Venue News

Mark Cuban's new concert venue HiFi Dallas is ready to rumble

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The incomparable Gary Clark, Jr.

Photo by Daniel Cavazos

UPDATE 8-25-2021: This weekend's Gary Clark Jr. concerts have been moved to House of Blues, per the Live Nation website, and will no longer be the inaugural shows at HiFi Dallas. The Leon Bridges show scheduled for September 11 at HiFi has been moved to Southside Ballroom. According to a Facebook post from opener Abraham Alexander, the change is due to construction delays at HiFi.

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After a false start in 2020, The HiFi Dallas — the new upscale venue in the Design District from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban — is ready to rumble.

According to a release, the venue will open on August 29, coming out of the gate with a three-night stand, from August 29-31, by Texas singer-guitarist Gary Clark Jr.

A schedule with more than 20 artists is already confirmed that includes established touring artists as well as local musicians on the rise, from Utah alt-pop act The Aces to L.A. DJ act Boombox Cartel to rapper Princess Nokia, doing her first headlining tour. Tickets are now available at TheHiFiDallas.com, and more shows and details will be announced.

The venue was originally set to debut in March 2020, and unveiled an opening lineup back in February. But then you-know-what came along and put everything on hold. (Info on refunds is here.)

Located at 1323 N. Stemmons Fwy., HiFi is in a former warehouse/furniture store, next door to the Mavericks training facility, sort of "across the freeway" from American Airlines Center (on the west side of I-35 rather than east).

It's a two-story building with 25,000 square feet and capacity of 1,000. It's managed by Venue Nation, a newly created affiliate of Live Nation that is a venue management company with more 200 owned-and-operated venues. Venue Nation strives to provide a one-of-a-kind experience that includes food & beverage partnerships, VIP/premium seats, special event services, and more.

Sherri Sosa, who was appointed president of Venue Nation in April, says in a statement that they're excited to open the club which she says will provide a new platform for artists and bring more live music to Dallas.

"There is no other venue in the area that provides fans an intimate experience at every show the way The HiFi in Dallas does," Sosa says.

Features include an immersive sound system, a concert hall with an open floor surrounded by sound-enhanced walls and floors, and luminescent lighting that changes throughout the evening.

The HiFi Dallas also has an outdoor patio and parking hosted on-site, including optional valet, and rideshare access.

The HiFi Dallas Grand Opening Concert Lineup is as follows:

Sunday, August 29-Tuesday August 31 – Gary Clark Jr.
Thursday, September 9 – Omah Lay
Wednesday, September 29 – Chet Faker with Thunder Jackson
Thursday, September 30 – Noga Erez
Saturday, October 2 – Princess Nokia
Friday, October 8 – Sub Urban & Bella Poarch
Friday, October 15 – Anderson East
Saturday, October 16 – Andy Mineo
Sunday, October 24 – Ruston Kelly with Margaret Glaspy
Saturday, November 6 – Madison Beer
Saturday, November 13 – Goose
Friday, November 19 – Cory and the Wongnotes featuring Antwan Stanley
Sunday, November 28 – CloZee with Of The Trees and Tripp St.
Friday, December 3 – Boombox Cartel
Saturday, December 18 – The Aces
Sunday, January 9, 2022 – Mother Mother
Monday, April 18, 2022 – Ashe

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Listen up

Underground hi-fi 'listening bar' Shyboy opens in downtown Dallas

Photo courtesy of Shyboy

Shyboy lounge is new on Main Street in downtown Dallas.

A new lounge is turning up the volume beneath the streets of downtown Dallas: Shyboy, billed as Dallas' first "hi fi bar," will debut at 1313 Main St., in the subterranean level of The Drakestone building.

According to a release, opening weekend events will take place March 4-7.

The new nightlife concept comes from The Headington Companies, the folks behind the Joule hotel and other Main Street developments.

"Inspired by hi-fi listening bars around the world, with roots in Tokyo’s post-WWII 'jazz kissas,' Shyboy offers a social and listening experience unlike any other nightlife space, with progressive, genre-bending programming, signature hi-balls and cocktails, and two state-of-the-art OJAS sound systems, designed by Devon Turnbull," says the release. (Turnbull's speakers have been used in projects with Mark Ronson, Public Records in Brooklyn, and more.)

Jazz kissas are cafes that specialize in the playing of and listening to recorded jazz music; here, jazz is played for active listening rather than as background serenade.

Piggybacking on that idea, Shyboy will offer "an immersive environment where design, lighting, and atmosphere are treated as essential elements of the performance, inviting guests into a unique experience that blurs the line between listener and participant," they say.

The 3,000-square-foot underground space, once a bank vault in the historic Davis Building (renovated and rebranded as The Drakestone residential building in 2017), will house one of the most advanced sound systems in the city within its historic concrete "bones." Interiors were designed by acclaimed Dallas-based 5G Studio Collaborative.

The venue includes two distinct spaces. The main room functions as a social listening environment, where towering speakers double as sculptural focal points beneath curved underground ceilings.

A second chamber, called The Vault, is designed as a more intimate lounge for private events, sound classes, performances, and art exhibitions. The Vault’s entrance features an installation from artist Lachlan Turczan’s Optical Resonance series, which uses water and light to visibly respond to sound waves, the release says. The room also includes a newly commissioned reflective sculpture by Florentine artist Duccio Maria Gambi.

Shyboy’s inaugural month will include a lineup spanning house, deep grooves, soul, and global dance sounds. Opening weekend, March 4-7, will welcome talent like JT Donaldson (Shyboy music director), Dallas legend Red Eye, Sound Advice Vol. 1, Skeme Richards, Patrice Scott + Brandon Epocha, and Wamono Nights.

The calendar later in the year will feature appearances by celebrated DJs and producers such as Theo Parrish, Derrick Carter, Eli Escobar, Kai Alcé, and the Los Angeles-based listening collective In Sheep’s Clothing.

Shyboy’s cocktail menu starts at $13, and the bar will serve soft-serve ice cream.

Throughout March, there will be no cover charge for entry; for more information, visit the venue's website.

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