10 Best Concerts of the Week: The Killers, Rufus Wainwright, Alicia Keys and More

What makes for a good concert week is variety, and what this week has in store for North Texas is about as varied as it gets. Starting with '80s rock and ending with '00s R&B, these 10 shows recall the past while looking forward to the future of music locally, nationally and internationally. This week's shows also celebrate artistic development. Kicking things off is Tesla, a band that adapted with every change the industry threw at it. One could say that The Killers, who play Saturday night, have done something similar in the world of alt-rock. On Sunday, one of emo-pop's most beloved bands comes to Fort Worth in the form of a solo show, and on Wednesday, one of the ubiquitous pop bands of the mid-'90s shows that it can do a lot more than "MMMBop." Returning to the stage this week is Anglo-French band Stereolab, as well as local bands Sealion and Here Holy Spain. The great thing about music and time is that time usually improves the music, doesn't it?
Tesla
6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $89+ at livenation.com

When you think about rock bands from the '80s, names like Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Poison probably come to mind more readily than the Sacramento rock band Tesla. However, Tesla was there in 1981, setting the look and feel of '80s hair metal just as all those other bands were getting started. Tesla did not have the same career trajectory. While Mötley Crüe and Poison got picked up by labels quickly, Tesla spent more time honing its chops on the local scene before getting picked up just in time to see all that '80s hair metal begin to fade away. The band's first two albums, 1986's Mechanical Resonance and 1989's The Great Radio Controversy, were definitely more in line with the glam metal style that had come to define the decade, but Tesla quickly did an about-face, shifting to a more blues-rock sound on 1991's Psychotic Supper. Despite its breakups and lineup shifts, Tesla remains a hard-rocking band to this day.
Brad Paisley
10 p.m. Friday & Saturday, Sept. 9 & 10, Billy Bob's Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza. $40+ at axs.com

Since the late '90s, Brad Paisley has been carefully toeing the line between pop country and outlaw country, producing country music that has mass appeal to radio fans and country purists alike. While he hasn't released an album of new music since his 12th album, 2017's Love and War, the country singer has taken his music around the world on three separate tours in 2019, 2021 and now his 2022 world tour, which stops in Fort Worth Friday night. Paisley has been keeping any new music news close to his vest. While there is definitely new music in the works, Paisley's latest material has been in the form of singles such as "Bucked Off" and "My Miracle," as well as his collaboration with Jimmie Allen, "Freedom Was a Highway." Paisley is known for putting on a fun show for country fans of all kinds, so what better place to see him than North Texas' premier honky-tonk? He'll be playing there twice.
The Killers
6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, Dickies Arena, 1911 Montgomery St., Fort Worth. $70+ at ticketmaster.com

For years, Las Vegas rock band The Killers was known for its anthemic, stadium-ready songs such as "Somebody Told Me," "When You Were Young" and "Human." During the pandemic, however, the band took a more restrained approach to recording its latest release, Pressure Machine. Marking the return of guitarist Dave Keuning, Pressure Machine is written as a concept album centered on lead singer Brandon Flowers' childhood in Nephi, Utah. Drawing lyrical influences from Bruce Springsteen and modernist fiction, the album has more in common with the heartland rock of John Mellencamp than it does with The Killers' past efforts. Former guitarist for The Smiths, Johnny Marr, opens for The Killers in support of his February release, Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4, which showcases the guitarist's versatility. Austin alternative rock duo Me Nd Adam opens the show.
Van Damme
8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, Three Links, 2704 Elm St. $15 at seetickets.us

The new supergroup from Dallas, Van Damme, makes its debut this Saturday night at Three Links in Deep Ellum. Van Damme's lineup includes frontman James Van Damme and drummer Nick Russo from Duell, lead guitarist Michael Doty from The House Harkonnen and bass player Rhys Johnson from Whep. The band released its first single, "Don't Give Up" and its B-side "Be Still" late last month to the elation of fans who had all but given up on seeing a return of Duell to the North Texas stage. Fans of the band members' former bands are sure to enjoy the new work of this exciting collective, as will fans of Poison the Well, Deftones and, really, anything heavy enough to get your head banging with reckless abandon. Van Damme's members are fans of 1980s guitar gods, which means that Van Damme North Texas concertgoers can look forward to a night of shredding and thrashing. Kolga and Partaker open the show.
Panic! At The Disco
6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, Dickie's Arena, 1911 Montgomery St., Fort Worth. $30.50+ at ticketmaster.com

The one-time pop-punk band Panic! At The Disco is now the solo project of that band's lead singer, Brendon Urie. Founded in Las Vegas and signed to Pete Wentz's Decaydance Records before ever playing a live show, Panic! At The Disco entered the public consciousness when the second single from A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," became a Top 10 hit. Over the course of three more albums, the band's sound became progressively more synth-pop influenced as it shed its members until becoming a single-man pop act. Despite being a solo act, Panic! At The Disco retains its earliest emo qualities in Urie's lyrics and voice. While Urie's songs have gotten bigger and even more radio-friendly, worry not: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" is still a part of the singer's set list. Indie pop band Beach Bunny and pop singer-songwriter Jake Wesley Rogers provide the opening support.
Stereolab
7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $35+ at livenation.com

Formed in London in 1990, Stereolab is the creation of French musician Lætitia Sadier and English guitarist and songwriter Tim Gane. Combining elements of krautrock, lounge, 1960s pop music and repetitive motorik beat and vintage electronic keyboards, this Anglo-French duo set the tone for avant-pop for decades to come. Stereolab was undeniably one of the most influential bands going throughout the '90s and 2000s thanks to its fiercely independent nature and endless innovation. But after two decades on top of the indie music world, Stereolab announced a hiatus in 2009 for the members to pursue other projects. That hiatus ended up lasting a full decade until the duo decided to launch a European tour in 2019. While the band has yet to grace fans with a new album, it did release the fourth and fifth volumes of its Switched On compilation series in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Another Anglo-French singing duo, Fievel is Glauque, opens the show.
Virgo Prom
7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, Three Links, 2704 Elm St. $20 at seetickets.us

It's really hard to tell where to start with this Virgo Prom. First of all, Sealion is returning to its home stage as the headliner, supported by the area's foremost dark wave band, Rosegarden Funeral Party. Here Holy Spain will also be playing one its first performances since 2015. The always electrifying punk band American Shit Storm will also be performing, and in between sets, True Widow's Nikki Cage will be on the 1s and 2s with Vinyl Bombshell. But what music fans should really be on the lookout for here is The Wee-Beasties. The 10- or 11-piece symphonic brass punk collective released its new full-length album Party With Us! at the beginning of the month and will be performing songs from the album live for the first time. Produced by Brave Combo's Robert Hokamp, Party With Us! is epic in its scope like Rancid's ...And Out Come the Wolves. The punk album is fast, funny and smart, with just a little bit of country in parts to let you know this band is from the great state of Texas.
Hanson
6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $39.50 at livenation.com

This may be hard for you to hear, but Hanson has been around for nearly 30 years at this point, and if the last thing you remember about the band is its 1997 smash hit single "MMMBop," then you really don't know anything about them. While "MMMBop" still has its place toward the end of a Hanson set, the band has long since parted ways with its past as a pop act, becoming a purely independent band in the mid-2000s. In the seven albums released since becoming an indie band, the brothers Hanson have developed as musicians and grown ever more conceptual. On their most recent release, Red Green Blue, each Hanson brother wrote and produced his own collection of songs — Taylor’s Red, Isaac’s Green and Zac’s Blue. The album showcases the widest range of the band's talent, with each section differing from the next. Los Angeles rock duo The Grand Southern will warm up the audience.
Rufus Wainwright
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. $29.50+ at axs.com

The son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright has built his career as a Baroque pop artist with his fine tenor voice and love of all things theatrical. Performing without an opening act Wednesday night at the Majestic Theatre, Wainwright finally brings his 2020 release Unfollow the Rules to a North Texas stage. Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Unfollow the Rules was Wainwright's first release since 2012's Mark Ronson-produced Out of the Game, which hinted at the singer's desire to give up his stardom. Clearly, that was not the case. Wainwright did spend some time out of the limelight, composing the opera Prima Donna in 2015 and Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets in 2016. For Unfollow the Rules, Wainwright is back to his old tricks, writing songs of love and peace and an ode to Joni Mitchell titled "Damsel in Distress."
Alicia Keys
7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 300 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Irving. $29.50+ at ticketmaster.com

Alicia Keys was just 19 years old when we caught the first glimpse of her sitting behind the piano for her hit single "Fallin'" from her debut Songs in A Minor. That album would go on to earn Keys five Grammy Awards including "Song of the Year" and "Best New Artist." Keys has had much success as both a singer and a songwriter, writing songs for folks like Christina Aguilera, Drake, Jamie xx and the late Whitney Houston, along with putting out her own work. On top of that, Keys has also acted on the big and small screens as well as on stage, and she's been a judge on The Voice. Keys' first seven albums all charted in the top 10, but her most recent work, the double album Keys, has not fared so well. Perhaps it was because its release date was around last Christmas or perhaps it was because of the broad scope of the project, but Keys topped out at No. 41 on the charts in its first week before falling back down. Despite its lackluster sales, Keys is still highly regarded by music critics for its originality and artistry.