Alex O’aiza (left) Johnny Tone (middle) Shelley Carrol (right)
Founded by local DJ and performer Dezi 5, the Dallas Entertainment Awards plan to celebrate the best of Dallas’ art culture in the past year. The show is divided into seven “best-of”categories: Content Release, Live Act, Instrumentalist, DJ, Audio-Visual/Media/Radio, Venues/Residencies/Promoters and Drag/Burlesque/Visual Art. Each category contains numerous sub-categories, with five nominees.
The full nomination list was published by the Advocate here. To vote on who should win, visit this link provided by the DEA. Winners will be announced at the inaugural DEA Gala, January 31, at the Latino Cultural Center. Entry is free and open to the public.
With over 100 categories set to be recognized, who should take home the inaugural honors at the Dallas Entertainment Awards? As the people cast their votes, one writer at the Advocate will cast his opinion.
Best Country Artist/ Group/ Band: Kameron Ross, Jacob Price Zazz & The Loose Ends, Cory Cross, Justin Pickard, Angel White
Pick: Angel White
Remember Angel White’s name. The McKinney country-rock hybrid carried himself like a wildfire in 2023. In January, he hadn’t headlined a show. In May, his name crested the Kessler Theatre marquee. By October, he was on the bill at Austin City Limits. He’s primed to take over the music world, get out and see him before he does.
Song recommendation: “Long Way Up”, or this awesome YouTube clip from a SoFar Sounds concert.
Best Pop Vocalist: Alex O’Aiza, Elyse Jewel, Stan Fran Cisco, Jacks Haupt, Ravs
Pick: Alex O’aiza
“Alex O’aiza (oh-EYE-zuh) is about two things: hits and heritage, often finding himself at the intersection of both. The pop artist was born in Dallas, but spent his formative years in Morelia, a small Mexican town, before moving back to Texas for grade school.
…O’aiza has found that the more he understands his heritage and past, the more he’s able to orient his future. He puts a heavy emphasis on giving back to the people who invested in him before he realized his own potential. No matter how he continues to grow as a person and artistically, he will always be indebted to those who got him here in the first place.” – Latin artist Alex O’aiza infuses culture into pop, Oak Cliff Advocate
Best Rock Artist/ Group/ Band: The Texas Gentlemen, The Dirty Shirts, CURL, Sunny Disposition, Rosegarden Funeral Party
Pick: Rosegarden Funeral Party
The city’s signature goth rock band refuses to slow down. Only a few months after their nationwide tour, RGFP teased a “new era” on Instagram with a brand new single coming out on February 1. Until then, stream their fantastic 2018 EP, THE CHOPPING BLOCK, an emotional six-song release that blends elements of shoegaze and new wave into a contemporary hard rock finish.
Song recommendation: “Follow”
Best Audio Recording Studio: Civil Audio, Elmwood Recording, Greenville Ave Recording Studio, Modern Electric Studios, The Kitchen Studios
Pick: The Kitchen Studios
“Right next door to Good Records, The Kitchen Studios shares both a wall and a connection to Erykah Badu. The indie recording lab was home to Badu for Worldwide Underground (2003) and New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh(2010). The studio has primarily attracted big names in hip hop, including Andre 3000 and Wiz Khalifa. The Kitchen’s cool atmosphere and A-list track record enhances the culture that’s created between it and the two surrounding record stores.” – Exploring the music capital of Dallas, Lakewood Advocate
Best Hip Hop Solo Act: BigXthaPlug, Durrough, Pierce Washington, Honey Banks, Jayson Lyric
Pick: BigXthaPlug
BigXthaPlug is by far the most popular artist nominated. In a sense, his inclusion is a great thing for the budding awards show, legitimizing the brand new product with a nationally recognizable name.
That being said, BigXthaPlug isn’t that popular. His level of popularity thrusts an awkward median into the nomination pool. He’s not the most famous star in Dallas, but he’s head and shoulders above most of the other artists nominated.
This discrepancy pits the DEA at a crossroads.
Does the DEA want to truly the cultural pulse of the city each year? Or does the DEA want to be a celebration of local scene presented by the very people in it?
If it’s the former, why isn’t Erykah Badu nominated? She just toured the country, basically the only mainstream artist to come out of Dallas and then STAY in Dallas. She’s the hometown hero, no story can be told about that hometown without mentioning her.
If it’s the latter, why nominate BigXthaPlug? Does he even know about the awards show? Is he going to lobby for votes on his Instagram story?
Either way, it’s good for the show. Maybe BigXthaPlug will take the stage to accept this award and thank Dezi 5 for putting it all together. Maybe someone else will accept on his behalf. Maybe he won’t win at all. Add it to the list of things that make the DEA’s newfound existence so compelling, alongside what the physical awards will look like and if they’ll continue to try and make the DEA acronym work.
Song recommendation: “Texas” will be a local sports anthem for decades, get used to it.
Ultimate Fashion Icon: Charles Smith II
Carol Toler must have declined the nomination.
Fashion recommendation: Stop wearing those upside-down Dallas hats.
Best Psychedelic Artist/ Group or Band: CHEMICALSPELL!, Gorgeous Jetson, Pearl Earl, Midnight Thirty, Smokey Mirror
Pick: Pearl Earl
Fresh off a European tour with two records under their belt, Pearl Earl sets a spectacular standard for modern progressive rock. Their music plays like the Bangles on an acid trip, complete with an energetic, brazen live product spearheaded by lead singer and songwriter Ariel Hartley.
Credit to the DEA that there is even a Best Psychedelic Artist award to be won, and credit to Pearl Earl for being a step above the rest. For an even deeper dive into local psychedelia, check out Pearl Earl keyboardist Chelsey Danielle’s band, Helium Queens, a colorfully bizarre trio with violinist Sharla Franklin and Polyphonic Spree pianist Poppy Xander.
Song Recommendation: “Full Moon Power”
Best Pianist: Kwinton Gray, Daniel Porter, Poppy Xander, Marcus Roberts, Thiago X Nascimento
Pick: Poppy Xander
Speaking of! If you’ve ever seen The Polyphonic Spree live, you know just how chaotic it can be. Their on-stage product is something of a musical assault on your senses, with over twenty robe-clad musicians all flourishing at once. In the face of it all, you can’t take your eyes off of Poppy Xander, the grooving pianist in the far right corner. It’s a magnetism that seems impossible given the nature of Polyphonic shows, but a magnetism that’s well worth this award.
Cool thing recommendation: Poppy hosts an annual Christmas Eve livestream that benefits those without homes in DFW, watch this 2023 event here.
Arts and Culture Journalist of the Year: Alex Gonzalez, Jessica Waffles, Stephanie Salas Vega, Bryson “BOOM” Paul, Preston Jones
It’s curious, that the exceptional arts and culture journalist putting this very piece together wasn’t nominated. Jokes aside, all five of these reporters do great work in fostering the local arts scene. Each are well-deserving of recognition.
Super cool arts and culture article recommendation: Finding Identity in a City Without One
Best Traditional Pop Artist, Group or Band: The Reveler’s Hall Band, Danni & Kris, The Rosemont Kings, Club Wood, Miss Marcy & Texas Sugar Daddies
Pick: Club Wood
“Jonathan, who goes by “Johnny Tone” on stage, serves as the frontman and guitarist for Club Wood, a funky New Orleans jazz outfit that has played around Dallas since 2009.
“Music was a salvation for me,” Johnny says. “It gave me a purpose when other people around me didn’t have it.”” – This father-son duo plays together to stay together, Lakewood Advocate
Album Of The Year: Believe – Justin Lyons, A Fish Without A Bicycle – The WRLDFMS Tony Williams, AMPHORA – Lily Taylor, Live in Paris – RC & The Gritz, Love, Jeff – Uncle JeffQ
Pick: A Fish Without A Bicycle – The WRLDFMS Tony Williams
The WRLDFMS Tony Williams crafted one of the smoothest albums of the year. It’s carefree, slick RnB that sounds like a beautiful summer day. The release marks his first full record since 2012, and should mark the first album of the year award along with it.
Song recommendation: “Fork In The Road”
Best Arts and Culture Blog: Dallas Morning News/KERA, Voyage Dallas, Cosign Magazine, Art & Seek, Dallas Observer
Awkward…
Best magazine ever recommendation: Advocate Magazine
Best Jazz Artist, Group or Band: Shelley Carrol, Ashleigh Smith, Bishop Arts Hot Six, The GJQ, THE FUNKY KNUCKLES
Best Saxophonist: Shelley Carrol, Christian Ortiz, Andrew Garfias, Jason Davis, Jonathan Mones
Pick(s): Shelley Carrol
“Shelley Carrol was always going to be a musician.
His mother was a celebrated educator with multiple degrees in music and the arts. His three older siblings performed together in a family singing group that he was too young to join. He grew up in Houston, singing in the city’s Boys Choir, church and school. During the holidays, he and his siblings would perform a talent show for each other in front of the Christmas tree.
“There were musical instruments around my house all the time,” he says. “We all took piano lessons from Mrs. Smith, the same lady who taught my mother when she was a child.”
Music is second to breathing in Carrol’s life.” – Jazz man Shelley Carrol can’t help but play, Oak Cliff Advocate
Best Portrait Photographer: Kathy Tran, Mark Myers, Will Von Bolton, Maiartmedia, Yohance Parker
Pick: Kathy Tran
“Always drawn to art, she went to a magnet school beginning in seventh grade. Her American parents took her to museums and pushed her to explore the arts. She dabbled in other art forms, but paintings don’t dry fast enough, and art is often a lonely experience. Photography is fast-paced, filled with human interaction.” – Fit for a photographer: Inside Kathy Tran’s East Kessler home, Oak Cliff Advocate
Best Latin Artist/ Group/ Band: Ceci Ceci, Los Gran Reyes, Sabor Puro Cumbia, Cayuga All-Stars, Muriel
Pick: Sabor Puro Cumbia
No one gets a crowd moving by Sabor Puro, usually because lead singer Sylvia Garcia is in the crowd herself. At almost every one of their shows, she exits the stage to groove her way through the crowd, finding a new dance partner at every step and leaving a trail of smiles in her wake.
Championed by Garcia’s charisma, Sabor Puro remains one of the best tickets in town.
Recommendation: You HAVE to see them live.
