10 Best Concerts of the Week: Roger Waters, The Chicks, Lil Nas X and More

Every week, we get to celebrate the wide range of music North Texas attracts to its hallowed venues, and this week gives us a lot to celebrate.

First, on Friday, The Doobie Brothers are coming back to town with Michael McDonald back in the fold, while master songsmith John Fullbright returns to Dallas with his first new album in nearly a decade. On Saturday, Roger Waters gets political at the American Airlines Center, while The Dead Boys tear up Amplified Live. Later in the weekend, Titus Andronicus brings its brand of high-concept punk to Deep Ellum. Early next week sees the homecoming of two North Texas acts: The Chicks play two nights in Irving, and DOMi & JD Beck return to Beck's old stomping grounds in Deep Ellum. Your concert week ends with Lil Nas X at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, which is sure to be quite a show. It's like listening to your liked songs on shuffle, only with hundreds of people around you.
The Doobie Brothers
6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. $461+ at ticketmaster.com

Are you ready to take it to the streets again? In honor of 50 years of writing and recording, Doobie Brothers' original members Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons, longtime member John McFee and — though he did not appear on the band's 2021 album Libertè — on-again, off-again member Michael McDonald will perform with the band for a sold-out show at the Majestic Theatre. Sure, there are some verified resale tickets out there, but they are sure to cost you an arm and a leg. And it might be worth it. Seeing the Doobie Brothers reunited with the prodigal son McDonald is something Doobie fans have waited a long time for. The singer had a prominent role in the group in the late '70s and early '80s, but left the band in 1982 to pursue a solo career. While McDonald has made appearances with the band throughout the '80s and '90s, this will be the first tour he has joined in over 25 years.
John Fullbright
7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. $26+ at prekindle.com

John Fullbright may not be the most recognizable of names in country music, but he should be. This former member of the Turnpike Troubadours has been laying down deeply emotional and introspective songs on country music's large underground circuit for almost 15 years now. Fullbright came out swinging with a debut live album in 2009, but it was his first studio effort, From the Ground Up, that caught the attention of critics outside the country world. With songs like "Jericho" and "Satan & St. Paul" sending listeners soaring through biblical allusions and the search for new meaning, Fullbright showed that Oklahoma farm boys could get emo too. Though 2014's Songs may have gotten more attention than its predecessor, Fullbright all but disappeared after the tour, popping up for short tours here and there. Last week, the singer-songwriter released his first album in eight years, The Liar, which shows no letdown in his songwriting.
The Dead Boys
7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, Amplified Live, 10261 Technology Blvd. E. $25+ at seetickets.us

Of all the great bands that got their start in New York's famed CBGB music club — Ramones, Television, Patti Smith Group, Blondie and Talking Heads — The Dead Boys were definitely the youngest, the loudest and the snottiest. Leading with two guitarists and wild frontman Stiv Bators, The Dead Boys burned bright and burned out quickly from 1975 through 1980 before splintering off into other interests. But first, they released the punk rock masterpiece, Young, Loud and Snotty, with its epic opening track "Sonic Reducer" — a song with that the band opened with while celebrating that album's 40th anniversary during a 2018 show at Three Links in Deep Ellum. Unlike that show, bass player Cheetah Chrome will be the only original member of The Dead Boys on stage Saturday night, but with Jake Hout channeling Bators on vocals, you're sure not to notice. Punk singer Suzi Moon opens the show.
Roger Waters
7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave. $31+ at ticketmaster.com

Roger Waters' This Is Not a Drill tour will finally make its way to Victory Park this weekend. Since it was originally scheduled to take place in America during an election year, the tour was first planned to be an even more political event than his previous Us + Them tour in 2017, which was already quite political in the wake of Donald Trump's election. The politics of that tour became the subject of much criticism among Waters' longtime fans who walked out of the show, prompting Waters to wonder what exactly they'd been hearing from him for over 50 years. In lieu of an opening band, Waters' performance will comprise two sets, each one teeming with Pink Floyd songs that have always been left-leaning. Anyone who shows up Saturday night with anything else in mind will be sadly disappointed, but as Rogers told CNN, "Go see Katy Perry or watch the Kardashians. I don’t care."
Titus Andronicus
7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, Deep Ellum Art Co., 3200 Commerce St. $20 at prekindle.com

Titus Andronicus has been specializing in punk-rock solutions for your everyday problems since 2008, but it's still a tough band to classify. The New Jersey quartet has made a pattern of releasing a short, solid, straight-up punk rock record followed by an album that pushes the limits of what punk rock can be.
After The Airing of Grievances came the Civil War-inspired concept album The Monitor. After Local Business came the 29-song rock opera The Most Lamentable Tragedy and the piano-heavy A Productive Cough. Then came An Obelisk, followed by The Will to Live, a concept album written partially as a response to the death of lead singer Patrick Stickles' former bandmate and close cousin Matt "Money" Miller in 2021. The album released Sept. 30 is an examination of mortality and a celebration of life. The band's songs can be short or sprawling, but whatever they are, they're delivered with intensity.
Carly Rae Jepsen
7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, South Side Ballroom, 1135 Botham Jean Blvd. $43.50+ at ticketmaster.com

Former Canadian Idol contestant Carly Rae Jepsen has been a part of America's pop consciousness since releasing her inescapable 2012 hit, "Call Me Maybe." Ever since her introduction to American audiences, there's always been something about Jepsen's music that's made her as much a darling to indie audiences as she is to the mainstream. There's really no explaining this. Jepsen's music is as pop as it gets, but like Olivia Rodrigo, Jepsen's appeal seems to rest in her unflinching honesty in delivering a pop song, whether that be in communicating happiness, hurt or just the desire to have fun. Jepsen will release her sixth album, The Loneliest Time, in late October, which is said to be the singer's "quarantine album" and draws inspiration from pop composed through the decades. The album's third single, "Talking to Yourself," was released Sept. 16. L.A. dream pop act Empress Of opens the show.
Pusha T
6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $39.50 at livenation.com

One half of the iconic rap duo Clipse, Pusha T went solo in 2010 when his brother Malice converted to Christianity and took the stage name No Malice and began recording Christian hip-hop. While the two teamed back up for a feature on Kanye West's 2019 album Jesus Is King, Pusha T has been primarily focused on his solo work for over a decade. In late April, the rapper issued his fourth studio release, It's Almost Dry, which was said to be his final album with Def Jam Recordings. The rapper later clarified that he wasn't necessarily leaving the label forever, but his contract is up and he is looking at other options. Given the album's success, Def Jam might want to go ahead and re-sign him. Debuting in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, It's Almost Dry was hailed by critics for its creative storytelling and polished production. Pusha T will have opening support from British-American rapper IDK.
DOMi & JD Beck
7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, Deep Ellum Art Company, 3200 Commerce St. $125+ at stubhub.com

A child prodigy jazz duo made up of French keyboardist DOMi Louna and Dallas drummer JD Beck, DOMi & JD Beck shook the music world to its core with the release of their debut, NOT TiGHT. With contributions from the likes of Thundercat, Mac Demarco, Anderson .Paak, Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes, NOT TiGHT drew the attention of music lovers from far outside the world of jazz and let the world know that the duo had arrived. Dallas music fans may remember Beck from the time he started performing around town at about the age of 10, following the mentorship of Cleon Edwards from Erykah Badu's band, Snarky Puppy's Robert "Sput" Searight and Dallas soul musician Jon Bap. No opening act has been announced for the duo's Monday night show in Deep Ellum, but with a hometown crowd this proud, the band hardly needs one.
The Chicks
7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 10–11, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 300 W. Las Colinas Blvd, Irving. $29+ at livenation.com

Back in 1989, sisters Emily and Martie Erwin founded The Dixie Chicks in Dallas. Many older members of the Dallas music scene will be sure to tell you about seeing them perform around town in small venues such as Poor David's Pub. Well, an awful lot has happened since then. Like the band becoming a trio fronted by Natalie Maines; Maines' word war with Toby Keith after saying she was ashamed that then-president George W. Bush was from Texas; the band's hiatus and then dropping the "Dixie" from the band's name due to its association with American slavery. Now, the Dixie-free Chicks are touring in support of their first album in 14 years, the critically acclaimed Gaslighter. Despite the controversy the band has endured at the hands of people who claim to know what country music should be, The Chicks will be playing two nearly sold-out shows just outside the band's hometown at the start of next week. Singer-songwriter Patty Griffin opens both shows.
Lil Nas X
7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 300 W. Las Colinas Blvd. $44.45+ at livenation.com

It was July 2018 when Montero Lamar Hill adopted the name Lil Nas X in honor of his favorite rapper and began putting out music on his SoundCloud. By December of that year, the artist released the country rap song "Old Town Road," and Lil Nas X has been controversial ever since. First it was whether "Old Town Road" could or even should be considered a country song when it made an appearance on Billboard's country charts. Billy Ray Cyrus let us know his thoughts when he became the featured vocalist on an April 2019 remix of the song. By the time people had finally let that controversy die, Lil Nas X came out with his video for "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" in 2021, drawing criticism from overprotective parents, macho rap purists and straight-up homophobes alike. The song would be his second No. 1 hit — not bad for someone who had only five songs out at the time. The Long Live Montero Tour is the rapper's first concert tour, and it is sure to be a spectacle.