The Best Concerts This Weekend: Vans Warped Tour, Boom 94.5 Hip Hop festival, and More

This week has three festivals — yes, three — coming our way. The first of those is Boom 94.5's hip hop fest, which brings in a bunch of old-school cats like LL Cool J and DJ Jazzy Jeff. The second is Vans Warped Tour which brings in a bunch of emo acts. The third is Taco Libre, a taco and music festival with wrastlin'. There's also an array of normal shows on the docket too: Aerosmith, Seryn and Kool Kieth are all in town. Here are our weekend picks.

Boom 94.5 Festival
With LL Cool J, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, Whodini, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Sugarhill Gang and The Furious 5, 5 p.m., Friday, June 26, at Gexa Energy Pavilion, 3839 South Fitzhugh Ave., 214-421-1111, $20-110
LL Cool J is taking a break from being the Kangol-wearing, lip-licking, permanent host of the Grammy awards to headline this festival of old-school hip hop. You can catch him and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, Whodini, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Sugarhill Gang and the Furious 5. Hopefully, LL Cool J doesn't play "Accidental Racist," which is easily one of the worst songs ever made in the history of recorded music. (This is not an overstatement.) HDB


Vans Warped Tour
11 a.m, Saturday, June 27,  at Gexa Energy Pavilion, 3839 South Fitzhugh Ave., 214-421-1111, $39
Every year the Scene Teens have a rip-roaring good time at their roving Woodstock, the Vans Warped Tour. Over the years, some of the most prominent hardcore and punk bands have played a set at a Vans Warped Tour somewhere. Pierce the Veil, Baby Baby, RiFF RaFF, Never Say Never, Silverstein, Senses Fail and seemingly hundreds of other bands perform at this year's festival. Relive the angst of your past or dive right into your current feelings. HDB


Aerosmith
7 p.m.,  Saturday, June 26, at Choctaw Casino, 4216 S. Hwy 69/75 Durant, Oklahoma, $150
Arena rock in its truest and purest form is a rare creature in 2015. You'll have to turn to the creators and masters of the genre to get a taste. Enter Aerosmith, the only band you'll want to hear if a meteor is making its way to Earth to kill us all. Even after being together for nearly half a century, Aerosmith is still going strong, having released their latest album in 2012, Music from Another Dimension! And unlike so many other arena bands of their era, they're touring with their original lineup. Any fan of Aerosmith won't wanna miss this. HDB


The Appleseed Cast
With Coaster, Adjy, 8 p.m., Friday June 26, Dan's Silver Leaf,  Dan's Silver Leaf, 103 Industrial St. Denton, $13
The Appleseed Cast are pioneers in the emo and post-rock genre. Lead singer Christopher Crisci's lyrics are packed with emotional yearnings, the drumming is quick and nifty and the guitar licks alternate between arpeggio flurries or being downright loud and searing. Many of the foundations of the genre are found in the Appleseed Cast's music. They're touring in honor of the 15th anniversary of their acclaimed album Mare Vitalis. HDB



Seryn
With Gollay, 7:39 p.m., Friday, June 26, Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis St., http://thekessler.org, $26
Denton has more than a few bands to be proud of: the Baptist Generals, Brave Combo, Midlake and ,if you're into nationwide appeal and a wide following, Norah Jones, Bowling For Soup and Don Henley. Those are a few storied acts that have bustled through Denton's vibrant square playing a show here and there. Today, Seryn is Denton's must-see band, even thought their home is now Nashville. They're known for their lush harmonies and full musical arrangements, even garnering the attention of Paste magazine, being named one of the best live acts of SXSW. HDB


Larry g(EE)
8 p.m. Friday, June 26, at Levitt Pavilion, 100 W. Abram St., Arlington, 817-543-4308, Free
The dapper gentleman Larry g(EE) scored a spot on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in late 2012. It was well earned. He's last on this list because for the past year or two, Larry g(EE) has been making a splash in this city for his energetic live shows. It's assumed that you're wholly familiar, but then we all know what happens when we assume. Maybe you're new in town or when he's performed something else piqued your interest that night, be it another band or Netflix. But seeing Larry g(EE) obliterate a crowd, yourself included, with his tailored brand of soul is a Dallas bucket-list experience at this point. HDB


Lenka 
With Nick Howard, 8:00 pm, Sunday, June 28, at House of Blues, 2200 North Lamar Street, 214-978-2583 or houseofblues.com/dallas, $13
Australian-born Lenka is one of indie pop's most interesting acts. Her music isn't gauche and in your face. It's pleasant, warm and bright. Also, when we talk about indie pop, we're often not really even talking about indie, but Lenka's released a few albums on her own label, Skipalong. Come check out a melodic tour de force of twee and glee. HDB



Taco Libre Festival
With Ozomalti, Deep Blue Something, Team*, Pinata Protest, Dustin Cavazos, Party Static, Valise, 2 p.m., Saturday, June 27, Main Street Garden Park1902 Main St., $12-60
Tacos and music. I'm not sure there's anything we love more in this world. Well, beer, and I can assure you there will be beer here. This Taco Libre fest has all of the above plus some wrastlin'. The musical acts span punk, hip-hop and rock. Kick off the hot as hell summer with an array of some of the best tacos from around, some music and wrestling that is totally real and not fake. HDB


Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards
With Quaker City Night Hawks, The Unlikely Candidates, Pinkish Black, The Me-Thinks, Bitch Bricks, Feletha Black, 4 pm, Sunday, June 28th, Lola's Saloon, 2736 W 6th, Fort Worth, Free
Fort Worth's alt weekly, the you-guessed-it, Fort Worth Weekly, is hosting their annual music awards this weekend. They're bringing some of the best out for the occasion: Quaker city Nigh Hawks, the Americana rockers, punk bands Feletha Black, Bitch Bricks, Pinkish Black and the post punkish rock band Unlikely Candidates. Check out their fiesta. HDB


Kool Kieth 
With Bodega Brovas, Playdough, DJ Sean P, Ronnie Blaze, Gitmo Music, Sunday, June 28, at Trees, 2709 Elm St., $25-50
Kool Kieth is the father of all weirdo rappers. No for real. He was one of the founding members of the group Ultramagnetic MCs in the 80s. He released Dr. Octagonecologyst as his alias Dr. Octagon, which featured some work from DJ Qbert who's also playing this show.  Kool Kieth is known and revered for his oddities, his nonsequiturs and downright pervy raps. If you're a fan of Awful Records or even Lil Wayne, check out the father of this shit. HDB

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