10 Best Concerts of the Week: Abraham Alexander, Janet Jackson, Weezer and More

Sorry to front-load your concert week so heavily this time, North Texas, but most of the week’s best concerts are happening Friday night. Sure, one of those concerts is Abraham Alexander, the Fort Worth singer-songwriter who will be putting on three nights of album release shows in Oak Cliff. However, the other seven will require a bit of decision-making. You could potentially catch Janet Jackson and Ludacris, Rodney Crowell or Aaron Watson and make it across town in time to dance the night away to Paul Oakenfold, but that may be harder to swing if you plan to attend the Doyle, Heartless Bastards or Rhett Miller shows – especially since that Rhett Miller show is in Fort Worth. After the chaos of Friday, the rest of the week is smooth sailing. On Saturday, darkwave pioneers Clan of Xymox play a show on Greenville Avenue, and next Tuesday, Weezer will play a concert in Irving with a little help from Modest Mouse. Don’t fret. Next week will provide a little more balance.

Abraham Alexander
7 p.m. Thursday – Saturday, June 1-3, The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. $24+ at prekindle.com

Born in Greece, Abraham Alexander was adopted in Texas at the age of 11 after losing his mother in an automobile accident. Alexander excelled at sports in his adopted home before an injury left him with a lot of unoccupied time that he would later fill with music. After a few years developing his voice and guitar skills, a chance meeting led Alexander to record backing vocals on Leon Bridges’ 2015 debut album, Coming Home. On the advice of his new mentor, Alexander began playing open mics around North Texas, amassing a huge local following. In celebration of the singer’s debut album Sea/Sons, Alexander will  headline three shows at The Kessler this week with a different opening act each night. On Thursday, indie-folk duo from New York-via-Texas Eaglin opens the show. Austin singer-songwriter Calder Allen does the honors on Friday, and Alexandra warms up the crowd on Saturday.

Rodney Crowell
6:30 p.m. Friday, June 2, Longhorn Ballroom, 216 Corinth St. $38+ at prekindle.com

The newly reopened Longhorn Ballroom invites you to spend a night with country music legend Rodney Crowell this Friday. Crowell has recently worked with rising Fort Worth country musician Vincent Neil Emerson, producing the young artist’s new self-titled album last year. Crowell has spent nearly 50 years as one of the greatest songwriters in country music, earning the Academy of Country Music’s “Poet’s Award” in 2019. The last time we saw Crowell, he was showcasing his writing and his songwriting, reading from his new book, Word For Word, sharing stories and performing the songs that have made him a highly sought-after songwriter. This time around, Crowell will be putting on a traditional concert performance with opening support from the Americana duo Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley.

Janet Jackson
6:30 p.m. Friday, June 2, Dos Equis Pavilion, 1818 First Ave. $32.95+ at livenation.com

There is just so much that didn’t happen in 2020, especially for pop legend Janet Jackson. The singer had announced her 12th album, Black Diamond, which was going to be accompanied by a world tour. Due to the pandemic, neither happened. The tour was scrapped and the new album’s future was thrown into uncertainty. Well, at least one of those two wrongs is being corrected, as Janet Jackson brings her Together Again Tour to Fair Park on Friday night. There is still no clear word on the future of the Black Diamond album, however. Jackson’s most recent release was the single “Made For Now” – a non-album collaboration she did with the King of Reggaeton Daddy Yankee in 2018. After a short set of hits from Atlanta rapper Ludacris, Ms. Jackson’s fans can look forward to a four-act show with 40 songs spanning the her entire 40-year career.

Aaron Watson
6:30 p.m. Friday, June 2, Lava Cantina, 5805 Grandscape Blvd., The Colony. $20+ at eventbrite.com

It’s hard to believe that Texas country musician Aaron Watson has been around for more than 20 years now. His first album was released in 1999, but it wasn’t until the release of his 2015 album The Underdog that this true country underdog found national acclaim. Since then, the singer’s popularity has only grown, and Watson was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2020. A prolific songwriter, Watson has released a new album nearly every year since his first. His eighteenth album, Unwanted Man, came out last summer, celebrating his status as a DIY, outlaw country performer. Watson has built a solid reputation for his live performances, dazzling audiences with a mix of love songs and good old-fashioned country story songs. Watson performs in The Colony this Friday night with opening support from Nashville singer-songwriter Jenna Paulette.

Doyle
7 p.m. Friday, June 2, Trees, 2709 Elm St. $18 at axs.com

Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (born Paul Caiafa) is best known for his time playing guitar alongside his bass-playing brother, Jerry Only, in the legendary Lodi, New Jersey, punk band Misfits, which put on an earth-shattering show in Dallas last Halloween. This week, as Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig announced that he will be returning to Dallas in September to perform his eponymous debut album in full, Doyle has been preparing for his own solo show in Deep Ellum. Doyle, the band, is fronted by Alex “Wolfman” Story, who regularly fronts the metal band Cancerslug. During performances, Doyle maintains his Frankenstein’s monster look while Story takes on a werewolf persona. The band hasn’t put anything out since 2017, but Doyle’s music has never really been as big a draw as his or the band’s performances. Doyle and company will have opening support from LA rock band Red Devil Vortex and local support from thrash-punk band Electric Vengeance

Heartless Bastards
8 p.m. Friday, June 2, Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave. $20+ at prekindle.com

Formed in Cincinnati in 2003, Heartless Bastards have combined blues, country, garage and indie rock into something that is uniquely its own sound, and one that’s uniquely American. Over the course of nearly two decades, the band has released six albums – the first three on the iconic punk label Fat Possum Records. In 2021, Heartless Bastards released its latest album, A Beautiful Life. Fronted by the powerful voice of Erika Wennerstrom, the album was a meditation on the many issues that plague our world and how to find mental strength in the midst of it all. Most recently, the band released a tenth-anniversary deluxe edition of its fourth album and first album after leaving Fat Possum, Arrow. This Friday, Heartless Bastards will have opening support from Dallas indie-rock band About You.

Rhett Miller
8 p.m. Friday, June 2, Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall, 122 E. Exchange Ave., Ste. 200, Fort Worth. $29+ at ticketmaster.com

Rhett Miller, frontman for North Texas alt-country institution Old 97’s, has always been a prolific songwriter. Aside from writing enough songs with his primary band to fill 12 albums over the course of 30 years, he has also spent plenty of time writing and recording his own material – eight albums’ worth. Miller’s solo career predates the Old 97’s, beginning in 1989 when he released his first album while he was still in high school. The Old 97’s was just one of several bands Miller played with between his graduation and 1993. Miller didn’t release another album until 2002, but since then, all but one of those solo albums has had the name of a different identity: The Instigator, The Dreamer, The Traveler and most recently, The Misfit, which was released last September. The album displays a more pensive and low-key version of Miller than Old 97’s fans might be used to, but one whose familiar songwriting they’re sure to enjoy.

Paul Oakenfold
10 p.m. Friday, June 2, Stereo Live, 2711 Storey Lane. $10+ at eventbrite.com

Paul Oakenfold is simply one of the most important and influential DJs to grace the world of electronic music. Before the now-legendary trance DJ had released his first official album in 2002, he had already made his mark in the worlds of U.K. and U.S. dance music. The first DJ to headline the Glastonbury Festival in 1999 and a major attraction at Cyberfest the next year in Fresno (the largest dance festival ever in America to that point), Oakenfold paved the way for every DJ who has followed in his path to stardom. In recent years, Oakenfold has stayed busy working on everything from mixes to film scores to collaborations with artists such as Britney Spears, The Rolling Stones and New Order. After releasing what will be only his fourth studio album, Shine On, last year, Oakenfold returns to Dallas to play electronic music venue Stereo Live.

Clan of Xymox
8 p.m. Saturday, June 3, Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave. $25+ at prekindle.com

Dutch band Clan of Xymox are founders of the darkwave sound. Formed as a trio in 1981, Clan of Xymox began making dance records that inspired listeners to get dark – through minor scales and sorrowful lyrics. And while Clan of Xymox may not be as well-remembered as other darkwave pioneers like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soft Cel or Depeche Mode, the band has developed an avid cult following that holds them in the highest regard, especially across the pond. While they may be playing a relatively small venue here in North Texas, the Clan have been a headlining act at festivals in England, Germany and The Netherlands. The band released their most recent album, Limbo, in 2021, but are only now embarking on a North American tour in support of the album. Opening acts are Austin industrial darkwave artist Curse Mackey, Brooklyn duo A Cloud of Ravens and Dallas DJ Lord Byron

Weezer
7 p.m. Tuesday, June 6, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 300 W. Las Colinas Blvd. $128+ at livenation.com

Power pop band Weezer started life as an emo band in the mid-’90s. The band released a self-titled debut in 1994 and its follow-up, Pinkerton, in 1996. Taken together, the two albums exposed the inner emotional life of the band’s principal songwriter, Rivers Cuomo, inspiring bands like Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World and Saves the Day. In 2001, the band decided to go in a different direction, switching to a simpler style of songwriting with less personal lyrics, and they have stuck with that formula for 13 albums and a handful of EPs. The band concluded their SZNZ (pronounced “seasons”) project last December. The project saw the band release four, seven-song EPs over the course of the year – one for each season. The series divided critics but delighted fans. Indie-rock legends Modest Mouse and indie up-and-comers Momma open the show.