The rain is out of the forecast, and Memorial Day weekend is looking fair-weathered and fun. This week is an especially great time to check out some live music because, unlike what we've seen in the past few weeks, there really aren't a whole lot of big names making their way through town. Sure, we've got Jeezy in Grand Prairie, Animal Collective on Lower Greenville and The Eagle's BFD in Fair Park, but other than that, this week will see more performances by local and small touring acts. That means lower ticket prices, expanding your musical horizons and getting in on the ground floor with some excellent up-and-comers. Nowhere is that spirit of musical discovery seen more than in what's going down at Rubber Gloves in Denton Friday night, but there is plenty more to find in this week's list, especially if you're the adventurous type, which you are. Why else would you be here?
Jeezy
7 p.m. Thursday, May 26, at Texas Trust CU Theatre, 1001 Performance Place, $55+ at axs.com
Atlanta rapper Jeezy (aka Young Jeezy), came out swinging in 2005. He was one of the biggest names in hip-hop as a solo act and his group Boyz n the Hood also scored big the same year with its hit "Dem Boyz." For nearly two decades now, Jeezy has always been a stalwart figure in the rap game, turning out 12 of his own albums while being featured prominently on tracks from his peers and up-and-comers such as Dallas' own Yella Beezy. For all his work in hip-hop, Jeezy has been surprisingly quiet since 2020, at least musically. Earlier this year, Jeezy marked a new era in his life, welcoming his first child with The Real host Jeannie Mai into the world in January. Thursday night, Jeezy performs with Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta star K. Michelle and New Orleans R&B singer Lloyd, who you may remember for his 2004 hit "Southside (feat. Ashanti)."
Shannon and the Clams
7 p.m. Friday, May 27, at Tulips, 112 St. Louis Ave., $20 at prekindle.com
For the past 15 years, garage punk band Shannon and the Clams has been keeping things exciting with a mix of psychedelic surf rock and classic R&B. Led by singer Shannon Shaw, who just recently made an appearance playing with Hunx and His Punx opening for Bikini Kill earlier this month, Shannon and the Clams has been a favorite among music critics for bringing together these disparate sounds in a way that honors the band's influences without copying them outright. Instead, the band writes anthemic songs in this seamless mash-up to capture the innocence and rebellion that defined the music we remember from the '50s and '60s. We've seen this kind of retrofuturist approach to music before, whether from psychobilly band Tiger Army or avant-pop band Stereolab, but when Shannon and the Clams do it, it's all for the fun of it.
First Timers Potpourri Fest
7 p.m. Friday, May 27, at Rubber Gloves, 411 E. Sycamore St., $5 at the door
Something really special is going down in Denton this Friday night. In an effort to remain on the cutting edge of North Texas' local music scene, Rubber Gloves is hosting a night of music provided by bands that have never graced its stage before. After putting out a call last month for new bands to reach out for a spot on the lineup, Rubber Gloves received dozens of submissions and narrowed the list down to 10 bands that you have more than likely never heard, much less seen live before. Even we're not entirely sure about every band on the lineup, but we can say that the First Timers Potpourri Fest will feature indie-psyche band Flow-State, dynamic rock from Zane and the Strange Angels, singer-songwriter Ryan Burke, goth-rock duo Blood Bells and many, many more. This will be the first event of its kind at Rubber Gloves, but the venue has said it plans to do more in the future.
Cody Jinks
6 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at Dos Equis Pavilion, 1818 First Ave., $35+ at livenation.com
Outlaw country singer from Haltom City Cody Jinks actually began his musical journey as a member of thrash metal band Unchecked Aggression in the early '00s. The band broke up on a tour to Los Angeles, and afterward Jinks took a year off music only to return a country musician inspired by the music he grew up on. Known for his introspective lyrics on the topics of love, loss, addiction and hard times, Jinks has found his way to the top of the Billboard country charts with his last five albums. His most recent album, Mercy, came out late last year, and the album's single "Like a Hurricane" landed the outlaw musician on mainstream country radio, which is quite an impressive feat for an artist who eschewed mainstream labels in favor of his own independent promotion.
Temptress
7 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at Andy's Bar, 122 N. Locust St., $7 at prekindle.com
Dallas' female-fronted, heavy psych-rock band Temptress plays Andy's Bar in Denton Saturday night in what is shaping up to be an exciting year for the band. Though Temptress has not put out a new release since its self-titled, three-track demo in 2019, the group has been hard at work in the studio preparing a debut album, which should see the light of day in the coming year. Last October, guitar player Erica Pipes made the difficult decision to leave the band, citing health issues, shortly before Temptress embarked on a 25-date tour with Monte Luna, but this did not stop the band from rocking it hard across America, playing shows on the East Coast, in the Rust Belt and all through the South. At home, Temptress is known to absolutely bring it with heavy licks and heady lyrics. Opening for the band are three more homegrown hard rock bands: Revan, Transit Method and Posival.
Brothers Beckham
10 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at Sundown at Granada, 3520 Greenville Ave., $10 at prekindle.com
Inspired by the rock sounds of the '70s, Brothers Beckham started when brothers Mitch and Mason found an old VHS tape of Jimi Hendrix playing Live at Berkeley in their rural Arkansas home. Taking in all that they could from Southern and classic rock acts like The Allman Brothers Band and Cream, the brothers adopted the classic sound as their own and teamed up with ZZ Top and King's X producer Sam Taylor to record their 2020, self-titled debut. Impressed by the band's sound, Eric Clapton's drummer Jamie Oldaker performed on more than half of the tracks. The album is steeped in blues rock tradition, delivered with high energy and absolute devotion to the bands that inspired it.
KEGL's BFD
2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 29, at Dos Equis Pavilion, 1818 First Ave., $29.50+ at livenation.com
Let's talk a bit about Papa Roach, this year's headliner at KEGL's annual BFD concert. It's easy to write them off as some relic from alt-metal's sketchy, turn-of-the-century past, but anyone who has actually seen them live knows that Papa Roach is a band that absolutely puts it all out there on stage, performing to the people in the very back of the lawn seating. Joining Papa Roach on the Dos Equis Pavilion stage this year are '90s post-grunge band Bush, whose 2020 album, The Kingdom, was praised for its return to the group's earliest roots. Alt-rock band Fuel will also be performing in an all-new lineup save for original guitarist Carl Bell and drummer Kevin Miller. Hard rock band Seether will round out the nostalgia acts this year. Opening the day are hard rock band Dead Sara, Mongolian rock band The HU and Stephenville rock 'n' rollers Giovannie and the Hired Guns.
Hickoids
5 p.m. Sunday, May 29, at Three Links, 2704 Elm St., $15 at seetickets.us
Austin cowpunk legends Hickoids make a return to Dallas this weekend. Founded in the mid-1980s, the band took its name from co-founder Davy Jones' description of a homeless man wearing a beaten-up cowboy hat whom he found dumpster-diving outside of Jones' apartment. The band has gone through its ups and downs over the last several decades, most recently losing Jones to cancer in 2015. Never to be stopped, Hickoids will headline Three Links' Dia de los Corn Dawgs event with opening support from Pat Todd and the Rankoutsiders, Labretta Suede and the Motel 6, The Me-Thinks and Big Foot Chester.
Animal Collective
7 p.m. Wednesday, June 1, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., $36 at prekindle.com
Experimental pop band Animal Collective has been a dorm-room favorite for over two decades now. The band's 2009 release, Merriweather Post Pavilion, stands as an undeniable classic from the end of the 21st century's first decade with classics like "My Girls" and "Brother Sport." The group is truly a collective with no single member being essential to the band's lineup. In fact, the band's most recent album, Time Skiffs, is the first album to feature all four members of the group since 2012's Centipede Hz. Hailed as the band's most cohesive album since its 2009 masterpiece, Time Skiffs doesn't break new ground as much as it solidifies Animal Collective's signature experimental sound as a new standard in music. Though the new album may not bring many brand new fans into the fold, Time Skiffs gives established Animal Collective fans exactly what they want and nothing more.
Total Chaos
8 p.m. Wednesday, June 1, at Amplified Live, 10261 Technology Blvd. E., $14 at seetickets.us
Formed in Pomona, California, in 1989, hardcore band Total Chaos has been an outspoken voice against racism and nationalism since its very beginnings. Fronted by the band's only original member, Rob Chaos, Total Chaos has been a band that walks the walk by starting organizations such as United Valley Punks, Orange County Peace Punks and the Alternative Gathering Collective as a way of building punk communities around social events like Food Not Bombs, opening the Los Angeles Anarchist Center and supporting the Big Mountain Indian Reservation. As a way of connecting communities, Total Chaos will have opening support from three local punk bands: Crucial Times, Phorids and Calculated Chaos.