This week, we get to see a couple of bedroom projects come to life when Telephone House and Big Sug throw their EP release parties for projects started during the pandemic. There's also a reunion and a homecoming to look out for with Acid Carousel visiting from their new home in Austin and with Bedside Manor getting back together for a little show in Denton. Hometown favorites Drowning Pool headline a night of metal in Fort Worth, there will be '90s nostalgia in Arlington and funk, soul and blues in Dallas. That's just half of what's going on this weekend. Grab your mask and get out there!
Telephone House
7 p.m., Thursday, May 13, at The Wild Detectives, 314 W. Eighth St., $20 at prekindle.com
Folk-pop duo Telephone House formed in the middle of the pandemic when lead vocalists, guitarists and songwriters Dan Bowman and Tarun Krishnan began sending each other notes, voice memos and demos online. After releasing their video for "Cracks in the Pavement" last March, Telephone House is ready for their Pendulum EP release party Thursday evening at Wild Detectives in Oak Cliff. To make the celebration extra special, the duo will expand to a full seven-piece band for the occasion.
Drowning Pool
6 p.m., Friday, May 14, at The Rail Club Live!, 3101 Joyce Dr., $18-$50 at eventbrite.com
Despite losing their lead singer Dave Williams in nu metal's heyday, Drowning Pool has remained stalwart in the underground metal scene for almost 20 years since. The last 10 of those years, the band has been led by singer Jasen Moreno, who was featured on the band's last two albums. The band has teased a new album since 2017, but no solid news has surfaced yet on that front. After all these years, they should have something new to play when they take the stage at The Rail Club Live! Friday Night alongside In Blood, Hell's Half Acre, Far Beyond Drunk and Benevolence.
Big Sug
7 p.m., Friday, May 14, at GROWL Records, 509 E. Abram St., free
Big Sug is the funk, R&B and rock project of McKenzie Webb and Aaron Payton, who started the band during the pandemic as a way to challenge themselves and to have some fun making music with friends. The rotation of musicians varies from show to show, but Webb and Payton are always front and center. Big Sug will premiere the six songs from their upcoming EP at GROWL Records with help from the bands and artists that helped put the album together: Cherry Mantis, Igimeji and Justin King.
The Mason Adams Project
7 p.m., Friday, May 14, at Six Springs Tavern, 147 N. Plano Rd., $10 at prekindle.com
The Mason Adams Project (MAP) plays rock 'n' roll with Southern charm. Forming in 2017, the five-piece band released their first EP in 2019 but never really had the chance to gain any traction thanks to the lockdowns. Not to be silenced, MAP kept hard at work, playing live shows when they could, doing innovative live streams when they couldn't and releasing two volumes of Quarantapes. To give the band a proper opening now that live shows are starting to feel a little more live, Loyal Sally goes first Friday night at Six Springs Tavern in Richardson.
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
7 p.m., Friday, May 14, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., $20-$33 at prekindle.com
Austin's Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears have been fusing together funk, soul and blues since 2007. The band's sound has developed over the years beyond a blues tribute band of Howlin' Wolf standards into something with a little more funk and a lot more soul. Lewis' Friday night show at the Granada is the first scheduled date on the artist's 2021 tour, and he will have local support from Americana act Texicana.
Acid Carousel
8 p.m., Friday, May 14, at Three Links, 2704 Elm St., $15 at seetickets.us
Once one of Dallas' most favored psychedelic bands, Acid Carousel made the move to Austin late last summer before releasing their latest album, Most Oddest Thing, in October. The band has kept close contact with North Texas, however, as they completed the In Your Dreams album with Fort Worth psych legend Johndavid Bartlett. Their show at Three Links in Deep Ellum this Friday will also serve as the single release show for FIT, the new band from Sealion frontman Hunter Moehring. High Life, which features Leah Lane and Wil Farrier of Rosegarden Funeral Party, opens the show.
Bedside Manor
6 p.m., Saturday, May 15, at Killer's Tacos, 424 Bryan St., free
Bedside Manor was a pop-punk band out of Denton that released an album and an EP in 2017 and 2018, respectively, played their last show in December 2018 and were never heard from again. Until now, that is. Saturday evening will see the return of Bedside Manor for a reunion show at Killer's Tacos in Denton. Fort Worth pop-punk band Push Button Panic opens the show, and Denton's own Velvet Skyline will close it out.
Kyle Nix
7 p.m., Saturday, May 15, at Tulips, 112 St. Louis Ave., $25-$55 at prekindle.com
Kyle Nix played fiddle with Turnpike Troubadours from the band's early days until their indefinite hiatus, which started in May 2019. Since then, Nix rounded up some of the members of the Troubadours as his backing band and released the album Lightning on the Mountain & Other Short Stories last year. The album's songs are inspired by tales from American folklore with a spaghetti Western theme. The audience at Tulips Saturday night can expect a musical and cinematic night.
Big Head Todd & The Monsters
8 p.m., Saturday, May 15, at Arlington Backyard, 1650 E. Randol Mill Rd., $39.50-$516 at eventbrite.com
Feeling nostalgic? Then get ready for a night of soft alternative rock from the band that brought you the platinum-selling album Sister Sweetly in 1993 and sing-along hits "Circle," "Broken Hearted Survivor" and, of course, "Bittersweet." The Arlington Backyard at Texas Live! hosts the band for an outdoor, limited capacity show. Big Head Todd & The Monsters have been together writing albums and touring consistently since 1986; there is a lot more to this band than that one album from the '90s.
The Meteors
8 p.m., Sunday, May 16, at Gas Monkey Bar 'n' Grill, 10261 Technology Blvd. E., $18-$120 at eventbrite.com
An English psychobilly band (that's punk plus rockabilly) formed in 1980, The Meteors will be coming to the Gas Monkey Bar 'n' Grill stage presented by DJ Crash with a little local support from Rock 'N' Roll Cannibals Sunday night. Having toured the globe extensively and releasing over a dozen live albums in their 40+ years of existence, it is safe to say that the band knows their way around a stage and an audience. To put it another way: There is a very good chance that you will have a good time.