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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMusic Safari started during the pandemic lockdown in Oak Cliff. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMusic Safari started during the pandemic lockdown in Oak Cliff. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Kathy Tran<\/p>\n
Launched in 2020 by singer and former Kessler Park resident Floramay Holliday, Music Safari began as a community effort, with local musicians performing on the front lawns of houses in the neighborhood at a time when people were feeling cooped up by COVID. Holliday has since moved from the house, which was purchased by Dallas photographer (and Observer contributor) Kathy Tran in 2022. In the years since, Tran has carried on the beloved event on the same lawn.<\/p>\n
Thirteen performers will perform at six participating houses in a 1.5-mile loop in the neighborhood.<\/a> Tran\u2019s house often serves as the final stop during Music Safari<\/a>. Festivities will begin throughout the neighborhood at 2 p.m., and while most of the homes will wrap by 5 p.m., Tran plans to keep her party going into the evening. Among the performers are Scuttino, Cure for Paranoia<\/a>, Chef Dee and Chloe Hart, the latter of whom won her opening slot in an open-call contest.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is our first time running an emerging artist contest,\u201d Tran says. \u201cSo we did an open call for artists in Dallas, and then we had 15 people who applied. And then, collaborator Musicade helped narrow down the top four. We ran it on Instagram as a poll, and people voted for the artists, and Chloe Hart won 50% of the votes.\u201d<\/p>\n Getting by With Help From a Friend<\/p>\n Musicade, which launched this past August, was founded by Jerome Dotson. The platform serves as a \u201cmarketplace for music operators\u201d to source musicians, instrumentalists, DJs and sound experts for events. Dotson and Tran first partnered for Music Safari last year, months before Musicade officially launched on the App Store. At the time, Tran was considering backing out of Music Safari because the logistics were becoming taxing. Dotson presented a solution to optimize the inner mechanics of the beloved music series.<\/p>\n \u201c[Tran] told me at the time she was thinking about canceling it that year,\u201d Dotson says. \u201cShe was like, \u2018Well, it\u2019s just a lot of work. I don\u2019t really have the manpower. I could really use a lot of help.\u2019 And so that\u2019s how the conversation started. Like, \u2018Well, what would that look like if I were to come on with you and collaborate?\u2019 We just clicked really easily and talked about our goals, our visions and things we do.\u201d<\/p>\n The initial collaboration proved successful, as Tran used Musicade to streamline the booking process and allow fans to tip artists directly. Given the collaboration\u2019s success, Dotson is looking forward to running it back this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA couple times, I heard a lot of the people that bought tickets say that they discovered new artists,\u201d Dotson says. \u201c\u2026 To me, that\u2019s the whole point. We\u2019re introducing artists to people here in Dallas and saying, \u2018These are artists that are in your city that are often performing and putting out new music, and you should know who they are.\u2019 That\u2019s something I\u2019m hoping to see again, and not just the artist side, but also for sponsors. I heard this group of girls is like, \u2018Oh my God, I don\u2019t drink beer, but this is really good.\u2019 And that was a Dallas-based beer as well. The whole thing is about being able to introduce Dallas brands and artists to the community and let them know this is who\u2019s around you.\u201d<\/p>\n Local Lineup<\/p>\n