Join the Dallas Mavericks and one of our favorite musical artists from just up the Trinity River, Grammy Award Winning Recording Artist and Fort Worth Native, Leon Bridges, as we honor more than a century of rich cultural influence in one of the birthplaces of American Blues music, right here in our backyard.

Dallas/Fort Worth, this is Trinity River Blues.

In the late 19th century, musicians in the American South began exploring an entirely new form of music, emotionally evocative, sophisticated, Sunday service gospel mixed with warmth, inspiration and hope — what we now call the Blues. More than a century later, the influence of the Blues continues to reverberate through Jazz, Hip-Hop, Pop and Rock.

It’s a largely untold story even here in North Texas, but no geographic area was more closely tied to the origin of the Blues than Dallas/Fort Worth.

In 1912, young violinist Hart Wand overheard a porter whistling a tune. He turned the tune into the first published Blues song to hit the charts. It was called ‘Dallas Blues.’ Within weeks of its publication, this piano piece was heard up and down the Mississippi River. ‘Dallas Blues’ instantly put the city of Dallas on the Blues map and influenced music for decades to come.

Texas native Robert “Blind Lemon” Jefferson was one of the most prominent figures in the early Blues movement, dating back to the early 1910s. He spent his younger years performing on street corners, in cafes and in front of barber shops near the railway crossroads in central Dallas. His distinctive high-pitched voice and revolutionary guitar picking set off a chain reaction in the growth of the Blues.

Musicians traveled from the countryside to the city, bringing with them a sudden influx of musical talent to the area. Arriving via the railways in the very same spot where Blind Lemon played, they created a Blues melting pot in the Dallas neighborhood we now call Deep Ellum.

Throughout the 20th century, one artist after another rose to prominence in North Texas, from Lead Belly, T-Bone Walker and Freddy King to Stevie Ray and Jimmy Vaughn. And still today, North Texas artists continue to shape the modern genre of Rhythm and Blues, thanks to mega-talents like Dallas’s Erykah Badu and Fort Worth’s Leon Bridges.

They gave us the Blues, and this season, we’re giving them their props. Through this year’s City Edition Uniform and Collection, the Dallas Mavericks invite you to join us as we honor, celebrate and learn more about the legacy and unique cultural expression these musical legends left all of us. Right here in Dallas, Texas, the birthplace of the Blues.

Date
11/10/23
Day
Friday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • CLIPPERS
Theme/Giveaway
IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT
W 144-126
Date
11/28/23
Day
Tuesday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • ROCKETS
Theme/Giveaway
IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT
W 121-115
Date
12/01/23
Day
Friday
Tipoff
6:30 PM
Opponent
  • GRIZZLIES
L 108-94
Date
12/06/23
Day
Wednesday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • JAZZ
Date
12/20/23
Day
Wednesday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • CLIPPERS
Date
12/27/23
Day
Wednesday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • CAVALIERS
Date
01/15/24
Day
Monday
Tipoff
1:30 PM
Opponent
  • PELICANS
Date
01/24/24
Day
Wednesday
Tipoff
8:30 PM
Opponent
  • SUNS
Date
02/03/24
Day
Saturday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • BUCKS
Date
02/14/24
Day
Wednesday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • Spurs
Date
02/22/24
Day
Thursday
Tipoff
6:30 PM
Opponent
  • Suns
Date
03/03/24
Day
Sunday
Tipoff
12:00 PM
Opponent
  • 76ers
Date
03/21/24
Day
Thursday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • Jazz
Date
04/12/24
Day
Friday
Tipoff
7:30 PM
Opponent
  • PISTONS
FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT