10 Best Concerts of the Week: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Black Pumas, Macy Gray and More

The Christmas season has arrived in North Texas, bringing many artists to town on holiday tours. The concert week starts early on Friday with a matinee show from Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The band will also play that evening at the same time Hayes Carll and JD McPherson put on their own holiday shows. Dallas' Old 97's will host a holiday show on Saturday night. For those seeking to escape the holiday spirit for another week, the experimental music festival Molten Plains will be going down in Denton, and there will be concerts from Black Pumas, Akon and Queens of the Stone Age over the weekend. The new week brings a concert from A.J. Croce downtown and one from Macy Gray in Deep Ellum. The year might be ending, but the fun is just starting.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 8, Dickies Arena, 1911 Montgomery St., Fort Worth. $55+ at ticketmaster.com

Christmas Day may come and go, but the spirit of Christmas is already here with a double shot of neoclassical Christmas metal. Founded in 1996 by producer, composer and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who was known primarily for his work with the operatic heavy metal band Savatage, the American rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of the highest ticket-selling bands in the world today. With is rotating cast of musicians and large body of Christmas-related music, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is known for its dazzling, elaborate concerts that have included a string section, a light show, lasers, moving trusses, video screens and effects, all synchronized to music. The band will present two performances on Friday: a matinee show at 3 p.m. and an evening show at 7:30 p.m.
Hayes Carll
7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8 and 9, The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. $32 at prekindle.com

South Texas country artist Hayes Carll has been stomping around these parts for nearly two decades now, making North Texas a second home. Carll has always been a small-town singer, with lyrics that are as down-to-earth as they are poetic. In 2016, he was recognized by the Recording Academy with a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Country Song" for the song "Chances Are" — a song that had been released nearly five years prior on his fourth album. Carll's most recent album, 2021's You Get It All, peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Folk chart. Carll has kept things pretty quiet since his last release, putting out just two singles this year, one of which is "Christmas in Prison," a holiday song recorded with Melissa Carper. Carper will be joining Carll for his Grateful For Christmas Tour along with Emily Gimble and Allison Moorer.
Molten Plains Fest II
7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 8, and 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 9, Rubber Gloves, 411 E. Sycamore St., Denton. $35 at prekindle.com

KUZU radio hosts Sarah Ruth Alexander (Tiger D) and Ernesto Montiel (Sonido Tumbarrancho) have curated a weekend of adventurous music, bringing together prestigious experimental musicians from across the country for Molten Plains Fest II. Saxophonists, flutists, vocalists, percussionists and some rare or one-of-a-kind instrumentalists will come together with more traditional rock and electronic instrumentation to continue pushing boundaries and breaking ground in new music. The Festival will present more than 20 acts including the legendary Joe McPhee, extreme vocalist Carmina Escobar and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Shiroshi of LA, along with the improvisational torch bearers of Dallas, Stefan and Aaron Gonzalez, the return of local favorite Mattie with experimental SOL and a slew of other heavy hitters. Those wanting to open their minds and see what is possible will find what they are looking for at Molten Plains Fest.
JD McPherson
7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 8, Tulips, 112 St. Louis Ave., Fort Worth. $25 at prekindle.com

Rock 'n' roll's analog revivalist JD McPherson helped usher in a new interest in the way music was recorded when he hit the scene in 2012. The Oklahoma singer-songwriter is something of a roots rock purist, capturing that old sound on his instruments and using recording equipment from the 1950s as well. McPherson has extended his musical reach, using his recording philosophy to produce music for bands such as The Cactus Blossoms, who are keeping the old blood harmony sound alive. In 2018, McPherson released his Christmas album, Socks, with 10 original Christmas songs — his most recent release of original material. McPherson toured that album five years ago, and he's back this year on his SOCKS: A Rock N’ Roll Christmas Tour with Joel Paterson.
Black Pumas
8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 8, The Factory in Deep Ellum, 2713 Canton St. $59.50+ at axs.com

Black Pumas had barely been a band for two years when they were nominated for "Best New Artist" at the Grammys in 2020. Not only that, but "Colors" received nominations for "Record of the Year" and "Best American Roots Performance," and the band's self-titled debut was nominated for "Album of the Year." Before the band had a chance to blink, they were performing during President Biden's Celebrating America special as a part of his inauguration activities. Later that year, Black Pumas would receive two more Grammy nominations: "Know You Better (Live From Capitol Studio A)" was nominated for Best Rock Performance, and Capitol Cuts (Live from Studio A) was nominated for Best Rock Album. In spite of these six nominations, Black Pumas have yet to win one, which is something that the band is looking to change with its October release, Chronicles of a Diamond. Danielle Ponder opens for Black Pumas on Friday in Deep Ellum.
Old 97's
6:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 9, Longhorn Ballroom, 216 Corinth St. $34+ at prekindle.com

Formed in Dallas in 1993, the Old 97's have a storied history in North Texas beginning with the band's first releases on Dallas-based label Idol Records. No matter where their career has taken them, they have consistently shouted out their hometown, most notably in "A State of Texas" from the 2010 release The Grand Theatre, Vol. 1, with the line "What a time we'll have on Greenville Avenue with the big shots in Big D." The Old 97's have long been known for romanticizing barroom dramas, using sophisticated lyrics to tell tales of love, hate and having a good time (or at least trying to). It was during the recording of the band's 2014 album Most Messed Up, however, that singer Rhett Miller decided to get sober. The ups and downs of sobriety can be heard all across the band's most recent release Twelfth. Old 97's Holiday Hoopla kicks off Saturday night with special guest Good Looks.
Akon
6 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 10, House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $150+ at livenation.com

There was a time in the mid-2000s when Akon seemed to be absolutely everywhere. Not only had his debut album, Trouble, spawned hits like "Locked Up," "Lonely," and "Pot of Gold," but the Senegalese-American singer could also be heard featured on songs by Jeezy, Gwen Stefani and India.Arie. Akon followed the album up with two incredibly successful albums, Konvicted in 2006 and Freedom in 2008. After touring Freedom, Akon all but disappeared in 2010, only releasing singles sporadically for nearly a decade. It wasn't until 2019 that the singer came back from his hiatus with two albums, Akonda and Konnect. Akon's more recent work has seen the singer experimenting with more of an Afrobeats sound. The Dallas show will conclude his Superfan Tour, which kicked off in early November.
Queens of the Stone Age
8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 10, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 300 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Irving. $64.50+ at livenation.com

One thing that a lot of people forget about Queens of the Stone Age is how deeply the band is rooted in grunge. The band was formed in 1996 in Seattle, the birthplace of grunge. Lead singer and guitarist Josh Homme had been a member of Southern California desert rock band Kyuss before moving to Seattle to work with Screaming Trees, but that was short lived. Homme founded Queens of the Stone Age under the name Gamma Ray, but he changed it when a German power metal band of the same name threatened to sue. As the only consistent member of Queens of the Stone Age, Homme has continued to work with folks from his grunge past, notably Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Mike Johnson of Dinosaur Jr. The band's The End is Nero Tour comes through Irving Sunday night with opening support from Spiritualized.
A.J. Croce
7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 11, Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. $27+ at ticketmaster.com

Born to singers Ingrid and Jim Croce in 1971, singer-songwriter A.J. Croce was surrounded by music from conception. Croce never got to know his famous father, who died in a plane crash in September 1973 just eight days before A.J.'s second birthday, but his father's music was present throughout his troubled life. At the age of four, Croce was blinded from the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother's boyfriend, and he would remain completely blind until the age of 10, when he regained sight in one eye. At age 15, his house burned down. That was the year that Croce started to make a living from music, playing a much darker and bluesier form of folk music than his father. Croce had always played down his connection to his father until 2012, when he played a set of his father's songs for the first time. Now a decade later, A.J. Croce is taking his father's music on the road with his Croce Plays Croce tour, a 50th-anniversary celebration of "You Don't Mess Around With Jim."
Macy Gray
8 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 13, The Factory in Deep Ellum, 2713 Canton St. $39+ at axs.com

One day, a young Natalie McIntyre was out riding her bike. At one point, she fell, and as she picked herself back up, she noticed the name "Macy Gray" on a mailbox nearby. The name got stuck in the girl's head, and she would use it in stories she wrote. Later, she adopted it as her stage name. Macy Gray had something of a rough start in the industry. While her raspy voice and soulful lyrics drew many comparisons to Billie Holiday, the stress of fame led Gray into addiction, which in turn led to her getting a reputation for being difficult to work with. In recent years, Gray has been living a clean life. Earlier this year, she released The Reset with her three-member backing band The California Jet Club. The album is a marked shift in Gray's catalog, seeing the singer's songwriting perspective shift from the romantic to the political. Gray performs an intimate, seated show Wednesday night at The Factory in Deep Ellum.