Robert Wilonsky
@robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Editorial columnist at The Dallas Morning News. Writing about Dallas.
I first met the Rev. Rachel Griffin-Allison when she spoke at my shul following the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. She'd already spent years defying Dallas code that prohibited churches from sheltering the homeless on cold nights. Then came the painted steps.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Oak Lawn church can keep its rainbow steps. And Dallas can hang on to its soul
For an hour on the Sunday before Epiphany, inside the warm, welcoming confines of the 110-year-old Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, it still felt like the...
www.dallasnews.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:21 PM
I first met the Rev. Rachel Griffin-Allison when she spoke at my shul following the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. She'd already spent years defying Dallas code that prohibited churches from sheltering the homeless on cold nights. Then came the painted steps.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
"Let’s all have a drink, whadya say?”
On Jan. 6, 1987, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko pulled into the Fast & Cool on Greenville for The Band's last waltz thru Dallas. Raucous, rough-hewn and perfect.
tinyurl.com/ej76s4f7
Setlist: tinyurl.com/2h7zdvmd
"Let’s all have a drink, whadya say?”
On Jan. 6, 1987, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko pulled into the Fast & Cool on Greenville for The Band's last waltz thru Dallas. Raucous, rough-hewn and perfect.
tinyurl.com/ej76s4f7
Setlist: tinyurl.com/2h7zdvmd
January 3, 2026 at 4:06 PM
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
"Let’s all have a drink, whadya say?”
On Jan. 6, 1987, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko pulled into the Fast & Cool on Greenville for The Band's last waltz thru Dallas. Raucous, rough-hewn and perfect.
tinyurl.com/ej76s4f7
Setlist: tinyurl.com/2h7zdvmd
"Let’s all have a drink, whadya say?”
On Jan. 6, 1987, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko pulled into the Fast & Cool on Greenville for The Band's last waltz thru Dallas. Raucous, rough-hewn and perfect.
tinyurl.com/ej76s4f7
Setlist: tinyurl.com/2h7zdvmd
I refuse to call that college football game in Arlington the "Cotton Bowl" because the Cotton Bowl is a stadium in Fair Park. And nobody ever talks about the fact it hasn't been used for a bowl game since 2019. Which, after a $140M makeover, is just embarrassing.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Another new year without a football game at the real Cotton Bowl
Yes, there will be a college football game in Arlington on Wednesday. But the Miami-Ohio State contest might as well be called something else. Because it’s...
www.dallasnews.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:34 PM
I refuse to call that college football game in Arlington the "Cotton Bowl" because the Cotton Bowl is a stadium in Fair Park. And nobody ever talks about the fact it hasn't been used for a bowl game since 2019. Which, after a $140M makeover, is just embarrassing.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
"Be very careful this coming year ... listen to polkas more": Brave Combo & New Bohemians shared a bill at the late, great Arcadia on Dec. 31, 1989. Both sets couldn't sound better.
Brave Combo: archive.org/details/brac...
New Bos: archive.org/details/newb...
"Be very careful this coming year ... listen to polkas more": Brave Combo & New Bohemians shared a bill at the late, great Arcadia on Dec. 31, 1989. Both sets couldn't sound better.
Brave Combo: archive.org/details/brac...
New Bos: archive.org/details/newb...
December 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
"Be very careful this coming year ... listen to polkas more": Brave Combo & New Bohemians shared a bill at the late, great Arcadia on Dec. 31, 1989. Both sets couldn't sound better.
Brave Combo: archive.org/details/brac...
New Bos: archive.org/details/newb...
"Be very careful this coming year ... listen to polkas more": Brave Combo & New Bohemians shared a bill at the late, great Arcadia on Dec. 31, 1989. Both sets couldn't sound better.
Brave Combo: archive.org/details/brac...
New Bos: archive.org/details/newb...
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
Was stoked to see Dallas' own @robertwilonsky.bsky.social quoted in this piece by @michaelazerrad.bsky.social from the @dallasobserver.com from 1998! www.dallasobserver.com/music/snoopy...
December 26, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Was stoked to see Dallas' own @robertwilonsky.bsky.social quoted in this piece by @michaelazerrad.bsky.social from the @dallasobserver.com from 1998! www.dallasobserver.com/music/snoopy...
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
Joshua Ray Walker first up tonight with "Christmas in Dallas" folllowed by Booker T. & The M.G.'s "Merry Christmas Baby" . @robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Tune in
www.radio.net/s/ktck
Tune in
www.radio.net/s/ktck
KTCK - The Ticket 1310 AM / 96.7 FM | Live & for free
Listen to KTCK - The Ticket 1310 AM / 96.7 FM internet radio online. Access the free radio live stream and discover more online radio and radio fm stations at a glance.
www.radio.net
December 25, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Joshua Ray Walker first up tonight with "Christmas in Dallas" folllowed by Booker T. & The M.G.'s "Merry Christmas Baby" . @robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Tune in
www.radio.net/s/ktck
Tune in
www.radio.net/s/ktck
The show is less four hours away, with the annual Royal China dinner in between, and I am still adding, subtracting and shuffling songs.
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
A few past Holiday Music Spectaculars before the 17th edition, which begins at 9 p.m. Christmas Eve on KTCK (96.7/1310). Courtesy The Unticket.
2014 show: tinyurl.com/4rezaubd
2016: tinyurl.com/4nwprv59
2017: tinyurl.com/4pyne23b
2018: tinyurl.com/2sp8ncm4
A few past Holiday Music Spectaculars before the 17th edition, which begins at 9 p.m. Christmas Eve on KTCK (96.7/1310). Courtesy The Unticket.
2014 show: tinyurl.com/4rezaubd
2016: tinyurl.com/4nwprv59
2017: tinyurl.com/4pyne23b
2018: tinyurl.com/2sp8ncm4
December 24, 2025 at 11:10 PM
The show is less four hours away, with the annual Royal China dinner in between, and I am still adding, subtracting and shuffling songs.
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
There are already more than 3,000 unsheltered people in Dallas County. And, according to Housing Forward, some 700 more people fall into homelessness every month, Robert Wilonsky writes.
Wilonsky: Among the northwest Dallas homeless, waiting and waiting for housing
Doug Courtney lives in the blue tent pitched beneath the power lines on Harry Hines Boulevard a few yards north of Walnut Hill Lane. Just below his perch are...
www.dallasnews.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:00 PM
There are already more than 3,000 unsheltered people in Dallas County. And, according to Housing Forward, some 700 more people fall into homelessness every month, Robert Wilonsky writes.
When I set out to write about Charlie Brown a few weeks ago, I thought it would be a feel-good column about the man Garrett Boone hired to clean the storm-drain tunnels in which Charlie lived for years. In the days since, I've learned enough to know I know nothing
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Among the northwest Dallas homeless, waiting and waiting for housing
Doug Courtney lives in the blue tent pitched beneath the power lines on Harry Hines Boulevard a few yards north of Walnut Hill Lane. Just below his perch are...
www.dallasnews.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:22 PM
When I set out to write about Charlie Brown a few weeks ago, I thought it would be a feel-good column about the man Garrett Boone hired to clean the storm-drain tunnels in which Charlie lived for years. In the days since, I've learned enough to know I know nothing
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
The best essay about this film that I've ever read, and I've not only read dozens, I've written a few myself. Hooray for Mary!
This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.
There Is No Mary Problem in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
George’s vision of his wife without him is essential to the film, but critics continue to miss its true—and profound—meaning.
open.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 12:59 AM
The best essay about this film that I've ever read, and I've not only read dozens, I've written a few myself. Hooray for Mary!
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
A few past Holiday Music Spectaculars before the 17th edition, which begins at 9 p.m. Christmas Eve on KTCK (96.7/1310). Courtesy The Unticket.
2014 show: tinyurl.com/4rezaubd
2016: tinyurl.com/4nwprv59
2017: tinyurl.com/4pyne23b
2018: tinyurl.com/2sp8ncm4
A few past Holiday Music Spectaculars before the 17th edition, which begins at 9 p.m. Christmas Eve on KTCK (96.7/1310). Courtesy The Unticket.
2014 show: tinyurl.com/4rezaubd
2016: tinyurl.com/4nwprv59
2017: tinyurl.com/4pyne23b
2018: tinyurl.com/2sp8ncm4
December 20, 2025 at 5:41 PM
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
A few past Holiday Music Spectaculars before the 17th edition, which begins at 9 p.m. Christmas Eve on KTCK (96.7/1310). Courtesy The Unticket.
2014 show: tinyurl.com/4rezaubd
2016: tinyurl.com/4nwprv59
2017: tinyurl.com/4pyne23b
2018: tinyurl.com/2sp8ncm4
A few past Holiday Music Spectaculars before the 17th edition, which begins at 9 p.m. Christmas Eve on KTCK (96.7/1310). Courtesy The Unticket.
2014 show: tinyurl.com/4rezaubd
2016: tinyurl.com/4nwprv59
2017: tinyurl.com/4pyne23b
2018: tinyurl.com/2sp8ncm4
AIA Guide to Dallas Architecture calls the former Hotel St. Germain, from 1897, "the best remaining example of Maple Avenue’s turn-of-the-century role as the city’s silk-stocking district." Not for long. Yours if you want it before Sfuzzi's founder builds a tower.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: One of Dallas’ oldest homes is imperiled by a high-rise as Uptown goes downtown
Sarah Crain, executive director of Preservation Dallas, wasn’t thrilled with the photo I texted her Tuesday afternoon. It’s the same one you see here, of the...
www.dallasnews.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:34 PM
AIA Guide to Dallas Architecture calls the former Hotel St. Germain, from 1897, "the best remaining example of Maple Avenue’s turn-of-the-century role as the city’s silk-stocking district." Not for long. Yours if you want it before Sfuzzi's founder builds a tower.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
The 17th Annual Holiday Music Spectacular will indeed air, live, beginning at 9 pm Christmas Eve, with the wee-small-hours post-show show going until I get sleepy.
On KTCK (1310 AM/96.7 FM), the SportsDay app, The Ticket’s website.
Best setlist ever.
On KTCK (1310 AM/96.7 FM), the SportsDay app, The Ticket’s website.
Best setlist ever.
@robertwilonsky.bsky.social will there be a Christmas show on the ticket this year?
December 18, 2025 at 11:22 PM
The 17th Annual Holiday Music Spectacular will indeed air, live, beginning at 9 pm Christmas Eve, with the wee-small-hours post-show show going until I get sleepy.
On KTCK (1310 AM/96.7 FM), the SportsDay app, The Ticket’s website.
Best setlist ever.
On KTCK (1310 AM/96.7 FM), the SportsDay app, The Ticket’s website.
Best setlist ever.
A history lesson culled from the archives of The Dallas (Daily) Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News. Long story short: We've known for a long, long time that in Dallas, history doesn't rhyme. It repeats, down to the last damned syllable. Or son-in-law.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: 115 years ago, Dallas made a rushed, secret deal to sell City Hall
In Dallas, history often doesn’t rhyme. It repeats. For proof, look no further than the archives of this newspaper and the Dallas Times Herald, where a...
www.dallasnews.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:39 PM
A history lesson culled from the archives of The Dallas (Daily) Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News. Long story short: We've known for a long, long time that in Dallas, history doesn't rhyme. It repeats, down to the last damned syllable. Or son-in-law.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
The Joe Ely tribute Big Bucks Burnett would have wanted: Joe playing a few songs -- including "Dallas" -- at Edstock, Big Bucks' first & last Mister Ed "national convention," held at the Bronco Bowl. Said Bucks years later, "I lost $25,000 in 1980s money." Worth it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqPy...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqPy...
Joe Ely - Edstock - Bronco Bowl - 07/07/84
YouTube video by livemusic55
www.youtube.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The Joe Ely tribute Big Bucks Burnett would have wanted: Joe playing a few songs -- including "Dallas" -- at Edstock, Big Bucks' first & last Mister Ed "national convention," held at the Bronco Bowl. Said Bucks years later, "I lost $25,000 in 1980s money." Worth it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqPy...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqPy...
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
On Dec. 11, 1978, on the "More Songs About Buildings and Food" tour, Talking Heads played Dallas for the 1st time. One of my all-time favorite local-show keepsakes. You ARE THERE.
ia601302.us.archive.org/17/items/Tal...
Setlist: www.setlist.fm/setlist/talk...
On Dec. 11, 1978, on the "More Songs About Buildings and Food" tour, Talking Heads played Dallas for the 1st time. One of my all-time favorite local-show keepsakes. You ARE THERE.
ia601302.us.archive.org/17/items/Tal...
Setlist: www.setlist.fm/setlist/talk...
December 13, 2025 at 4:47 PM
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
On Dec. 11, 1978, on the "More Songs About Buildings and Food" tour, Talking Heads played Dallas for the 1st time. One of my all-time favorite local-show keepsakes. You ARE THERE.
ia601302.us.archive.org/17/items/Tal...
Setlist: www.setlist.fm/setlist/talk...
On Dec. 11, 1978, on the "More Songs About Buildings and Food" tour, Talking Heads played Dallas for the 1st time. One of my all-time favorite local-show keepsakes. You ARE THERE.
ia601302.us.archive.org/17/items/Tal...
Setlist: www.setlist.fm/setlist/talk...
The Cole Manor Motel is a Charles Dilbeck-designed motor court on Harry Hines that opened in 1946. According to city attorneys, it's also a dangerous place where the removal of the fantastic 1960s-era sign isn't the only crime to have taken place at the old motel.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Famous Dallas architect’s motel is now an ‘infamous criminal hub’ on Harry Hines
It’s been a minute since someone called me “fake news.” Forgot how hilarious it sounds when it’s said seriously. It happened early Tuesday afternoon at the...
www.dallasnews.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:32 PM
The Cole Manor Motel is a Charles Dilbeck-designed motor court on Harry Hines that opened in 1946. According to city attorneys, it's also a dangerous place where the removal of the fantastic 1960s-era sign isn't the only crime to have taken place at the old motel.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
The council approved the first H-E-B in Dallas by a vote of 14-1. The only no vote was Bill Roth, who voted against HIS OWN MOTION to support the project with H-E-B's proposed deed restrictions. And that was only after his initial motion to kill the project failed. Very serious people.
It’s gonna be infuriating and embarrassing if the Dallas City Council votes to kill the (first-in-Dallas) proposed H-E-B at Hillcrest and LBJ Freeway. Watch if you can stomach this “discussion.”
dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113#co...
dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113#co...
dallastx.new.swagit.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:51 AM
The council approved the first H-E-B in Dallas by a vote of 14-1. The only no vote was Bill Roth, who voted against HIS OWN MOTION to support the project with H-E-B's proposed deed restrictions. And that was only after his initial motion to kill the project failed. Very serious people.
It’s gonna be infuriating and embarrassing if the Dallas City Council votes to kill the (first-in-Dallas) proposed H-E-B at Hillcrest and LBJ Freeway. Watch if you can stomach this “discussion.”
dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113#co...
dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113#co...
dallastx.new.swagit.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:06 AM
It’s gonna be infuriating and embarrassing if the Dallas City Council votes to kill the (first-in-Dallas) proposed H-E-B at Hillcrest and LBJ Freeway. Watch if you can stomach this “discussion.”
dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113#co...
dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113#co...
Maybe sending a season's greeting to City Hall's future owners?
Maybe I'm just turning into Jim Schutze -- it's possible, if not likely -- but what's the deal with all the Dallas city staffers today wearing Mavericks-color-schemed sweatshirts to "holiday sweater" day?
December 10, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Maybe sending a season's greeting to City Hall's future owners?
Maybe I'm just turning into Jim Schutze -- it's possible, if not likely -- but what's the deal with all the Dallas city staffers today wearing Mavericks-color-schemed sweatshirts to "holiday sweater" day?
December 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Maybe I'm just turning into Jim Schutze -- it's possible, if not likely -- but what's the deal with all the Dallas city staffers today wearing Mavericks-color-schemed sweatshirts to "holiday sweater" day?
Friday morning, I turned in a piece about how Charlie Brown has escaped the storm tunnels beneath Harry Hines, where he'd lived for 5 years. Then Garrett Boone, Container Store co-founder and one of Dallas' last true civic leaders, told me Charlie was missing.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Looking for the man named Charlie Brown in tunnels, fields of northwest Dallas
A few hours before this column was to run Friday morning, I received an email. Charlie Brown, the man with whom I’d spent Wednesday afternoon in the storm...
www.dallasnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Friday morning, I turned in a piece about how Charlie Brown has escaped the storm tunnels beneath Harry Hines, where he'd lived for 5 years. Then Garrett Boone, Container Store co-founder and one of Dallas' last true civic leaders, told me Charlie was missing.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
The Who wasn't scheduled to play Dallas on the "Who's Next" tour. But on Nov. 28, 1971, this ad ran in the Times Herald. Only 54 minutes from that show survive, including "Won't Get Fooled Again." Play loud.
tinyurl.com/4f78cc8p
Setlist: tinyurl.com/4tpn22c6
The Who wasn't scheduled to play Dallas on the "Who's Next" tour. But on Nov. 28, 1971, this ad ran in the Times Herald. Only 54 minutes from that show survive, including "Won't Get Fooled Again." Play loud.
tinyurl.com/4f78cc8p
Setlist: tinyurl.com/4tpn22c6
December 6, 2025 at 4:12 PM
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:
The Who wasn't scheduled to play Dallas on the "Who's Next" tour. But on Nov. 28, 1971, this ad ran in the Times Herald. Only 54 minutes from that show survive, including "Won't Get Fooled Again." Play loud.
tinyurl.com/4f78cc8p
Setlist: tinyurl.com/4tpn22c6
The Who wasn't scheduled to play Dallas on the "Who's Next" tour. But on Nov. 28, 1971, this ad ran in the Times Herald. Only 54 minutes from that show survive, including "Won't Get Fooled Again." Play loud.
tinyurl.com/4f78cc8p
Setlist: tinyurl.com/4tpn22c6
Years ago, I edited a Dallas Observer column by Jim Schutze in which he quoted someone who said that even if you built housing down in The Bottom, no one would come.
On Saturday, I drove him down here, to the land between the highway and the bluff and the levee.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
On Saturday, I drove him down here, to the land between the highway and the bluff and the levee.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: If they can put a new neighborhood in The Bottom, Dallas can develop anywhere
A few right, left and wrong turns last week landed me in a part of town I hadn’t visited in far too long – The Bottom, so named for its location and, also...
www.dallasnews.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Years ago, I edited a Dallas Observer column by Jim Schutze in which he quoted someone who said that even if you built housing down in The Bottom, no one would come.
On Saturday, I drove him down here, to the land between the highway and the bluff and the levee.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
On Saturday, I drove him down here, to the land between the highway and the bluff and the levee.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...