It's the fans who tell us who the best rapper in North Texas, and right now the people are championing BashForTheWorld. An original who blends a unique bilingual Southern rap style delivered in a signature lingo, he personifies self-made. During the first half of 2024, his music amassed more than 800,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, driven entirely by a loyal fanbase, and he mesmerized as a featured artist at the biggest festivals. Then, he partnered with Live Nation to take over the nation with his sold-out "From Dallas with Love" tour. To show his love and respect for the city that made him a superstar, Bash brought two local artists on the 23-city tour to open his shows. Mundo, his third album, released in March, is a classic. On 11 tracks, Third Coast's representative tells an unconventional story about choices made for survival and their various results. It's his honesty that draws crowds. and his aura that makes them addicts

This Fry Street favorite encompasses everything a good college bar should have: cheap drinks, friendly staff and good vibes. Lucky Lou's is the perfect place for Denton 20-somethings to enjoy a post-class nightcap or weekend day drink. With a spacious indoor area and outdoor patio complete with plasma screens, foosball, pool tables and darts, Lou's is great for a night out with tons of old friends or a solo venture to make some new ones. Boozers on a budget can take advantage of drink specials every day of the week, including $3 frozen margs, Long Islands and doubles. We recommend stopping by on Tuesday Pint Nights, a fan favorite event where you can buy a select $5 beer and keep the glass. It's one of Denton's original craft beer bars, and the 75+ tap, bottle and can options leave plenty to be explored by both longtime beer snobs and hopheads-in-training.

Most of the music spaces in Dallas (and indeed, North Texas as a whole) are geared more toward having a good time than necessarily, y'know, hearing the acts performing for the gathered crowd. One exception to that rule — one that vigorously enforces its standards — is Oak Cliff's jewel of a listening room, the Kessler Theater. All manner of artists have passed across its stage since it reopened in 2010, from hip-hop to alt-country to rockabilly. It remains the only venue to frequent if you really want to appreciate — and hear — music performed at a peerless level.

What was once the province of grade-school field trips is now your favorite local musician's favorite place to stage a unique live experience. The University of Texas at Arlington's planetarium plays host on a semi-monthly basis to a concert series featuring North Texas talent such as Bosque Brown, Helium Queens and Brigitte Mena.

It's easy enough to get lost in the Josey Records flagship location in North Dallas. After all, you're talking about a record store spread across 25,000 square feet, but tucked inside Josey Records is a journey to the past you can walk around in. As we noted earlier this year, the abundance of pop cultural artifacts salvaged by the Josey Records crew from the late, great Bill's Records practically qualifies the store as a museum unto itself — albeit one where you can grab another vinyl copy of Cowboy Carter on the way out.

Alt-rocker Slow Joy, a New Mexico native, has been making music since 2020. After finding some success on TikTok in 2022, he released his second EP in June. Otherwise known as Esteban Flores, he joined with producer Mike Sapone at Barbershop Studios in New Jersey to create a sound inspired by '90s alt-rock groups that also pays tribute to his Mexican heritage. "I've really just been listening to the heroes of rock music. So the music is just a lot more simple, but a lot more straightforward and poignant. It's just a picture of things to come," Flores says. His 2024 EP Mi Amigo Slow Joy is one of the unmissable releases of 2024. We're ready to see Slow Joy blow up.

One of the greatest things about small venues is that they guarantee an intimate concert, which means smelling the sweat coming off the performer and not from the whole row sitting invasively close to you. Even better, it means having easy access to the bar. Absolutely best of all, you don't have to deal with the parking inferno that builds around stadium concerts. Tulips in Fort Worth is known for its great ambiance and service, and this jewel of a venue shines brightest with its programming: from Russian political pariahs Pussy Riot, themed nights such as "Flirty Pop" — or even a Minion Rave — to North Texas greats (Polyphonic Spree) and up-and-comers (Henry the Archer), you'll always find an act worth watching. The bar stays open after shows, which is another point over big venues. Come for the bands, stay for a patio hang.

Between AI and man-powered software, the art of music playing seems to be becoming a noble pursuit. Nobody is doing it better than Dallas musician Kenneth Pritchard (Dead Mockingbirds, Frances Heidy) — winner and nominee of several Dallas Observer Music Awards. Pritchard, a longtime teacher with a degree in instrumental performance from Columbia College Chicago, opened the Pritchard School of Music in Garland prepandemic, showing off students' efforts through showcases at venues such as Intrinsic Brewery. The Garland school is moving to a smaller space in Richardson, but the instruction remains just as expertly dedicated. Learning an instrument has been proven to improve memory and combat stress, and hanging around rock musicians has been proven to make you cool.

For 65 years, the Dallas Theater Center (DTC) has entertained audiences with iconic performances, productions and Tony Awards-winning entertainment. While star-studded appearances often fit the bill, it's the contributions of Dallas community members in the DTC Public Works program that often shine. Known to "deliberately blur the line between professional artists and Dallas community members," the Public Works program casts everyday people for top-tier theatrics. These centerstage stars are the heartbeats of the show, making a DTC performance not only fun to attend, but inspiring as well.

Can we let you in on a little Best of Dallas inside secret? We have a general rule here that we don't give the same place the same award two years in a row because we want to share the love and keep an eye out for new places. But the fact is that some places are simply the best, year in and year out, and in the case of Best Country Bar there is only one Adair's Saloon. (We'd retire this category, but we'd hate for all those California transplants new to town to overlook it, particularly any from around Bakersfield.) Born on Cedar Springs in 1963 before moving to Deep Ellum 1982, Adair's brings in musicians playing the best of outlaw country, and, according to the joint's history page, "Jack Ingram, Deryl Dodd and members of The Dixie Chicks have graced the stage." It also serves a great burger, sandwiches and wings that won't tap your wallet much.