Deep Vellum is launching its first-ever Music and Literature Festival in Dallas this weekend, with events running from Friday evening through Sunday. The three-day gathering takes place across 11 venues in the Deep Ellum neighborhood, an area that inspired the nonprofit’s name.
Award-winning poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib and musician Jamila Woods are scheduled to headline the festival. Both artists will perform at Sons of Hermann Hall on Saturday, July 11. Lawrence Burney and DAMOYEE are also listed to perform during the headlining event.
Abdurraqib, who is from Columbus, Ohio, recently won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism for his book "There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension." Woods, a multidisciplinary artist from Chicago, released her latest album, "Water Made Us," which explores themes of love and surrender.
The festival lineup includes more than 60 literary and music artists. Daytime events require registration but are free to attend. Evening performances are available for purchase. Will Evans, the founder and CEO of Deep Vellum, stated that the organization expects thousands of attendees for the inaugural event.
Deep Vellum, established in 2013, operates as a publishing house, bookstore, and literary arts center. Evans described the festival as a way to celebrate the Deep Ellum community and the broader Dallas literary ecosystem. He emphasized the organization’s mission to bring prominent writers to Dallas and foster dialogue between authors and readers.
