10 Best Concerts of the Week: Turnpike Troubadours, Toadies, DeVotchKa and More

It's here. It's time to wrap this year up and start making plans for 2024. But before we bid 2023 a fond farewell, North Texas has a chance to close out the year with some outstanding local and touring acts. In the days leading up to NYE, Oklahoma country band Turnpike Troubadours plays three sold-out shows at Billy Bob's Texas. Meanwhile, Austin band Uncle Lucius plays the Longhorn on Friday, and on Saturday, Toadies closes out its year in Deep Ellum and multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble DeVotchKa makes a stop in Fort Worth. New Year's Eve kicks off in Denton with a "Weird" line-up of local and regional acts; meanwhile Luna Luna plays on one side of Deep Ellum and Rayland Baxter plays on the other. Across town, Little Feat celebrates at the Longhorn, and in Fort Worth, neo-traditional country artist Parker McCollum plays Dickies Arena and Treaty Oak Revival plays down the road at Tannahill's. Whatever you decide, it is sure to make for a happy New Year.
Turnpike Troubadours
6 p.m., Thursday – Saturday, Dec. 28–30, Billy Bob's Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, Fort Worth. $125+ at stubhub.com

It wasn't long after the Turnpike Troubadours played its last show in 2019 that the band announced an indefinite hiatus. For many years, some thought that would be the last show the band would ever play as singer Evan Felker struggled with his addictions and fiddler Kyle Nix began a solo career. All that changed two and a half years later when the band announced a pair of reunion shows in its home state of Oklahoma, followed by three dates at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth that would ultimately become one of the fastest sell-outs in the venue's history. The band would continue to tour mid-sized venues throughout 2022 and kept any new material close to its vest, performing just one new song, "A Cat in the Rain" twice on the entire tour. The song turned out to be the title track for the band's August 2023 release, which made it to the top 10 on Billboard's Country chart and the top 40 on the Billboard 200. The Troubadours return to Billy Bob's for three nights this week with Ray Wylie Hubbard opening each night.
Uncle Lucius
6:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 29, Longhorn Ballroom, 216 Corinth St. $26+ at prekindle.com

After a five-year hiatus, Austin country band Uncle Lucius is back in North Texas, playing a show at the legendary Longhorn Ballroom Friday night. The band played its last show in 2018 at Gruene Hall before frontman Kevin Galloway began pursuing a solo career, but the band came back to life earlier this year. There's something different about Uncle Lucius' style of country music, setting it widely apart. Call it soulfulness or call it grooviness, but Uncle Lucius gives country music a kind of depth that the genre all too often lacks. The band's 2012 song "Keep the Wolves Away" became a surprisingly popular single during the pandemic, reaching 115 million views on YouTube and earning the band its first and only certified platinum single. For now, the tour is all the news we have from Uncle Lucius, which has not released a new album or even a single since 2015. But there is sure to be something in development. Austin swamp-funk band Shinyribs will be there to warm up the crowd.
Toadies
6:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 30, The Factory in Deep Ellum, 2713 Canton St. $39+ at axs.com

Returning from a long stretch touring in celebration of the 25th anniversary of its iconic album Rubberneck at the end of 2022, Fort Worth alternative band Toadies kept things quiet this year. As promised, the band did release the new EP, Damn You All to Hell, before heading out on that tour. In April, in addition to releasing a new line of edibles, Toadies confirmed that they would be recording new material with legendary producer Steve Albini — the producer behind Nirvana and Pixies — with hopes of releasing a new album in 2024. For this concert, however, Toadies will be coming home from a short run of Texas dates in Austin, San Antonio and Houston to close out the year with Illinois alt-rock band Local H and legendary Denton punk band Riverboat Gamblers, who released its first new album in over a decade earlier this year and just released the single "Father Christmas."
DeVotchKa
8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 30, Tulips, 112 St. Louis Ave., Fort Worth. $25+ at prekindle.com

Since the turn of the century, Denver art rock band DeVotchKa has been a sight to behold. The band's four musicians play common instruments like guitar, piano and trumpet in addition to uncommon instruments such as the theremin, bouzouki and sousaphone. DeVotchKa got its start as the backing band for burlesque shows, namely for Dita Von Teese, who took the band on the road and got them a nationwide following. In addition to its albums, DeVotchKa, along with composer Mychael Danna, composed and performed the majority of the music for the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack, earning a 2006 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Compilation Soundtrack." With vocalist Nick Urata becoming more involved with film, DeVotchKa's most recent album, This Night Falls Forever, was released in 2018, but the band still gets together for little tours like the one coming to Fort Worth Saturday night.
A Weird New Years Eve
6 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 31, Rubber Gloves, 411 E. Sycamore St., Denton. $20 at prekindle.com

While other venues may be known for hosting shows of a specific set of genres, Rubber Gloves in Denton has established itself as a place where you could see absolutely anything. It is in that spirit that the venue throws its "Weird New Years Eve" party. The night will be headlined by Denton synth-pop trio Felt & Fur. Known for finding the middle ground between darkness and danceability, Felt & Fur combines pleading vocals and dramatic guitar sounds with pounding drums and a pulsing synth to create a unique sound. This will be the band's last show. Also see performances from Japanese-American action comic-themed punk rock act PEELANDER-Z, heavy noise band Heavy Baby Sea Slugs, Austin experimental jazz band Violent Squid, rapper Yalc Mailliw, metal band Slackbeat, Freakhorse and still more yet to be announced.
Rayland Baxter
7 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 31, Trees, 2709 Elm St. $40 at axs.com

Born and raised in Nashville, alternative country singer Rayland Baxter began his music career playing open mics in Breckenridge, Colorado, where he worked as a ski instructor. He moved back to his hometown in 2010 to start performing in earnest, quickly finding himself on the roster at ATO Records — the same label as Dallas alt-country icons the Old 97's. Baxter has developed a reputation for taking an unconventional approach to country music, incorporating elements of pop, hip-hop and psych-rock — at one point releasing an album of seven Mac Miller cover songs, Good Mmornin. Baxter’s follow-up, If I Were a Butterfly, released on Nov. 4, had critics calling it adventurous and exciting, functioning as a kind of audio diary complete with childhood tapes and field recordings. Baxter will help Deep Ellum ring in the New Year after a set from folk artist Daniel Nunnelee.
Little Feat
7:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 31, Longhorn Ballroom, 216 Corinth St. $30+ at prekindle.com

For over 50 years, LA rock band Little Feat has been blending musical genres to create a distinct sound that is truly all its own. In 1969, Little Feat took the groundwork of California rock and began to add elements of funk, jazz, country and New Orleans swamp boogie, making songs like “Willin’,” “Sailin' Shoes” and “Fat Man in the Bathtub.” While many bands  creating such disparate-sounding tracks have a hard time finding a through-line that ties everything together, Little Feat is held together by its musicality and its devotion to writing a good song. Through the years, the band has lost founding members Lowell George and Richie Hayward as well as early band member Paul Barrére, but founding member, vocalist and keyboardist Bill Payne has kept the band going to this day. The band's Rollin' Into 2024 New Year's Eve party at the Longhorn will receive opening support from Americana singer-songwriter Miko Marks.
Luna Luna
8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 31, Deep Ellum Art Co., 3200 Commerce St. $25+ at prekindle.com

Since 2017, Luna Luna has been producing deep, emotional songs complete with throwback grooves and dreamy vocals. A four-piece bilingual Latinx band, Luna Luna is made up of lead vocalist and co-producer Kavvi, keyboardist Danny Bonilla, drummer Kaylin Martínez and Ryan Gordon on bass. The band members fuse lyrics of English and Spanish in songs that are both soothing and catchy. The band has continued to grow Dallas buzz well over the last five years with plays on KXT, and more recently expanded its statewide reach after relocating to Austin. The band returns home this New Year's Eve to play the first venue it ever sold out, Deep Ellum Art Co. Dallas singer-songwriter Ceci Ceci as well as DJs Jake Gatewood and Sordelo3000 will also be there to get the party started.
Parker McCollum
8:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 31, Dickies Arena 1911 Montgomery St., Fort Worth. $65+ at ticketmaster.com

Born and raised in Conroe, Texas, country singer Parker McCollum came up on a healthy diet of new and old country music before moving to Austin for college. It was there that he began playing solo shows and with the band Six Market Blvd. His experiences with the band would inspire the first single, "Highway," from McCollum's first EP, A Red Town View. McCollum grew in popularity in Texas for years before signing to MCA Nashville in summer 2019 and taking his act across the country. Both of McCollum's albums — his major label debut, Gold Chain Cowboy, and his 2023 release, Never Enough, found their way into the top 15 on Billboard's Country chart. McCollum will be spending his NYE in Fort Worth with opening acts Corey Kent and Catie Offerman.
Treaty Oak Revival
9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31, Tannahill's Tavern and Music Hall, 122 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth. $174+ at ticketmaster.com

Founded in West Texas, Treaty Oak Revival is a Texas red dirt country band that has become quite the hot ticket since forming in 2019. Incorporating elements of Southern rock and punk into its music, Treaty Oak Revival released its newest record, Have A Nice Day, on Nov. 24. This is a band that is real and raw, picking up fans and monthly Spotify listeners at every tour stop. Clearly the band's reputation has preceded it leading up to its New Year's Eve performance at Tannahill's in Fort Worth. Tickets for the show are sold out with verified resale tickets starting at $174. Thankfully, Treaty Oak Revival will be back in town at the end of January for those unable to make it to this show. Texas rocker Cole Barnhill opens the show Sunday night.