by Sarah Crisman

We select three dark horses of the North Texas scene -- you may or may not be familiar with them, but that hasn't stopped them from building a solid foundation of incredible music.

Our music scene essentially involves a galaxy of incestuous small towns mingling a few dozen musicians into a handful of acts. This weekend we bring your attention to a few acts not meant to fall between the cracks of short-sighted musical reporting -- my job is to unearth as much quality, homegrown music for you as possible, and not just bang on about the same three bands week after week.

Thursday

It is difficult to ignore the influence of one particular high school on the brightest talent hailing from North Texas and beyond. From the halls that trained Erykah Badu and Roy Hargove come the bleeding edge of tomorrow's soul stars. See if you can pick out a prodigy or two during tonight's ensemble performance at Jazz in the Atrium.

Friday

Following the dark currents of the underground scene is never a boring task. Darktown Strutters have evidently entranced a cult following (no doubt helped by their opening spot for School of Seven Bells and Black Moth Super Rainbow -- one of Denton's most talked about shows this year). The hypnotic electronic manipulations mixed with haunting vocals and jarring key changes could very well leave you bewitched at the spot.

Saturday

George Neal has done it again. Though this is the Slow Burners' first full-length album release, the voices are a familiar cornerstone of North Texas music. The bastard love child of the Little Grizzly frontman and Sunday Drive (a previous incarnation of RTB2) dropped last week, and it's time for Dallas to listen in to This is Where We Fight.

What do you think?