10 Best Concerts of the Week: Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, Robyn Hitchcock and More

With the extreme cold dissipating into not-so-extreme, it's time to finally turn off your faucets and get out of the house and  into some live music. The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is in town, bringing some heavy hitters in for its Auditorium Entertainment Series. It starts with with Old Crow Medicine Show on Thursday, Smokey Robinson on Saturday and K-pop group Odd Eye Circle on Monday, among many others. Meanwhile in Dallas, the concert week starts with living legend Lucinda Williams sharing songs and stories at the Longhorn Ballroom. Punk's poet and prophet Elvis Costello plays Friday evening downtown, and later that night, Flosstradamus throws a dance party at Stereo Live. Over the weekend, Robyn Hitchcock makes a stop in Oak Cliff, Voodoo Glow Skulls bring the energy to Greenville Avenue and Lotus jams us into the new week from the Design District.
Lucinda Williams
6:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 18, Longhorn Ballroom, 216 Corinth St. $32+ at prekindle.com

Country rocker Lucinda Williams and Her Band will be playing a night at the Longhorn Ballroom this Thursday in celebration of the music that has gotten the singer-songwriter through her darkest days. Williams recently recounted all the chaos of growing up in the Deep South in her candid new memoir, Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You. The memoir was part of a recovery process that started when Williams suffered a debilitating stroke on Nov. 17, 2020, at age 67. The stroke left Williams unable to play the guitar — a constant in her life since the age of 12 — but her songwriting and her vocals are as strong as ever. Her 15th studio album, Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart, was released shortly after her memoir last summer and offers some of the best songwriting Williams has done in years as she reflects on a life in music.
Old Crow Medicine Show
7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 18, Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. $25.95+ at ticketmaster.com

Everybody knows Darius Rucker's hit song "Wagon Wheel," but what you might not know about Rucker's diamond-selling song is that it was first performed by Tennessee's Old Crow Medicine Show. What you also might not realize is that the chorus of that song was written by Bob Dylan during the Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid sessions in February 1973. After hearing the stand-alone chorus melody on a bootleg recording, Old Crow Medicine Show vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ketch Secor decided to add verses to it. The result was one of the most compelling songs ever written about hitchhiking one's way home, and as smooth as Rucker's version is, it will never capture the loneliness and longing quite the same way Old Crow Medicine Show did. The band will play with opener Willie Watson this Thursday as part of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Auditorium Entertainment Series.
The Record Company
7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 18, Deep Ellum Art Co., 3200 Commerce St. $25+ at prekindle.com

Los Angeles rock band The Record Company came together in 2011 over a shared love of blues music and punk rock, developing its sound in the living room of a house in Los Feliz. After years of playing shows around the country, The Record Company released its first song to a mainstream audience in 2016, and "Off The Ground" was an instant classic. It's one of those deceptively simple blues-rock tunes that has no goal other than to pump you up and get you going. It was all there — the blues lyrics, the heavy rock guitar and the defiant punk attitude. The album Give It Back to You got The Record Company on the late-night talk show circuit, and it was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Contemporary Blues Album." Last year, the band released its fourth album, appropriately titled The 4th Album. For this album, the band returned to the live recording it employed on its debut, and the results are undeniable. The band's Roll With It Tour comes to town Thursday with Jesse Ahern and Sárah Rogo.
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 19, Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. $117.50+ at ticketmaster.com

At 14 years old, Declan Patrick MacManus started learning how to sing and play guitar. To test himself, he would sign up for open mic nights in London and perform whatever he had been learning. By 17, he was performing original songs in clubs that would allow it, and by 18, he joined his first band, Rusty. At 19, Declan borrowed the last name Costello from his father, Ross, who had used the name because it was easier to say and spell over the phone than MacManus. After several years performing as Declan or D.P. Costello, the singer was given the name Elvis in 1977, simply to get him more attention. It worked. My Aim Is True was released later that year and became a huge hit in England and the U.S. with hits "Less Than Zero," "Alison" and "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes." Now well into his fifth decade as punk's greatest poet and prophet, Costello returns to Dallas on his 7-0-7 Tour, with Charlie Sexton.
Flosstradamus
10 p.m., Friday, Jan. 19, Stereo Live, 2711 Storey Lane. $25 at eventbrite.com

From 2007 to 2016, Flosstradamus was a duo made up of Chicago DJs Curt Cameruci and Josh Young. When the duo announced they'd be splitting to pursue solo careers, Cameruci continued using Flosstradamus as his stage name. Flosstradamus has been called one of the early pioneers of the trap genre — which mixes hip-hop and EDM — with many citing the remix of Major Lazer's 2011 single "Original Don" as the primary example. As a duo, Flosstradamus released nine albums and two mixtapes, but since Cameruci and Young parted ways, the act has focused primarily on releasing singles. Most recently, Flosstradamus was featured on the song "Monza" alongside Holly, X&G, Gaszia and Kollaba.
Robyn Hitchcock
7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. $24+ at prekindle.com

Surrealist poet, cult artist and iconic musician Robyn Hitchcock will spend the evening at The Kessler this Saturday fresh off the release of his latest album, Life After Infinity. Hitchcock's contributions to the alternative rock genre began in 1976 with his band The Soft Boys, a psychedelic folk-rock band that broke up in 1981. Hitchcock recorded his own material after that, bringing with him a more surrealistic style of songwriting — a style that has followed him through every band he has played with since. Hitchcock formed bands such as The Egyptians and Venus 3 in addition to his solo work and has also been featured on works by bands including The Decemberists, R.E.M. and XTC. Despite all of his influence on alternative music, Hitchcock is still something of a cult figure in modern music, but for those who know, this performance is one not to miss.
Voodoo Glow Skulls
7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave. $22.50+ at prekindle.com

Formed in Riverside, California, in 1988, Voodoo Glow Skulls have been making the highest-energy ska punk since the third wave of the genre hit the U.S. Of course, many others were doing the ska punk thing, but whereas Operation Ivy were focused on mellowness or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were focused on bounciness, the Voodoo Glow Skulls were zeroed in on complete chaos and how to keep it under control. And while those other bands were more on the punk side of ska, Voodoo Glow Skulls were most certainly on the hardcore end of the spectrum, so much so that the band left the traditionally punk label, Epitaph, for the traditionally hardcore label, Victory, in 2002, solidifying its place among the loudest and angriest bands of the day. In 2017, lead singer Frank Casillas left the band and was replaced by Efrem Schulz of Death by Stereo. A big change for sure, but not one that changes the band's sound or spirit. Mustard Plug and Bite Me Bambi open the show.
Smokey Robinson
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. $45.95+ at ticketmaster.com

R&B and soul legend Smokey Robinson was only 17 when he and his band The Miracles met with Berry Gordy. The young singer impressed the future founder of Motown Records with his voice and his visionary songwriting. The Miracles was among the first acts signed to the burgeoning record label and was the first group on the label to have a million-selling hit record with "Shop Around" in 1960. Robinson went on to pen hits for others, including "The Way You Do The Things You Do," "My Girl" and "Get Ready," all made famous by The Temptations. Six-and-a-half decades and 23 albums later, 83-year-old Robinson has accumulated a long list of awards and honors in recognition of his lifetime of contributions to the music world. Among them are honorary doctorate music degrees from Howard University and the Berklee College of Music as well as an induction into the Kennedy Center, which he accepted alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dolly Parton and Steven Spielberg in 2006.
Lotus
7 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 21, The Echo Lounge & Music Hall, 1323 N. Stemmons Fwy. $25+ at livenation.com

Instrumental electronic jam band Lotus has been making music since 1998 and moving audiences across the country since the release of its first album, Vibes, in 2001. The band's shows are known for their complex lighting setups, and as with any jam band, there's a lot of improvisation in the live show. What makes Lotus different from other jam bands is the electronic elements it brings to the party. What makes it different from any other electronic show is the live instrumentation that allows the band to bring in elements of funk, rock and jazz. With an improvised show, however, attendees can expect to hear anything come into the mix.
Odd Eye Circle
7:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 22, Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. $35.95+ at ticketmaster.com

K-pop trio Odd Eye Circle is an up-and-coming girl group composed of members from the larger K-pop girl group Loona. The group released its first EP, Mix & Match, in 2017, but legal disputes kept it from fully recognizing its international potential. Last summer, the group announced that it had signed with a new record label and released its second EP, Version Up, to much acclaim in its home country. To date, the trio has not had much success in the U.S., with only one single from its first EP on the World Digital Song Sales chart. The group seems intent on changing that, however, releasing an English version of "Sweet Crazy Love" last year and following it up with a tour taking the group through Europe, the U.S. and Mexico. Sure, they might not be at the level of BTS, but all that means is that you can still get in on the ground floor.