The 10 Best Concerts of the Week: Post Malone, Belle and Sebastian, Timecop1983 and More

It's a great week to find some new summer favorites. Catch '80s synth outfit Timecop1983 at Curtain Club on Tuesday night or up-and-coming R&B singer-songwriter Bruno Major at Three Links on Wednesday. Hear new music from emo band The Get Up Kids at Trees on Thursday night, Belle and Sebastian at The Bomb Factory on Sunday night and more.


Funky Knuckles
9 p.m. Monday, June 11, Three Links, 2704 Elm St., threelinksdeepellum.com, free

The Funky Knuckles have been together for almost a decade. In 2014, the band's second album, Meta-Musica, hit No. 1 on iTunes’ jazz chart the first day of its release. The band has played with major national and local acts such as Beyoncé, Erykah Badu, Chrisette Michelle, Talib Kweli, Puff Daddy and the Polyphonic Spree. The band incorporates elements of improv and thoughtful compositions into its sets. Last year's release, New Birth, has seen much critical acclaim within the jazz community. Diamond Victoria


Outward Bound Mixtape Sessions
10 p.m. Monday, June 11, RBC, 2617 Commerce St., 469-487-6149 or rbcdeepellum.com, free

We actually look forward to Mondays now, thanks to the work of Stefan Gonzalez. The lineup he curates on that day every week at RBC is one of the best places in the city to discover new music. Outward Bound Mixtape began a few years ago at Crown and Harp on Lower Greenville before it moved to Deep Ellum, where it offers the same opportunity for local and touring acts to try out something new in front of an enthusiastic and open-minded crowd of regulars, whether that means a first show, new songs or a sound that defies genre labels. If you ask the act du jour in Dallas noise, punk, goth or free jazz where it played some of its first shows, you'll likely be told Outward Bound, so attend Mondays and stay ahead of the curve. Caroline North


Timecop1983
8 p.m. Tuesday, June 12, Curtain Club, 2800 Main St., eventbrite.com, $12 and up

Dutch electronic artist Jordy Leenaerts, aka Timecop1983, is one of the paramount producers riding the wave of ’80s revivalism that’s washed like a tsunami over current pop culture from The Goldbergs and G.L.O.W. to Ready Player One and Stranger Things — especially the soundtracks. As the wave continues to wash over producers stationed at computers and hardware synthesizers, retro-futurist synthwave, or “retrowave,” acts keep dropping ’80s-inspired cinematic synth tracks online and in wax, picking up where pioneering German electronic outfit Tangerine Dream and Greek electronic composer Vangelis left off on the soundtracks for Risky Business and Blade Runner, respectively. With Timecop1983 (and his darker project, Division), Leenaerts draws inspiration from ’80s movies, video games, television shows and, most evidently, the movie Drive’s soundtrack. (In interviews, Leenaerts says the 2011 American film moved him to create what he calls “dreamwave.”) Nearly every Timecop1983 track conjures neon-filled visions of driving through rain-soaked city streets. The tracks also play well at dance clubs, sweaty gyms or just chillin’ on the couch — reminiscent of Survive, Com Truise and Chromatics. Philadelphia synth-pop duo Korine and the Brooklyn-based Æon Rings aptly support Timecop1983 as openers. Daniel Rodrigue


Bruno Major
9 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, Three Links, 2704 Elm St., threelinksdeepellum.com, $12/$15

Indie R&B singer-songwriter Bruno Major is on a headlining tour this summer just a couple of months after wrapping up his opening spot with English pop star Sam Smith's UK tour. The London-bred musician's debut album, A Song for Every Moon, has been described as a pop-infused R&B collection of highly emotionally charged tracks. DV


The Get Up Kids
With The Casket Lottery, 9 p.m. Thursday, June 14, Trees, 2709 Elm St., treesdallas.com, $19

For the past few years, the Get Up Kids have stuck to the older material people fell in love with, meaning songs from their first two albums with a couple of songs from their third and fourth albums. But it has been many years since they have played new material. With a new EP coming out, Kicker, expect to hear some fresh songs mix in with the old songs. The five-piece has not been a very active band for years, but a stop in the North Texas area always seems to be on the short tours it does. It’s still a vital band and an important bridge between '90s post-hardcore and '00s emo. Eric Grubbs


Post Malone
7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 14, Toyota Music Factory, 16 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Irving, $89 and up

Going from country-tinged folk strumming to the appropriation-as-pop posturing of “White Iverson” is a path no rapper has walked before. Even more surprising, though, is that this same white, Southern-reared singer-songwriter with little rapping experience went on to make an undeniable hip-hop masterstroke like “Congratulations.” That Post Malone duplicated this success with subsequent single “Rockstar” and roped in two of rap’s best talents in Quavo and 21 Savage takes the cake. For better or worse, Post Malone is unlike anything seen in rap before. The only thing more unexpected than his Nascar-meets-Ghostface-Killah taste in fashion is the artist’s intense work ethic and skill for building close friendships with industry tastemakers. Everything about Post Malone, from his wonky career arc to his tasteless cornrows, shouldn’t work, but it does. In a moment of brutalist specialists like Pusha T and club conquerors like Migos, the fact that Post Malone has carved out a resounding voice all his own speaks volumes. Face it: Dude’s got skillz. Jonathan Patrick


Tanya Tucker
10:30 p.m. Friday, June 15, Billy Bob's Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, 817-624-7117, billybobstexas.com, $16/$30

Few artists make it out the other side of child stardom. Experiencing the pressures of fame at such a young age has a way of unraveling even the best of talents. After bursting onto the country music scene in 1972 with top 10 single “Delta Dawn,” Tanya Tucker found fame and fortune at just 16 years of age. As with many before and since, Tucker’s early rise soon gave birth to those demons we typically associate with celebrity struggle: toxic relationships, youthful recklessness, chemical dependance. But unlike most, she persevered and is, at 58, a wiser, more emotive artist because of it. Glowing with spiritual aching and bittersweet empathy, Tucker’s pop-inflected tunes marry her larger-than-life legacy to intimate song writing. Loneliness and the toll of addiction are themes felt more than referenced in Tucker’s music, but the weight of such heavy experiences has given her music an inspirational and painterly beauty. To catch a Tucker performance is to witness a classic section of country music’s varied history and to see determination and artistic endurance personified. JP


Heartbyrne
9 p.m. Friday, June 15, The Box Garden, 7800 Windrose Ave., Plano, legacyfoodhall.com, free

We can't expect a Talking Heads reunion anytime soon, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a live performance second only to the iconic new-wave, art-pop band itself. The Austin-bred tribute band Heartbyrne celebrates the music of Talking Heads, as well as that of founder and frontman David Byrne. The band's concerts mimic the Talking Heads' seminal concert film, Stop Making Sense. DV


Brave Combo
7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 16, Poor David's Pub, 1313 S. Lamar Blvd., 214-565-1295 or poordavidspub.com, $16-$19

For more than 35 years, Denton-based Brave Combo has been delighting us with its wonderfully original polka and off-kilter approaches to classics such as The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," along with original salsa, cha-cha-cha, samba, cumbia and plenty of other musical styles. The Grammy Award-winning band has received plenty of national attention with numerous albums but is no stranger to the small venues of North Texas. And while the search is still on for missing member Joe Cripps, Brave Combo continues to play for those who love the music. DV


Belle and Sebastian
8 p.m. Sunday, June 17, Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., 214-932-6501, $40.50

Scottish indie-pop group Belle and Sebastian will stop in Dallas for the first time since 2015. Its return comes at a particularly fortunate time in the band’s history. The conclusion to the group’s three-part EP, How to Solve Our Human Problems, dropped in February, and the band is planning fan cruise and festival for the end of summer 2019. The Boaty Weekender, named in honor of the 20th anniversary of Belle and Sebastian’s Bowlie Weekender Festival, will be a four-day cruise from Spain to Sardinia and back, complete with themed balls, yoga classes and the first live performance of the band’s 2000 album, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant. While perhaps considered a little more obscure on this side of the pond, Belle and Sebastian’s latest offerings have been more than well received. And with fan favorites like “The Boy with the Arab Strap” and “Piazza, New York Catcher,” Belle and Sebastian’s latest resurgence is the perfect chance to catch the group live. Nicholas Bostick