10 Best Concerts of the Week: Iron & Wine, Tool, Oliver Tree and More

There's a lot of range on this week's concert list and lots of opportunities to get outside of your comfort zone. Iron & Wine starts off the concert week with a night of music and film in Oak Cliff, and Pam Tillis leads the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo into its final weekend — a weekend that Jamey Johnson will be closing on Saturday. It's a blast from the past on Friday as Herman's Hermits takes us into the weekend in Arlington. In Dallas that night, music lovers can stay small with a country show from Jason Boland at the Kessler or a hip-hop show from Mick Jenkins in Deep Ellum. Or, you can go big with the Tool show everyone will be posting about Friday night into Saturday morning. Back in Deep Ellum on Saturday, English band Squid brings the clamor to Club Dada, and Hot Chip brings the dance party to It'll Do. Sunday, Oliver Tree does whatever it is that Oliver Tree does in The Cedars. May the weather be in your favor.
Iron & Wine
6:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 1, The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. Sold Out.

This Thursday, The Texas Theatre's night of film and music will begin with the Sub Pop Records co-produced film, Who Can See Forever. The movie is partially a concert film and partially a music documentary, but mostly it is a meditative examination of singer-songwriter Sam Beam, better known by his stage name, Iron & Wine. The film was shot over the course of three years, covering the period between the artist's two Grammy nominations, when he was touring constantly. The film uses the traditional concert film as a start before exploring the depths of the artist. After the screening, there will be a Q&A followed by a live, acoustic performance by Beam. This special tour premiered in New York City in December, followed by two California showings in January. This week's Dallas date kicks off the tour proper, which will visit cities across the country.
Pam Tillis
7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 1, Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. $15.95+ at ticketmaster.com

The oldest daughter of outlaw country singer Mel Tillis, Pam Tillis began her career in the early '80s as a pop singer, releasing two singles that just didn't go very far. Tillis released her first country album, Put Yourself in My Place, in 1991, and half of the album's tracks entered Billboard's U.S. Country Songs list. That album eventually became gold-certified, and it was followed by two more that were certified platinum in the 1990s. Tillis didn't release anything after being dropped from her label in the early 2000s, but she came back in 2007 with a new album, RhineStoned, released on her own record label, Stellar Cat. Tillis continues to tour and collaborate with other singers — notably Lorrie Morgan, with whom Tillis has released two collaborative albums. Tillis will have opening support from the Arlington-founded band Little Texas at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone
6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 2, Arlington Music Hall, 224 N. Center St., Arlington. $19+ at eventbrite.com

In 1964, 15-year-old singer Peter Noone achieved international fame fronting British beat band Herman’s Hermits. That same year, a little band from Liverpool called The Beatles launched the so-called British Invasion, which saw dozens of British acts making their way across the pond to perform for an American audience that just couldn't get enough. Over the next decade, Herman’s Hermits racked up multiple hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” “I’m Henry VIII, I Am" and “Dandy.” To date, Herman’s Hermits have sold over 60 million recordings, with 14 singles and seven albums going gold. Noone is no longer an official member of the band and has to tour as "Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone" for legal reasons, but he will be bringing all of the group's hits to the stage Friday night in Arlington.
Jason Boland & The Stragglers
7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 2, The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. $28+ at prekindle.com

For over 20 years, Jason Boland & The Stragglers have been at the forefront of the Red Dirt country movement, paving the way for acts like Cross Canadian Ragweed, Stoney LaRue and Turnpike Troubadours. From their humble beginnings in Hurrah, Oklahoma, to their relocation to Austin, Jason Boland & The Stragglers have slowly moved their way up the country charts by keeping their music raw and their lyrics pointed. Boland kept himself busy during the pandemic by returning to the studio to record an EP of covers and working on a new Stragglers album produced by longtime collaborator Shooter Jennings. The Delectric Tour '24 comes through Oak Cliff on Friday with an opening performance by 19-year-old country singer-songwriter Logan Halstead.
Mick Jenkins
7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 2, Trees, 2709 Elm St. $26 at axs.com

Rapper Mick Jenkins was a sophomore in college when he decided he wanted to rap, so he entered a competition offering up a pair of Beats By Dre headphones for the winner. Jenkins did not win, but the experience gave him a passion for writing and performing. Starting in 2012, Jenkins released eight mixtapes and EPs independently before signing with the Cinematic Music Group, home of Joey Bada$$ and T-Pain. Jenkins saw some moderate success with his debut album, The Healing Component, but he remained a mostly underground rapper for that and his next two albums on the label. Last year, however, Jenkins signed with RBC records and released The Patience. Though the album failed to chart, it was received with universal acclaim from critics who praised the rapper's clear voice and mastery of rhyme, and it landed on several year-end best-of lists in 2023. 
Tool
7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 2, American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave. $180+ at ticketmaster.com

It's difficult to know where to start with a band like Tool. Since 1990, Tool has amassed a rabid, cult-like following that is known for digging deep into the hidden details behind every single note the band has committed to a recording. Simultaneously, the band has amassed an equally huge fanbase of folks who just want to rock out to something with a little more intelligence than the average rock band. Given the talent of each member in the band, Tool is able to court both audiences with ease, selling out venues whether promoting a new album or just putting on a show for the fans. Tool is also known for taking lower-level bands on tour who don't exactly match the style but the spirit of the band. For this tour, stoner metal band Elder will be opening the show.
Squid
7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3, Club Dada, 2720 Elm St. $20 at seetickets.us

English post-punk band Squid formed in Brighton in 2016, sounding like just about every other darkwave band getting started in a local music scene. By the time Squid released its first EP, Town Centre, in 2019, everything had changed. Gone were the spooky sounds and droning vocals; in their place were wild beats, chaotic guitars, horns and the unhinged vocals of drummer Ollie Judge. The change in direction paid off, attracting the attention of iconic British independent label Warp Records, where the band has been ever since. The band played SXSW in 2019, but due to the pandemic, Squid has been unable to return to Texas. Touring in support of last summer's O Monolith, Squid plays its first-ever show in Dallas Saturday with an opening set from indie-pop duo Water From Your Eyes.
Jamey Johnson
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3, Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. $45.95+ at ticketmaster.com

Alabama country artist Jamey Johnson was 30 years old before he ever signed a record contract. Before that, he spent the first half of his 20s serving in the Marine Corps Reserve. It was toward the end of his time with the Marines that he began playing music in honky-tonks around Montgomery. It wasn't long after he had the opportunity to open a show for the legendary country outlaw David Allan Coe that Johnson decided to move to Nashville and pursue country music full-time. He spent the latter half of his 20s taking any gig he could get in Nashville before landing a songwriting contract and penning, among others, "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" for Trace Adkins in 2005. That same year, Johnson also released his own single, "The Dollar," which remains one of his most popular songs. Annie Bosko opens for Johnson at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Hot Chip (DJ Set)
9 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3, It'll Do Club, 4322 Elm St. $25+ at eventbrite.com

English synthpop band Hot Chip had been around for nearly a decade before "Ready for the Floor" hit U.S. airwaves and launched the band with a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2008. The band had been a moderate success in the U.K. after the 2006 release, The Warning. With songs such as "Over and Over" and "Boy from School," it established itself as a successor to New Order thanks to Hot Chip's working-class spirit, sung to the tune of an art school rhythm. The band had four releases in the 2010s, each one diving more deeply into the indietronica and dance world and earning it more accolades. The band released its eighth studio album, Freakout/Release, in August 2022, followed by a series of singles in the last year. Hot Chip will be performing a DJ set on Saturday after a set from resident DJ Red Eye.
Oliver Tree
8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 4, South Side Ballroom, 1135 Botham Jean Blvd. $45 at ticketmaster.com

Alternative hip-hop star Oliver Tree made his television debut in 2016, but the musician's career really began a few years earlier when he started releasing dubstep music, first under the name Kryph and then using his middle name, Tree. In 2013, Tree released both an EP and an independent full-length record before hanging up the dubstep and going back to school to study music technology at the California Institute of the Arts. In 2017, Oliver Tree's self-produced first single "When I'm Down" went viral, earning the singer a contract with Atlantic Records. Since coming into the public eye, Tree has been known for his comedic approach to music as well as his outlandish fashion sense. It is tempting to write him off as a novelty act at times, but the way he treats the subject of loneliness in his latest, Alone in a Crowd, suggests that there is a lot more going on under the surface. FIDLAR and Jasiah open the show.