Salim Nourallah and Chris Holt revisit Constellation at Galactic HQ

Fresh off this year's self-titled album, the Dallas songwriter and his longtime collaborator take over the tiny East Dallas listening room on Nov. 6 and 7.

Galactic HQ is so small that one Salim Nourallah show there in 2024 sold just 30 tickets. That's the whole point. Next Friday, November 6, Nourallah and guitarist Chris Holt are back in the East Dallas room, billed to play Constellation. Doors are at 7:30 p.m. and music at 8, per the HIT Records page on Prekindle. They do it again the next night, Saturday, November 7.

*Constellation* is the name of Nourallah's 2009 album, listed on AllMusic. The billing suggests a night built around that record, though the listing doesn't spell out whether they're playing it start to finish.

It's a fitting look back at the end of a big year. In January, the Dallas Morning News reviewed his new album, *Nourallah*, his ninth solo release. Critic Thor Christensen called it possibly his most philosophical record: songs about God, human flaws and how to stay sane. The paper described it as a wistful, beautifully produced set of ballads and midtempo pop, made with Nashville multi-instrumentalist Billy Harvey. There's a reggae detour and a rock song about 1970s El Paso. The record came out on Bandcamp and vinyl first, and he threw the release show on Feb. 28 at, yes, Galactic HQ.

One 2024 Nourallah-and-Holt night at Galactic HQ sold just 30 tickets.

The room keeps coming up because it has become something like Nourallah's home base. Our records show him playing Dallas more than any other market, 49 shows. Recent Galactic HQ nights tell the story. There was a 25th-anniversary show for the Nourallah Brothers album in March 2025. Chris Holt's own full-band album release came that May, with Nourallah as special guest. And there was that 30-seat evening with the two of them in July 2024. You can find all of them on Prekindle.

Holt is the other half of this. The two have shared the bill so often that the shows read like a partnership. Holt brings the guitar, and Nourallah brings a songbook built over years in Dallas.

What makes a show like this worth a Friday is scale. Galactic HQ, at 5339 Vickery Blvd., is a listening room. Small enough that you'll hear the details on these songs that a bar would swallow. If you know *Constellation*, it's a chance to hear those songs up close nearly two decades on. If you only know the new record, it's a good way into the older catalog.

Salim Nourallah and Chris Holt play Galactic HQ on Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7. Doors 7:30 p.m., music 8. Seating at shows here has been tight in the past, so buy ahead.

Sources: Prekindle: HIT Records events (Salim Nourallah & Chris Holt play Constellation, Fri Nov 6) (prekindle.com); Dallas Morning News: Dallas musician Salim Nourallah gets philosophical on new album (dallasnews.com); AllMusic: Constellation (allmusic.com); Prekindle: An evening with Salim Nourallah and Chris Holt, July 27, 2024 (prekindle.com); Prekindle: Nourallah Brother (2nd show), March 1, 2025 (prekindle.com); Prekindle: Christopher Holt Album Release, May 16, 2025 (prekindle.com); Salim Nourallah official site (salimnourallahmusic.com); Second Stage: Salim Nourallah (NPR All Songs Considered) (npr.org)