Photography by Austin Marc Graf.
Since the summer of 2023, Ladylove Lounge & Sound has become a hot spot for record-loving bar crawlers of Oak Cliff. And some high profile individuals have started to take notice.
During 2025, artists such as Doechii and Janet Jackson have made appearances at Ladylove following shows at Toyota Music Factory and the Cotton Bowl, respectively.
And the staff member making these seamless celebrity visits happen is Kate Siamro, co-owner of Ladylove. We caught up with her to learn what goes into hosting Billboard musicians and what’s to come in the new year.
When a celebrity decides to stop by, what does the coordination look like behind the scenes?
It depends. With someone as big as Janet Jackson or Doechii, usually there’s definitely security showing up beforehand to see if our space is built correctly for them to be able to come through. And then it’s also coordinating, even with their PR person, where we’re not posting about it while they’re there, so they can enjoy themselves without getting bombarded by fans. There’s a lot of prep, I’m the main person that they go through, which is awesome. And we have a really great security squad. The security in the space, I usually connect with their management too, so they just know that we’re doing everything right, and we’re a safe space.
Then there’s other times where a celebrity will just randomly show up and we don’t even know they’re there until it’s posted on their Instagram or someone points them out. And in that case, I mean, I always tell our entire staff, ‘Everyone’s a human, they just come in and have a good time. Just treat them like anybody else.’ I always want people to just feel comfortable when they come into the space and have a good time.
Give us a recap of your most memorable artists that stopped by this year. When you see these artists enjoying themselves in your venue, how does that feel?
My personal favorite was The Marías. I had to try and not geek out on them. And I love Doechii and Janet Jackson too. I was losing it, but The Marías was interesting. Josh, who’s in the band, is also a DJ. He produces for the band as well. He was looking for a DJ spot for an after party, and immediately I was like, ‘Yes, absolutely. Let’s sign this up.’ We went through his agency to book him as a DJ. But their whole band came out, and they were just so cool and fun. They were just ready to party. And everyone who was here too, they knew beforehand. That was definitely one of those situations where it wasn’t a surprise to anyone. If you liked The Marías, you knew that they were coming to Ladylove afterwards. Everyone here was very emotional and respectful, but it was also a really beautiful moment. Everyone was just kind of like, ‘Whoa. We’re watching The Marías in Oak Cliff DJ a set at this tiny bar.’
I like when Leon Bridges comes in, because he has just such style, like, the man has so much sauce. Everytime I see him, I’m looking at his fit. I’m just like, ‘Man, those shoes are really nice.’ He’s kind of upped the game … whenever he’s come to our bar, he has such good fashion sense. Another one, they’re kind of an older act, but The Budos Band had their after party here. I love Budos Band, I collect their records. That was with Luke Sardello, who owns Josey Records. We work with him here and there. And that was just really cool, because of the appreciation of vinyl DJing, which is what we initially were opening with. That was really emotional, because I collect his music. I like his productions. It’s wild. I’m like, ‘Wow, we built this booth, and people are in it that we are really influenced by and inspired by.’
Local DJs have helped you build connections far beyond Texas. How did such a small venue end up on the map for big names?
So usually two ways. One way would be through Instagram, and luckily, we have a decent presence online, so we’ll have people reach out, and they’ll be like, ‘Hey, I’m so-and-so, I’m from Miami. I’m coming through.’ And I always try to pair them with another DJ in the area that I think would be good because no one will bring out a crowd as much as a local DJ will, regardless of the name of another DJ, just because they have their homies. They have their crew, and people do show up for local. When we do get outside acts through, I try to pair them with local people. Also, I like it because it kind of builds a connection between the two of them, so you’re kind of expanding their network as well. It’s kind of a win win, right?
The other way is we do have DJs that bring people to us. It’s cool, because then you have this connection where you’re like, ‘Oh, now we’re connected to him, because DJ Sober, and we have a residency with him.’ And it just expands. It’s just this web that gets bigger and bigger, and with the DJs that have residencies with us, like Fab Roc, DJ Sober, Wanz Dover, all those DJs. I trust their judgment, because they’re really good at what they do, and they’re really sincere, kind people. So when they say they’re going to bring someone in, I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be good.’ And then it’s just figuring out a proper budget for it.
What’s to come for 2026 with Ladylove?
We’re looking to expand. We are thinking of expansion, but we’ll probably stay in our neck of the woods and we’ll probably only do something that really hits home with us. I’m not looking to join a restaurant group. We’re record shop people. We just like to DJ and we like to throw parties. I could never see us doing something that wouldn’t be true to who we are and what we like. But that’s in the game. The hyper focus for me here in the new year is just really good programming, bringing in new names, trying to test new genres. I feel like the ingredients are working. I don’t want to mess with the concoction too much and ruin it. I kind of like what it has already in the space.
I will say that people are always getting on to us about our bathroom line. We might close down and finally get a third restroom, because that would be a game changer, more than anything else, is a third bathroom. We do have a late night kitchen, and it’s actually going in full force right now. Thomas Tilton-Heylin, he’s the chef, and he’s killing it. He’s doing this really great menu. There’s no more food pop-ups like there used to be. If someone had a hot dog cart in the center of Bishop Arts on a Saturday, it would make so much money. I feel like it’s kind of our job right now. We’re trying to make sure when people are drinking here, or they’re hanging out, they’re getting fed like a house. We’re like a home. We’re like, ‘Oh, please have a few macaroni salads before you leave here, make sure you’re like, good to go, you know?’ That’s a big thing for us right now. We’re trying to make sure we have late night food happening, and people can take it to go if they walk home through their apartment. We’re also pedestrian in this area, so I kind of love that people drink here, eat here, and then just walk home.
We are trying to work with more benefits. We’re working with everything from homelessness to the queer community, trying to get money to people. I think that’s important. People who need lawyers in immigration. That’s a big one. I do want to make the space philanthropic too, and I think it is our job. Any bar that considers themselves a community bar needs to be pulling that slack. I think it’s really important. And it kind of feels good when you’re getting a drink and you know the percentage of the cocktails going to something good. You know, you’re like, ‘Oh, hell yeah, I’m getting drunk and it’s going to a good cause.’ I think that’s like a fun way to get people involved and put a little bit more care into what’s around us. That’s a big one.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.