10 Best Concerts of the Week: Elle King, Tanya Tucker, The Dennis Gonzalez Legacy Band and More

As North Texas emerges from this bout of winter weather, we're starting to see a return of recognizable touring acts, which will continue to develop as we get closer to spring. Your concert week begins with a bit of metal royalty as Max Cavalera brings his Go Ahead and Die project to Deep Ellum. Friday is a full night of country music in Fort Worth with James McMurtry, Elle King and Tanya Tucker headlining separate shows on the same night. The fun continues in Fort Worth on Saturday with the Not Stock festival and its stacked lineup of local and regional rock. That same night, RJD2 brings the beats to Deep Ellum Art Co. Legendary trumpet player and artist Dennis Gonzalez will be honored on Sunday in his hometown of Oak Cliff. Next week, Deep Ellum will host shows from Neck Deep on Monday, Buck Meek on Tuesday and JD Pinkus & Tall Tall Trees on Wednesday.
Go Ahead and Die
7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 25, Trees, 2709 Elm St. $25 at axs.com

Along with Sepultura, Soulfly, Killer Be Killed and more, Go Ahead and Die is a metal project from the chaotic mind of Max Cavalera. This is one of Cavalera's more stripped-down projects, combining death metal and crust punk for a raw and heavy sound. Cavalera's brother and bandmate in Sepultura and the Cavalera Conspiracy, Igor, in on the bass. On drums is Zach Coleman, who is best known for his work in the Denver metal scene, playing with doom metal band Khemmis and black metal band Black Curse. Go Ahead and Die released its second album, Unhealthy Mechanisms, last summer on the iconic hardcore label Nuclear Blast Records. Keeping with the back-to-basics approach the Cavaleras have brought to this project, the idea behind the album's recording was to use as few takes as possible, in order to keep all the angst and anger authentic. Go Ahead and Die comes to town with tour support from Orlando deathcore band Bodybox and local support from The Crimson Veil.
James McMurtry
7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 26, Tulips, 112 St. Louis Ave., Fort Worth. $25 at seetickets.us

James McMurtry's sardonic voice has been welcomed in country music for over 30 years now with songs such as "Levelland" and "We Can't Make It Here" standing as time-tested anthems of dissatisfaction with country life — told with wit, wisdom and wry humor. In August 2021, McMurtry released his 10th studio album, The Horses and the Hounds, which was met with universal acclaim and heralded for its three-dimensional characters and thoroughly engaging storytelling. McMurtry writes lyrics that reward those who listen closely for the punchline, which shouldn't be difficult with the singer's crisp (albeit misanthropic) delivery. That's not to say that McMurtry is a misanthrope, but it's transparently clear that some people really draw the singer's ire. We're still waiting for his next set of songs, but until then you can see him in Fort Worth. Austin singer-songwriter BettySoo opens the show.
Tanya Tucker
7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 26, Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. $26.95+ at ticketmaster.com

At the age of 13, Tanya Tucker released her first hit single, "Delta Dawn," after hearing Bette Midler perform the song written by Alex Harvey on The Tonight Show. Tucker's version became a top-10 hit on the country charts, but it was Helen Reddy who made the song a No. 1 pop hit the year after her first hit single, "I Am Woman." Tucker has since credited her decision to record that song as the reason why she is a country singer today and not a rodeo queen. One of the very few child performers to make a lasting impression on country music, Tucker outgrew her pop-country origins to become a part of the outlaw country movement in the late '70s, combining the elements of rock and country music as heard in her 1978 single "Texas (When I Die)." For all of her fame and contributions to country music, it wasn't until last October that Tucker was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Elle King
10 p.m., Friday, Jan. 26, Billy Bob's Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, Fort Worth. $20+ at axs.com

Singer-songwriter Elle King spent last year supporting her hit song “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)," which she recorded with Miranda Lambert. The single debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s rock and country digital sales charts, making King the first female artist in history to have scored four No. 1 singles in four different formats in her career. Last year, King released her long-awaited third album, Come Get Your Wife, which has been labeled a country album and peaked at the No. 11 spot on the Billboard Top Country Album chart after its release. King closed out the year with a performance of “Drunk (And I Don’t Want to Go Home)” at New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash. King's sound has always been hard to place, even while remaining familiar. Ranging somewhere between mid-tempo punkabilly and bluesy alt-country, King has shared the stage with acts as diverse as Dropkick Murphys and Ed Sheeran.
Not Stock
3 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 27, Tulips, 112 St. Louis Ave, Fort Worth. $25 at seetickets.us

For the third year in a row, Tulips in Fort Worth has pulled out all the stops in assembling an incredible list of local and regional talent for its Not Stock festival. With eight bands scheduled to play, this event is sure to add some new names to your list of acts to follow. From Durant comes alternative rock band Heavytrip, bringing just a bit of post-harcore edge into the mix. Warstories from San Antonio combines elements of grunge and shoegaze to create something akin to Deftones, and Austin's Touch Girl Apple Blossom softens things up with a bit of twee pop. Dallas music will be represented by indie rock band Slow Joy and hard rock band Bleed. Fort Worth's own emogaze band trauma ray and hard rock band Flowerbed will also make a showing. The Dallas-founded, Houston-based alt-metal band Narrow Head headlines the festival.
RJD2
9 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 27, Deep Ellum Art Co., 3200 Commerce St. $20 at primenightcult.com

Hip-hop and indie-rock DJ and producer RJD2 has been making music since the early '90s, but it wasn't until 2002 that the artist started making a name for himself. After signing with El-P's Definitive Jux label, RJD2 released his debut instrumental hip-hop album, Deadringer. While RJD2 was not the originator of instrumental hip-hop as a distinct genre (that title goes to DJ Shadow), Deadringer solidified the genre as a viable medium for many artists to come. The album also proved that there was an audience for the music, earning high praise from critics and finding its way into many year-end best-of lists. In 2004, RJD2's Since Last We Spoke made its way onto the Billboard charts. Like many DJs, RJD2 puts out a lot of singles and remixes, which has been the majority of his output these past few years. He also frequently collaborates with underground rap artists, as he did with STS on 2022's Escape from Sweet Auburn.
The Dennis Gonzalez Legacy Band
7 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 28, Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. $20 at prekindle.com

The Dennis Gonzalez Legacy Band will perform its second-ever concert behind the screen of the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff. The concert will celebrate the musical history and underground legacy of the late Oak Cliff-based avant-garde jazz trumpeter, Dennis Gonzalez, who is best known for his music but was also a respected composer, broadcaster, visual artist, poet and educator. Gonzalez's children and Yells at Eels bandmates Aaron and Stefan play bass and drums for the band, respectively, and they will be joined by avant-pop singer Lily Taylor on vocals. The band will also include Rob Mazurek and Jawwaad Taylor on trumpet, Danny Kamins and Joshua Miller  on sax, Gaika James on trombone and Drew Phelps on acoustic bass. The concert's two sets will dig deep into Gonzalez's musical repertoire and cover a deep discography spanning about four decades of material.
Neck Deep
6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 29, The Factory in Deep Ellum, 2713 Canton St. $46.75+ at axs.com

From Wrexham, Wales, pop-punk band Neck Deep have been at it a little over a decade now, keeping that early 2000s emo-pop sound alive and well into the next generation. The band comes to town 10 days after the release of its fifth studio album, Neck Deep. The album is the band's first without original drummer Dani Washington, who left the band in May 2022 and was replaced by the band's drum technician Matt Powles. For this album, the band returned to its old ways of writing, working in a warehouse close to home without outside collaborators. Bassist Seb Barlow took the lead writing the album and also served as the producer. The album is more melodic than the band's previous work, smoothing out a lot of the rough edges. Opening will be California hardcore band Drain, Canadian pop-punk band Bearings and English hardcore band Higher Power.
Buck Meek
7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 30, Sons of Hermann Hall, 3414 Elm St. $22.50 at axs.com

Texan singer-songwriter Buck Meek, from Wimberley, is the backing vocalist and guitarist for the critically acclaimed band Big Thief, whose 2022 release, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, can be found near the top of just about every "best albums" list worth mentioning from that year. The album also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. All but one of the album's tracks were written by lead singer and guitar player Adrianne Lenker, but the one that was co-written with Meek, "Certainty," received an additional nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance. (The band ultimately lost both Grammys to Wet Leg.) Taking a break from Big Thief, Meek returned to Texas with his brother, Dylan, to record last year's Haunted Mountain. Somewhere between indie-pop and alt-country, Haunted Mountain shows a different side of Meek than what fans of Big Thief might anticipate, but it's quite fitting for Sons of Hermann Hall.
JD Pinkus & Tall Tall Trees
7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 31, Three Links, 2704 Elm St. $20 at prekindle.com

JD Pinkus is probably best known for his bass work with the legendary San Antonio noise rock band Butthole Surfers. Pinkus played on all the band's albums before leaving the group in 1994, which was, incidentally, right before the band worked on what would become its breakthrough album, Electriclarryland. While the rest of that band gravitated toward the mainstream, Pinkus stayed on the outskirts, keeping with the old Butthole Surfers' tradition of experimentation, forming new bands, working with the Melvins and releasing solo work at an almost frenzied pace. Last year, Pinkus worked with multi-instrumentalist banjo player Mike Savino (aka Tall Tall Trees), who is known for his custom-built equipment setup, the "Banjotron 5000." Last summer, the two released Ponder Machine, a psychedelic folk-rock album that is at once strange, haunting and beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, Richard Haskins of The Wee-Beasties opens the show.