Kraftwerk to Play First Dallas Show in Over 40 Years at The Bomb Factory

Want a sign that Dallas is becoming an increasingly hot property as a concert city? Kraftwerk is coming to Dallas. Freaking Kraftwerk. How rare of an opportunity is this, exactly? Last fall, the German krautrock and electronic music pioneers played a pair of shows in Austin — where these sorts...

By Jeff Gage

April 25, 2016

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Want a sign that Dallas is becoming an increasingly hot property as a concert city? Kraftwerk is coming to Dallas. Freaking Kraftwerk.

How rare of an opportunity is this, exactly? Last fall, the German krautrock and electronic music pioneers played a pair of shows in Austin — where these sorts of music-nerd-wet-dream acts usually land. But browse around Kraftwerk's tour history in the state of Texas and only one other show pops up: in Dallas, all the way back in 1975. There isn't even a venue name on record.

At that pace, this really might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see them here.

The group will take their 3-D concert on the road for a nine-date run of the States in September, including a stop at The Bomb Factory on Saturday, September 10. There will also be a show in San Antonio the following Monday, which will no doubt be of interest to the Kraftwerk fan who's willing to travel. (The band has a thing for highways, after all.)

Kraftwerk's influence on popular music over the past 45 years can hardly be overstated. Their early work, including the epic Autobahn, laid the template for long-form rock music that also had a huge effect on punk rock, post-punk and all sorts of experimental and noise music. Later on, the Berliners ventured into electronic music, with albums like Trans-Europe Express laying the groundwork for generations of DJs, not mention being sampled in innumerable hip-hop songs.

Tickets for the show go on sale this Friday, April 29, at 10 a.m. at kraftwerk.com. The full list of shows announced today:

9/3 North Bethesda, MD The Music Center at Strathmore
9/6 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy Peforming Arts Centre
9/7 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall
9/9 New Orleans, LA The Orpheum
9/10 Dallas, TX Bomb Factory
9/12 San Antonio, TX Tobin Center
9/15 Phoenix, AZ Orpheum Theater
9/16 San Diego, CA Balboa Theatre
9/18 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl

KEEP THE OBSERVER FREE... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.