If you have a local music lover to buy for this holiday season, there are plenty of options. From tickets to a show to a greeting from a local artist to books and new albums, we have some suggestions that will hit all the right notes this year.
Books
There are at least two fairly recent books about Willie Nelson that have recently hit bookstores. Energy Follows the Thought was published this fall and includes the stories behind 160 of Nelson’s favorite songs and an assortment of never-before-seen photos. Me and Paul: Untold Stories of a Fabled Friendship tells the story of Nelson’s relationship with longtime drummer Paul English. (We included an excerpt in our January 2023 issue.)
Also check out: Pickers and Poets: The Ruthlessly Poetic Singer-Songwriters of Texas, Without Getting Killed or Caught: The Life and Music of Guy Clark, Comin’ Right At Ya, Maybe We’ll Make It, and Cedar: The Life and Music of Cedar Walton.
Seasons Greetings
At least a dozen artists with ties to North Texas will—for a fee—send a video greeting to your favorite music lover. On a 20-minute sweep of the celebrity video message app Cameo, we found Lisa Loeb, Randy Rogers, Hayes Carll, Old 97s bassist Murry Hammond, LeAnn Rimes, The Reverend Horton Heat, Butthole Surfers bassist JD Pinkus, Vanilla Ice, and Slim Thug. A few more—including Butthole Surfers lead singer Gibby Haynes—occasionally take video requests.
Texas Tunes
This month the Polyphonic Spree released Salvage Enterprise, its first studio album of original music in 10 years. (You can hear frontman Tim DeLaughter talk about it on a recent episode of EarBurner here.) We say that the album would make a great gift. Pick it up at the band’s annual Holiday Extravaganza at the Majestic Theater on December 15 and 16 or at local music stores like Good Records.
Joshua Ray Walker released two albums this year, but only one can be purchased: What Is It Even? —wherein Walker takes on songs made famous by female artists, paying tribute to them. You can pick it up on vinyl or CD. Fort Worth’s Abraham Alexander released his debut album, SEA/SONS this summer, and you can still snag an autographed copy. And for that country music lover, the entire collection of artists who have recorded live sets at Billy Bob’s Texas can be found on the honky tonk’s website—everyone from the late Charlie Robison to Willie Nelson to Tanya Tucker. Want more local music? State Fair Records’ artists are from North Texas, and you can purchase their albums on vinyl, CD, and cassette tape.
And keep your eyes peeled for a second pressing of the Texas Wild album on vinyl. Benefiting the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, the album features songs written by or sung by Texas artists and performed by other Texas artists, including Ryan Bingham, The Toadies, Sarah Jaffe, and more. The album is sold out, but fingers crossed that a few more copies are available before Christmas.
Want to let your music-loving friend pick their own music? Pick up a gift card from Josey Records, Good Records, Half Price Books, Spinster Records, and Top Ten Records.
Live Music Lovers
There is a bumper crop of live music coming to the area this winter and spring. For example, you can pick up tickets for Itzhak Perlman at the Winspear Opera House on Jan. 15, Lucinda Williams at the Longhorn Ballroom on Jan. 18, Judy Collins at the Eisemann Center in Richardson on Jan. 27, Yo La Tengo at the Longhorn Ballroom on Feb. 22, Fall Out Boy at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on March 7, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on March 9, and Madonna at American Airlines Center on March 24.
You can also let your bestie pick their own show—Live Nation, StubHub, Ticketmaster, AT&T Performing Arts Center, and Vivid Seats all offer gift cards.
New Gear
Let your friend or loved one make their own sweet music with some new gear. Head to 2018 Best of Big D winner Tone Shop Guitars for a new Fender, Gibson, or Martin. (Or snag a gift card.) Or support other small artisans like Odin Leatherworks (where you can pick up a leather guitar strap) or local artisan Joel Favor, who uses recycled materials to make gorgeous, one-of-a-kind instruments for his Wastella Instruments. (He also makes more traditional wares, too).
Pure Nostalgia
What do you buy the music lover who has everything? A trip back in time. You can head to eBay to find all kinds of memorabilia, including this autographed CD from a 2007 Toadies show, concert posters from U2’s 2001 visit to Dallas or Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn’s 1974 show at the Fort Worth Civic Center, or a framed and signed CD commemorating George Strait’s 2004 live show with Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett at Texas Stadium.
You can also go shopping for memorabilia in person next week. Julien’s Auctions will host “The Collection of Dusty HIll of ZZ Top,” a three-day event held on Dec. 7-9 at 915 Slocum. Many of Hill’s instruments are being auctioned off, including the fur bass guitar played in the band’s “Legs” music video and his 1960s Fender with the pinstriping used in the “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Sharp Dressed Man” videos. The auction will also offer several of Hill’s jackets and his MTV Moonman statuette presented to the group for the video for “Legs” in 1984, and more.
Author
