10 Best Concerts of the Week: Asleep at the Wheel, Tyrese, Colter Wall and More

With the year getting off to a slow start as far as national touring acts go, it's another week of small and local shows that will let music fans get up close and personal with some bands that are sure to become their new favorite. The concert week kicks off with the longstanding Dallas acoustic duo The O's playing a one-off show in Victory Park, and rapper Shwayze gets things grooving in Deep Ellum. On Friday, country artist Colter Wall takes to the Main Stage at Billy Bob's Texas, while The Sound of Animals Fighting tears The Studio at the Factory apart. Over the weekend, Asleep at the Wheel returns to Fort Worth for a show at the city's newest venue and Jake Paleschic returns to the stage across town. The long weekend will also see performances by punk bands The Grand Damns, Koffin Kats and Off With Their Heads, as well as a special performance by Tyrese. There is so much to choose from this week, so choose wisely.
The O's
6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $10 at sevenrooms.com

Dallas' favorite acoustic duo, The O's, will play an intimate set Thursday night in the Foundation Room at the House of Blues. Doors open early for the band's 8 p.m. set, which is scheduled for a full hour-and-a-half. The O's were the launching pad for musicians John Pedigo and Taylor Young. Pedigo has gone on to form Pedigo's Magic Pilsner while playing in The 40 Acre Mule, producing albums and launching a management company. Meanwhile, Young has been releasing and playing music with the Taylor Young Band since 2020. The O's haven't released anything new since 2016's Honeycomb, and the duo is nowhere near as active on the live scene as they were in the early- to mid-2010s. But every now and then, the pair still team up for a one-off show for those who remember and those who have only heard the band's music in regular rotation on KXT.
Shwayze
7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, Deep Ellum Art Co., 3200 Commerce St. $17 at prekindle.com

In 2008, the undisputed album of the summer was the self-titled debut by Malibu rapper Shwayze. On the strength of singles such as the breakout hit "Buzzin'" or the kick-back ode follow-up "Corona and Lime," the album reached the No. 10 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. For the next five years, Shwayze relied heavily on the contributions of producer Cisco Adler, who sang the chorus on both of Shwayze's biggest hits. In 2013, Shwayze released Shwayze Summer, the first album without Adler singing along. The former duo have remained close through the years. Adler has even been brought back to contribute vocals for songs on subsequent albums, but these days Shwayze is concentrating on his own style and music. For last year's Shwayze SZN, the rapper relied heavily on a reggae-rock vibe with contributions from The Dirty Heads, Slightly Stoopid and Pepper. Experimental soul-rock band Chilldren of Indigo opens the show.
Colter Wall
6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, Billy Bob's Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, Fort Worth. $57+ at stubhub.com

Canadian country musician Colter Wall came out of the prairies of Saskatchewan as a teenager and immediately took the country music world by storm. The young singer's heavy reliance on old-school country traditions was a breath of fresh air for a genre that had become inundated with snap tracks and sappy lyrics. Outlaw country fans will appreciate Wall's traditional songs as well as his nostalgic originals sung with his whisky-soaked baritone voice. In 2020, Wall released his most recent album, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, on La Honda records, home of Fort Worth country singer Vincent Neil Emerson. For the first time in his career, Wall acted as his own producer for the album, resulting in something that sounds like it's from another time. North Dakota-born singer-songwriter Brennen Leigh warms up the crowd from the Main Stage after a set from JD Myers on the Honky Tonk Stage.
The Sounds of Animals Fighting
7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, The Studio at the Factory, 2727 Canton St. $32.50 at axs.com

This is one of only nine non-California dates for this short tour by art rock supergroup The Sounds of Animals Fighting. Formed in 2004 by Rx Bandits vocalist Rich Balling, the band's lineup has included The Autumns' Matthew Kelly, Chiodos' Craig Owens and Anthony Green from Circa Survive and Saosin. The band is best known for releasing a trilogy of albums between 2004 and 2008 and performing just a handful of shows in support before fading into obscurity. The group reunited for a string of shows in 2014 and then again in 2019, but this time out, they are touring in support of a new EP, Apeshit. The four-track EP, released Dec. 8 after 14 years of studio silence, shows the band picking up right where it left off. Hail the Sun and Concrete Castles join the band on tour, but Record Setter will be there Friday for local support.
Asleep at the Wheel
7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, Tannahill's Tavern and Music Hall, 122 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth. $42 at ticketmaster.com

For over half a century, Western swing group Asleep at the Wheel has ambled its way across the country with an ever-changing lineup of musicians. Since 1970, some 70 musicians have passed through its ranks, including Fort Worth's own Ginny Mac, who will be joining the band on this tour. The band's only consistent member throughout its long history is frontman Ray Benson, who formed Asleep at the Wheel in 1969 with friends Lucky Oceans and Leroy Preston in Paw Paw, West Virginia. In 1970, the band moved to Oakland but relocated to Austin after signing with United Artists at Willie Nelson's invitation, and that is where they have resided ever since. In 2021, the band acknowledged its long-running history with its 26th album, Half a Hundred Years, which included contributions from Nelson and co-founders Oceans and Preston. No opening act has been announced for Saturday's show.
The Grand Damns
7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, CheapSteaks, 2613 Elm St. $10 at etix.com

The Grand Damns may not be the best-known punk band on the Dallas music scene, but they may just be one of the most original. Too often, punk rock bands find a formula and stick to it. Such is not the case with The Grand Damns. Releasing their first album in 2015, the group has spent the better part of a decade exploring the full range of what punk rock has to offer. On the band's most recent release, 2022's Hell All Around, listeners will find mid-tempo punk, rock 'n' roll-driven punk, cowpunk and, of course, some good ol' hardcore punk. The Grand Damns will be joined Saturday night by fellow Dallas punks Chumleys and The Deep End out of Plano.
Jake Paleschic
7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, Tulips, 112 St. Louis Ave., Fort Worth. $15+ at prekindle.com

Dallas hasn't heard much from local rocker Jake Paleschic since the world found itself in a global pandemic. In fact, music fans will remember his last show playing with a full band in January of 2020 for Eric Osbourne's record release show at Twilite Lounge in Fort Worth. After that, Paleschic could be seen performing around town as a solo artist. In 2021, the singer released "The Light," recorded live from the Cinderblock Sessions, and then another song, "Guilt," later in the year. Last year, Paleschic got the band back together, playing a show at Le Sol House in Bishop Arts and setting to work on recording new music. This Saturday, Paleschic and company take to the Tulips stage to premier a new single with opening support from singer-songwriter Matt Tedder.
Tyrese
6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, Texas Trust CU Theatre, 1001 Performance Place, Grand Prairie. $39+ at axs.com

These days, Tyrese Gibson is probably better known for his acting career, having played Roman Pearce in six installments of the Fast & Furious franchise (with two more planned in the next two years). Tyrese had always split his time between acting and singing, releasing his self-titled debut in 1998 at the same time he was appearing on classic '90s shows such as Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Martin, The Parent 'Hood and Sister, Sister. And while Gibson has racked up dozens of acting credits in the last two decades, he has released only half a dozen albums in the same amount of time. Tyrese had retired from singing after the release of 2015's Black Rose. Last year, however, he announced his seventh album, Beautiful Pain, on what would have been his fifth anniversary with his estranged wife. This year, Tyrese headlines the M.L.K. R&B Kick-Back II concert after sets by Anthony Hamilton and Donell Jones.
Koffin Kats
7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, Amplified Live, 10261 Technology Blvd. E. $15 at seetickets.us

From Garden City, Michigan, just outside Detroit, psychobilly band Koffin Kats kicked off a relentless touring schedule in 2003. After thousands of shows across the world, the band now considers its home to be the open road. Along with nonstop live shows, Koffin Kats has released eight albums, three EPs and a handful of singles over the course of these past two decades, including last year's six-song EP Ya Can't Take It With Ya, which so far has seen only a digital release. Hectic, high-energy and a hell of a lot of fun, Koffin Kats play rockabilly music with a heavy horror influence that doesn't let up until the band leaves the stage. On Sunday night, Koffin Kats will have local support from a rowdy rockabilly band from Austin, The Homewreckers.
Off With Their Heads
7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16, Three Links, 2704 Elm St., $15 at seetickets.us

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Off With Their Heads, the Minneapolis punk rock band whose epic songs about loss and hope could fill a stadium. For this tour, however, that 20-year mark has prompted singer Ryan Young to get back to the basics of the band. Touring as "The Wandering Duo," Young and longtime drummer Kyle Manning will be playing the band's songs in new arrangements along with some covers and a couple of new songs thrown into the mix. The band will also be doing this tour without the help of a crew, booking its own shows, setting up its own stage and working its own merch table — a table which will hold pressings of all of the band's old records. After 20 years in the business of punk rock, the band is hoping that this tour will rekindle the energy that hooked them on performing in first place.The tour kicks off this week and will carry the duo across the country through March.