OK, one of two things must have happened while I was on vacation this past weekend: Either all music promoters in the world decided to have an official Fire Under Ass Conference, or there's something in the pop star Kool-Aid, because we just got shipped over a mountain of show announcements that I'd like to now share with you beautiful people. There's everything from Miranda Lambert & Dierks Bentley to Beyonce, Macklemore, The National and 13 more wildly entertaining show announcements. Seeing is believing, so scroll down now.
See also: -"Crazy In Love," Beyonce's Coronation Anthem, Turns 10 Years Old -The Top Ten North Texas Blues Albums -Why Kanye West May Prove to Be the Perfect Punk Rock Rapper
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Saturday, November 30, at Verizon Theatre Not only is it enough to know that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are coming to town, but the thrift shop aficionados' opening support is kind of the jam too: Talib Kweli and Big K.R.I.T.
Blue October Thursday, August 22, at House of Blues, $37.50-$67.50 Don't hate yourself today like Blue October's Justin Furstenfeld; the band is coming on their "Sway Tour" and they'll be here to coddle you and sway with you in no time.
Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley Friday, September 13, at Gexa Energy Pavilion It makes sense that Lambert and Bentley are hitting the road together again (this time for their "Locked and Reloaded" tour) since they have the same type of rock-tinged country music. Opening for the superstars are: Brett Eldredge, The Cadillac Three and The Jukebox Mafia.
ZZ Ward, Wild Feathers, James Bay Tuesday, September 17, at House of Blues, $16.75-$20 ZZ Ward claims that her love of hip-hop is what gave her her knack for writing bluesy R&B songs. Well, whatever it is, it's catchy as hell.
Zedd Tuesday, September 17, at Palladium Ballroom If you're down for staying up on a school night, Anton Zaslavski of Zedd's electro house beats will be well worth the nod-offs you do at your cubicle the next day.
Mumford & Sons Wednesday, September 18, at Gexa Energy Pavilion For those of you in Dallas, Woodlands, New Orleans and Kansas City who are still sitting on their Mumford & Sons tickets, listen up! The band just rescheduled their cancelled dates, and the supporting acts will be announced at a later date.
Shuggie Otis Friday, October 4, at The Kessler Theater, $20-$30 Johnny "Shuggie" Otis Jr. was still just 15 and playing guitar in his dad's band when he cut his first record with CBS in 1969. It's been 44 years since then and he hasn't let his fans down.
Jake Bugg Saturday, October 5, at The Kessler Theater, $25 English singer-songwriter Jake Bugg claims he was raised on a healthy diet of Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, and it helped him get to where he is now: opening for acts like Lana Del Ray, Example and Michael Kiwanuka.
MS MR Monday, October 7, at House of Blues, $13/$15 New York duo Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow just dropped their debut album, Secondhand Rapture, last month, which is why they've hit the road. Check it out, then see if you care to partake at House of Blues this October.
Local Natives, Wild Nothing Tuesday, October 8, at House of Blues, $19.50-$22.50 L.A. band Local Natives are always coming to a theater near you, so that's a good sign that they've been successful at continuing the massive buzz they got from their breakthrough album Gorilla Manor.
Walk the Moon Wednesday, October 9, at House of Blues, $20-$28 I'm not too familiar with these Cincinnati boys' playful indie rock, but they've been gaining steam on the festival circuit, playing gigs like Bonnaroo and the like.
Toro Y Moi, Classixx Friday, October 11, at House of Blues, $23-$30 After January saw Toro Y Moi's Anything in Return release, his chillwave never sounded so pop- and R&B-tinged as it does nowadays, which is to say fun.
The National, Tame Impala Saturday, October 12, at Palladium Ballroom The National is the real wow factor here, although it's awesome to see Australian band Tame Impala cracking the U.S. market more and more every year since their 2007 formation. Tickets for this masterful pairing go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m.
Father John Misty Monday, October 28, at House of Blues, $20 Well, this is a strange sort of undertaking, but the epically disheveled folk singer Father John Misty is welcoming a comedian to open up his show this coming fall, and her name is Kate Berlant. Um, Google time!
Steve Vai Friday, November 22, at House of Blues, $25-$30 Guitarist Steve Vai went solo back in the '80s, after touring with the likes of Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth, and has since received three Grammys for his solo albums. You sold yet?
Gary Clark Jr. Wednesday, November 27, at House of Blues, $25-$40 Guitarist extraordinaire Gary Clark Jr. just got done supporting Eric Clapton in London last month and then appeared as a special guest sitting in with The Rolling Stones during their show in Boston on June 12, so clearly he's got it going on.
Beyonce Monday, December 9, at American Airlines Center If you're already going to see Beyonce at American Airlines Center next weekend, and if you fall in love with it and need a double dose of the "Mrs. Carter Show World Tour" come wintertime, tickets go on sale July 1 at 10 a.m.
