Do you hear that? It’s music — music coming from Austin and heading here to North Texas, meaning we don’t have to go to Austin. We’re about to be in the midst of festival season in Texas, which means Dallas will be the fall bounty known as festival spillover acts…
Hank Williams Jr. Verizon Theatre, Grand Prairie Saturday, September 5, 2015 Hank Williams, Jr. played at Verizon Theatre on Saturday night, but aside from the smart-phone users in the audience and the unexceptional lights show, the whole episode was straight out of a decades-old memory. Some anachronisms are expected, even…
Another holiday has come and gone, and what do we have to show for it? If you did Labor Day right, probably some sunburn, a hangover and a healthy dose of guilt over some unhealthy overeating. Fortunately, you can do something feel a little better about yourself (although probably not…
Kelly Clarkson With Pentatonix Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Sunday, August 30, 2015 Kelly Clarkson has really come out of her shell. Since her win on the first season of American Idol nearly 15 years ago, she’s established herself as one of the most powerful vocalists in the business. If you remember…
Breathe easy, folks: A three-day weekend is just around the corner. So too is the end of the summer, which means it’s about time to make the most of the hot weather. Dallas has been hopping with shows the past few weeks and this next one — the first of…
KXT Summer Cut With Belle & Sebastian, Sarah Jaffe, Calhoun and more Gilley’s Dallas, Dallas Saturday, August 29, 2015 KXT 91.7’s annual Summer Cut festival hit the reset button this weekend and, with a little help from Belle & Sebastian, it looked like a change for the better. On a…
Yes With Toto Verizon Theatre, Grand Prairie Thursday, August 27, 2015 Holding a band together for decades at a time is a tough ask. Eventually attrition takes its toll, whether its age, illness or the members simply growing sick of one another. Yes and Toto have managed to stick things…
J. Cole With YG, Jeremih and Big Sean Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Sunday, August 23, 2015 The hip-hop hierarchy is being shaken up, and J. Cole is doing the shaking. The North Carolina rapper returned to Dallas on Sunday night — barely two months after fans flocked to his surprise…
Lone Star Texas Heritage Festival With Old 97’s, Black Angels, Grupo Fantasma, Dale Watson, LaTasha Lee and the Blackties and the Deathray Davies Gilley’s Dallas Saturday, August 22, 2015 If a festival is thrown, but nobody goes is it still a festival? The answer is, “Yes…but,” and that “but” is…
Remember when the weather got comfortable for a minute last week? Yeah, that was kinda cool (no pun intended — although, probably). Last week featured a plethora of outdoor shows that, over the weekend, left all to roast in 100-degree heat — because oh right, Texas. Fortunately, there are just…
Death With Street Arabs Club Dada, Dallas Saturday, August 22, 2015 Rock ‘n’ roll’s sordid history is littered with rejects. Not just those who were rejects in spirit, but also those who were the might-have-beens, the almost-made-its and the gone-too-soons. Some get validation years later for being ahead of their…
Incubus With the Deftones and Death From Above 1979 Gexa Energy Pavillon, Dallas Thursday, August 20 Thursday night Gexa Energy Pavilion hosted ’90s alt gods Incubus and Deftones, just the sort of dual-headlining bill that it was built to host. A crowd near the 20,000 capacity stormed into Fair Park…
Alabama Shakes With Drive-By Truckers Verizon Theatre, Grand Prairie Tuesday, August 18 Brittney Howard is everything right now. On Tuesday night at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, she led her Alabama Shakes in a chilling show that was more lounge than garage, more Nina Simone than Betty Davis and more…
Sam Smith With Gavin James Verizon Theatre, Grand Prairie Monday, August 17, 2015 If there’s a soft spot that exists near the heart of Texas, Sam Smith found it Monday night at the Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie. With his dashing style and graceful vocals, you’d think some genetically engineered…
Oh, college. How we yearn for those carefree days of mooching off our parents and drinking unhealthy amounts of alcohol. Well okay, maybe not a lot has changed, but sometimes that lack of change is a good thing. Take Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios’ Free Week: Each year for the past…
.45 with Seis Pistos, the Assassins, and Hello Lover Three Links Saturday, August 15, 2015 There were four bands on the bill at Three Links on Saturday night, but the night was all about the third act, .45. For 80 minutes, the sold-out venue celebrated the music of Spector 45 with…
Snow Tha Product Trees, Dallas Saturday, August 15, 2015 Snow Tha Product deserves to be a star. That much has been beyond doubt since she released the video for “Holy Shit” in 2011, a video that was so impressive it got her a contract with Atlantic Records. In the 90-second black-and-white…
What’s it take to get music fans out to concerts in the dead of Texas summer? Based on the lineup of bands hitting the Dallas area this week, the resounding answer would appear to be “throwbacks.” Those throwbacks come in all shapes and sizes, too: They could have a retro…
METZ With Big Ups and Sealion Trees, Dallas Thursday, August 13, 2015 What makes a good punk rock show? Many would agree that the essential elements include, but are not limited to: high energy, mosh pits, sweat, stage diving, more sweat, cheap beer, black clothing and music so loud your ears…
As we close in on the weekend, Dallas may be in for a bit of a break from the heat — as in, the highs may only hit 100 rather than 105. Okay, so that’s not much of a relief, but hey, it’s August in Texas so you can’t expect…
Shania Twain With Gavin DeGraw American Airlines Center, Dallas Monday, August 10, 2015 She’s baaaaaaack. You love her. You karaoke her songs when you’re blackout drunk. She’s the queen of the country-pop crossover and you and Taylor Swift are forever thankful to her for that. She’s Shania Effin’ Twain and…
Shredding. Slapping. Fingering. Oh my. Three-fifths of the ‘classic’ Deep Purple team that wrote the famous Smoke on the Water descended upon Verizon Theatre Sunday and squeezed every possible solo into the evening. On a purely logistical level, you’ve got to give props to any band that can jam 30…
