Music makes you feel things – sometimes it aches, sometimes it soars, sometimes it shakes the ground under your feet. That’s the spirit at the heart of Gazed and Confused Fest, a new three-day event landing at Puzzles in Deep Ellum from March 20 – 22. Instead of sticking to a single sound, the festival brings together a vibrant mix of alternative, metal and shoegaze bands.
The idea for the festival sparked, as many great ideas do, from a moment of inspiration at another festival. Jewel Patani, co-founder, talent buyer and executive assistant at Third String Entertainment, was at South by Southwest with Third String co-founder Mike Ziemer when the two noticed a distinct trend.
“We were just seeing a lot of these really cool shoegazey, emo rock acts,” Patani tells the Observer.
The energy was undeniable, sparking a renaissance of fuzz and feeling. Ziemer turned to Patani with a simple but bold idea: create a festival to showcase these incredible up-and-coming artists. The name came to him just as quickly.
“He was like, ‘What if it was called Gazed and Confused?’ And I was like, ‘That is actually a perfect name,” Patani says with a laugh, acknowledging the clever nod to the classic Texas film, Dazed and Confused.
With the name set, Patani was given the reins to curate a lineup that would embody the festival’s spirit. Her vision wasn’t just to stack bands from one specific genre, but to create a dynamic, whiplash-inducing experience. She wanted to blend artists who were “similar, but also very different,” giving attendees a journey through the vast emotional landscape of modern alternative music.
The result is a lineup that feels both cohesive and wonderfully unpredictable, featuring headliners like Bleed, Pool Kids and HolyWatr alongside a deep roster of regional and touring talent. It’s a testament to the thriving, interconnected scenes bubbling just beneath the mainstream.
Dallas is in the DNA
One of those vital scenes lives right here in Dallas-Fort Worth. For the members of post-hardcore outfit Gene Ross, DFW is an essential part of their creative DNA.
“I love playing in DFW because it’s a melting pot, and you get to work with people that have such diverse influences from you,” says guitarist Trent Adams. “But we’re all unified through the same values that this culture and scene hold.”
Lead guitarist Jacob Barton agrees, describing the local music space as less of an industry and more of an “environment.”
“There’s a really strong sense of community amongst bands and artists,” Barton says. “Anybody working in music here, [we’re] very closely intertwined. And I think it’s really cool and very unique amongst large music areas that there’s just such a strong sense of community here.”
Gene Ross will bring a dynamic energy and unique sound to the festival’s opening night.
This sense of community is palpable in the band’s music. Though their sound is a bruising, intricate blend of metalcore and post-hardcore, it’s built on a foundation of friendship and shared passion. The project began as a solo endeavor for vocalist Gene Orozco but transformed as each member brought their own unique flavor to the table.
“There was a lot of common ground that we could all pull from. And I think that was metalcore,” Orozco says. “That is what bridges the gap between everybody, while also having the diverse music tastes that everyone has, which I think is really incredible.”
From the melodic, “corny shit” that Barton loves to write, to the collaborative spirit that ensures every member’s influence is felt, Gene Ross embodies the very fusion that Gazed and Confused aims to champion. They are a product of a scene that encourages both diversity and unity, a perfect fit for the festival’s Friday night lineup in Dallas.
Also on the bill for the festival’s final night are Daze, a Houston-based band whose sound lives in the dreamy, heavy territory where shoegaze crashes into something much darker. For frontwoman Nikki Perez, joining the festival was a no-brainer, especially with one particular band on the lineup.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I have to open for Bleed, this is the only way I’m gonna see them live,’” she tells us.
A Festival That’s Both Up-Close and Personal
Perez’s excitement speaks to the fan-first mentality that runs through this festival. The lineup is packed with bands that other bands are genuinely excited to see, including Dallas’ own Slow Joy, a standout local talent whose presence is a testament to the city’s vibrant alternative scene. Perez notes that Daze has crossed paths with several other artists on the bill, including a mini-run with Slow Joy and a memorable show at Dallas’ Black Cat Records ‘N’ Comics with Fort Worth’s Somebody Else, who also play Sunday. This web of connections reinforces the sense of community that both Patani and the members of Gene Ross highlighted.
Daze’s music is a powerful alchemy of sound and soul. Perez describes their style as “heavy-ish shoegaze” with pretty, ethereal parts reminiscent of Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star. But beneath the layers of reverb and distortion, the songs are fiercely personal.
“The lyrics are straight from my journal,” Perez says. “Everything lyrically comes from something that hurt me.”
As a Mexican-American woman fronting a band in a genre that hasn’t always been the most diverse, her voice carries a particular weight and urgency. The music often reflects her sense of being marginalized and how that experience fuels the passion and poetry in her songwriting. It’s a reminder that even the heaviest, most aggressive music can be a vessel for profound vulnerability and feeling. What might sound like screaming and noise from the outside is, for those who connect with it, a deeply emotional and cathartic release.
The full line-up for Gazed and Confused Fest in March.
Courtesy of Third String Entertainment
This is the core truth of Gazed and Confused. It’s a festival for people who feel music deeply. It’s for the fans who crave the intimacy of a smaller venue, who want to be close enough to see the sweat and passion on an artist’s face. The entire festival will take place on a single stage at Puzzles, a 500-capacity room that promises an up-close and personal experience.
“I just feel like this kind of niche, smaller-scaled festival is what people need rather than paying outrageous pricing for a one-day pass to one of those mega festivals,” Patani says.
Being that it’s an inaugural event, Patani acknowledges the festival might come with a few learning curve moments, but her ultimate goal is simple and pure.
“I just want people to have a good time and enjoy themselves in this smaller, intimate festival,” she says.
It’s a space curated by a genuine love for the music and the community that surrounds it. From the DFW metalcore revival that Gene Ross drummer Jack Wagner sees happening to the grimy, artistic inspiration Perez finds in Houston, Gazed and Confused is a snapshot of a moment. It’s a platform for the next wave of artists who are pushing boundaries, blending genres and pouring their whole hearts into the noise they make. It is, as the poster promises, “the emo-indie-grunge gaze-rock mini-fest of your dreams.”
Tickets for Gazed and Confused Fest are available now. Three-day passes are about $115, with individual days priced at $40–$50. All performances will take place at Puzzles (2824 Main St.) in Deep Ellum.