Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and most populous city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the tenth-most populous city in the United States, the fourth-most populous city in the state after Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, and the second-most populous state capital city after Phoenix, the capital of Arizona. It has been one of the fastest growing large cities in the United States since 2010. Downtown Austin and Downtown San Antonio are approximately 80 miles (129 km) apart, and both fall along the Interstate 35 corridor. This combined metropolitan region of San Antonio–Austin has approximately 5 million people. Austin is the southernmost state capital in the contiguous United States and is considered a Beta-level global city as categorized by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Dallas is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the most populous city in and seat of Dallas County with portions extending into Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties. With a 2020 census population of 1,304,379, it is the ninth-most populous city in the U.S. and the third-most populous city in Texas after Houston and San Antonio. Located in the North Texas region, the city of Dallas is the main core of the largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States and the largest inland metropolitan area in the U.S. that lacks any navigable link to the sea.
Prosper is a town in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Prosper is located within the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, its population was 9,423; As of 2023, the population was 37,746.
Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 20th-most populous city in Texas, the 177th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
Lewisville is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Denton County with portions extending into Dallas County. As one of the Mid-Cities within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the 2020 census reported a population of 111,822.
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. UNT's main campus is in Denton, Texas, and it also has a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas. It offers 114 bachelor's, 97 master's, and 39 doctoral degree programs. Established in 1890, UNT is one of the largest universities in the United States. As of Fall 2023, UNT reached a record enrollment with 46,940 students, making it the largest university in Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the third largest public university in Texas, following Texas A&M and UT Austin.
Deep Ellum is a neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, composed largely of arts and entertainment venues near downtown in East Dallas. Its name is based on a corruption of the area's principal thoroughfare, Elm Street. Older alternative uses include Deep Elm and Deep Elem.
The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, encompassing 11 counties. Its historically dominant core cities are Dallas and Fort Worth. It is the economic and cultural hub of North Texas. Residents of the area also refer to it as DFW, or the Metroplex. The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area's population was 7,637,387 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and the fifteenth-largest in the Americas. In 2016, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex had the highest annual population growth in the United States. By 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area's population had increased to 8,100,037, with the highest numerical growth of any metropolitan area in the United States.
The Denton Record-Chronicle is a community newspaper and the main source of local news online for residents of the City of Denton, Texas and Denton County. Controlled by Denton Media Company until 2023, it also publishes the bimonthly Denton County Magazine.
One O'Clock Lab Band is an ensemble of the Jazz Studies division at the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton, Texas. Since the 1970s, the band's albums have received seven Grammy Award nominations, including two for Lab 2009. Steve Wiest directed the band from 2008 to 2014. Jay Saunders became interim director in 2014.
The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) is the transit authority that operates in Denton County, Texas. It operates transit service in three cities within Denton County, as well as the A-train, a regional commuter rail line to Carrollton. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,852,000, or about 12,100 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
The culture of Texas is often considered one of the major cultures influencing the greater American culture. Texas is one of the most populous and heavily populated American states in its urban centers and has seen tremendous waves of migration out of the American North and West, in contrast to its eastern neighbors in the Deep South. But it retains the regionalisms and distinct cultural identities of German Texan, Tejanos, Cajuns, Irish, African American, and White Southern enclaves established before the republic era and admission to statehood.
The Denton Arts & Jazz Festival is a free 2½-day event held the last weekend of every April in the city of Denton, Texas, and was established in 1981. Produced by the Denton Festival Foundation and sponsored by the City of Denton and corporate sponsors, it brings over 200,000 people each year for live music, fine art, food, drink, crafts, and recreation. The festival is held in Quakertown Park, a natural space in the heart of the city near the town square. The festival includes seven stages, 2,300 artists and 250+ arts and crafts booths. Nationally recognized musicians such as Ravi Coltrane, Jack DeJohnette, and Aaron Neville headline the festival every year on the main stage. The Showcase Stage draws large crowds, with big bands, vocal ensembles, and student jazz groups from the University of North Texas College of Music.
DATCU Stadium is a college football stadium located at the north junction of Interstate 35E and Interstate 35W in Denton, Texas. Opened in 2011, it is home to the University of North Texas (UNT) Mean Green football team, which competes in the American Athletic Conference. The facility replaced Fouts Field, where the school's football program had been based since 1952.
Mary Louise Tobin was an American jazz singer and musician. She appeared with Benny Goodman, Bobby Hackett, Will Bradley, and Jack Jenney. Tobin introduced "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" with Goodman's band in 1939. Her biggest hit with Goodman was "There'll Be Some Changes Made", which was number two on Your Hit Parade in 1941 for 15 weeks. Tobin was the first wife of trumpeter and bandleader Harry James, with whom she had two sons.
The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school among the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. It developed the first jazz studies program in the nation, and it remains one of the top schools for jazz. As one of thirteen colleges and schools at the University of North Texas, it has been among the largest music institutions of higher learning in North America since the 1940s. North Texas has been a member of the National Association of Schools of Music for 85 years. Since the 1970s, approximately one-third of all North Texas music students have been enrolled at the graduate level. Music at North Texas dates back to the founding of the university in 1890 when Eliza Jane McKissack, its founding director, structured it as a conservatory.
35 Denton was an annual 3-day music festival that took place in the burgeoning arts corridor of downtown Denton, Texas. The festival was programmed each March the week prior to the music portion of SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Matthew Louis Pence is an American recording engineer, producer, and drummer. He owns and manages The Echo Lab studio in Denton, Texas.
Smithfield Fair is a group of three musicians from Baton-Rouge, Louisiana. The members are Dudley-Brian Smith on vocals and guitar, Jan Smith, Dudley-Brian's wife on vocals and accordion, and Bobby Smith, Dudley-Brian's brother on vocals and bass.
