at the Sammons Park Porch. Local food trucks will be on site for concessions for purchase and visitors are welcome to bring their own food. The only alcoholic beverages permitted will be those purchased at the Center’s concession stands.
Patio Sessions is scheduled for every Thursday in April and May. The following lineup is comprised entirely of area musicians, including emerging new artists and favorites of the area’s independent music scene.
Check attpac.org/patiosessions and facebook.com/patiosessions for updates.
April 2 – The Roomsounds with RTB2
The Roomsounds are a Dallas, Texas based American rock band. Their rootsy, back-to-basics approach evokes the era of ‘60′s and ‘70′s classic rock and roll. The band puts their freewheeling, youthful spin on timeless rock paved way by their tuneful forefathers: Tom Petty, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.”Led by singer and guitarist Ryan Michael, this four-piece delivers a masterwork of blues-rock with the most sludgy style DFW has heard in a while. With guitar tones straight from the early-‘70s Rolling Stones, it’s impossible not to get into this disc right away. But The Roomsounds are no one-trick pony. Their brilliant songwriting, along with versatile vocals, walks the listener through a museum with displays of country, garage rock, gospel, folk, punk and more, all with the tour-guide of catchy accessibility. ” (- Mark Beneventi, Lit Monthly)
RTB2 are a volatile duo from Denton, TX with a multi-disciplinary sound that spans across a vast musical spectrum. From roots music to abstract progressive rock to soul to ambient soundscapes, you become contently spellbound with a colorful musical aftertaste by a sound much greater than the sum of its parts (live shows: vocals, guitar, and drums). Ryan & Grady
played in bands together for seven years before developing this project. Birthed in 2005, RTB2 has released two EPs, two full-lengths, a live album, and an exclusive 8-track tape. Their current release, 2, was produced by Stuart Sikes (Cat Power, Loretta Lynn, The White Stripes).
https://www.facebook.com/RTB2RTB2
April 9 – The King Bucks (acoustic) with Ronnie Fauss
The King Bucks music forges a unique alliance between traditional country, boogie, rockabilly and soul. This fearless blend transcends mere country and propels the band into a hitherto unexplored realm of progressive honky tonk. Their sound appeals to die hard purists as well as those unfamiliar with the revered legacy of country music’s early masters. The members of the band had played together in various musical endeavors prior to their collective debut at Texas’ famous Mesquite Rodeo. It was this performance that helped solidify their vision of a bold new approach to a time honored genre.
Ronnie Fauss is a Dallas-based alt-country singer-songwriter, who arrived on the scene with a string of EPs in 2009 & 2010 (“New Songs for the Old Frontier,” “I Can’t Make You Happy,” “Mulligan”) that provided rough sketches of an artist stomping around in space until solid ground appeared beneath his feet. On I Am The Man You Know I’m Not, a gifted bare bones storyteller has emerged, singing in warm, personal tones accentuated by flourishes of electric guitars, fiddles, organs, and steel guitars. Recorded at BnG Studio in Nashville alongside producer Sigurdur Birkis (drummer for Will Hoge), the album is an 11-song testament to how far the alt-country sound has traveled from the classic Wilco and Uncle Tupelo records of the ‘90s. Fauss’ narratives explore present tense perils and the requisite hope for tomorrow, all while acknowledging that things could fall apart at any moment.
April 16 – Salim Nourallah Boombox Experiment with Paul Slavens
If a Beatle was left in the desert at age three and raised in El Paso, Texas, you’d have Salim Nourallah. Salim is a North Texas music scene fixture. After gaining initial acclaim with the Denton-based Nourallah Brothers he’s gone on to release a half dozen solo albums
and produce a fine list of many others (including the Old 97s, Rhett Miller, Deathray Davies & the Damnwells). His solo debut Polaroid (2004) was met with reviews like this one: “Discovering a singer-songwriter who can stop time is rare, but Salim Nourallah is such a find…” (Rolling Stone). Beautiful Noise followed in 2006 to more critical acclaim and Salim swept the Dallas Observer music awards with Best Album/Best Song and Best Producer. Salim went on to win seven consecutive Observer Awards for Best Producer. His fifth solo cd, Hit Parade, was released in April 2012 by the German indie label, Tapete Records. Hit Parade garnered more favorable press like “Coupling catchy rock with mature but not old lyrics, Nourallah has assembled the best album of his career.”
Paul Slavens is well known in the North Texas area for his work as a multi-instrumentalist with bands like Ten Hands, the Baptist Generals and The Travoltas. He also frequently performs an Improvisational Musical Comedy show and won the 2011 Dallas Observer Music Award for Best Jazz Act, and the 2013 and 2014 Award for best Keyboardist. Paul is additionally well known for his radio program “The Paul Slavens Show” on KXT. He began doing his show on KERA in 2004 and the program has received awards from the Dallas Observer in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and has been nominated every year since 2005 for Dallas Observer Music Awards . As a composer his works have been performed at museums in Dallas and Fort Worth, The McKinney Ave. Contemporary, The Wyly Theatre and the Grapevine Palace Theater.
https://www.facebook.com/thepaulslavensshow
April 23 – The Cush with Daniel Markham
In the time-honored tradition of husband/wife duos (think Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth) providing the creative core and identity of a band, Burette and Gabrielle Douglas bring a sound and musical vision all their own to The Cush. Formed in Dallas, TX in 2000, The Cush features sympathetic songwriting armed with vintage tape delays and a batch of psych-pop mini suites. Over the years, The Cush has opened for artists including Cat Power, Broken Social Scene, Stars, Deerhoof, The Fiery Furnaces, Dead Meadow, Centro-matic, and James McMurtry, among many others. In 2007 the band played a series of dates in the UK, including the Dream Machine Festival. “Transcendental Heatwave,” the new album is now available.
Daniel Markham plays rock and roll music for the people. Since relocating from Lubbock to Denton, Tx he and his band have released two critically acclaimed albums, “Ruined My Life” and “Pretty Bitchin.” The latest offering, “Smoke Paint” is collaboration between Markham and bandmate Tony Ferraro.
http://danielmarkham.bandcamp.com/
April 30 –Boxcar Bandits
Boxcar Bandits began when Texas Rex enlisted the help of some local musicians and began performing under the moniker in February 2006 in their town of Denton, TX. Equally at home at a beer joint or concert hall, the Bandits meld old-time, bluegrass, western swing and country with the sounds of string band instruments to create the “North Texas Skunkgrass” sound. The Bandits first album, “Smells Like Grass” was self-released in 2008, and a live set, “Live at Dan’s Silver Leaf,” was released in 2011; now both are available on Break-a-Pick Records. They are currently at work in the studio for their third album, “A Tribute to Doc Watson.”
