Cure for Paranoia performing at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas as part of the Dallas Arts District Pride Block Party

Don Louis at Trees with Ralyn Gayle and Cameron Ray

Nightshade Burlesque kicks off Pride month at The Cicada in Fort Worth

Photos of Mini Kiss at Trees in Deep Ellum (Dallas), Texas

Lords of Acid at Trees with Dead on a Sunday, Princess Superstar, Tony & The Kiki, and Mz Neon

Trauma Ray with Glixen, Keep, and Money at Trees in Deep Ellum (Dallas), Texas

Photos of There I Ruined it performing live at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, Texas

Photos from walking around on day 1 of the Deep Ellum Community Arts Festival

Waja at the Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair in Dallas, Texas.

Sunn O))) at Trees in Deep Ellum (Dallas), Texas

Photos from Carousel Club Burlesque at Tannahill’s in Fort Worth, Texas

Photos of Faith Alexa, Cole Dagen, and Piper Byers performing at Three Links in Deep Ellum (Dallas), Texas

There’s a quiet but unmistakable shift happening right now. Gen Z (and younger millennials right behind them) are pushing back against the hyper-digital, always-on, algorithm-fed existence they grew up in. You see it in the resurgence of vinyl records, the carefully curated CD collections, the rebirth of scrapbooking and journaling. There’s a craving for texture, for tangibility, for something that exists outside the glow of a screen.

But if we’re going to talk about analog experiences (real ones, lived ones) there’s a piece missing from the conversation. Collecting records is great. Flipping through a scrapbook is meaningful. But neither quite compares to something more immediate, more electric:

Going to a local live music show.

Photos from Carson Lewis, Henry Cruz and Jake Quillin at Three Links in Deep Ellum (Dallas), Texas

Photos of Moonfallen, Accuser, and Insufferable Sorcery at The Haltom Theatre

Photos of Arachne at Three Links in Deep Ellum (Dallas), Texas