Dezi 5 Packs Out Highly Anticipated Headlining Show at The Kessler: Photos

On stage at The Kessler Theater, there’s a lesson to be learned in the margins of Dezi 5’s bedazzled red vest, ever-gyrating hips and explosive lust for life. Sincerity, above all else, is the most powerful quality that an artist can have.

As far too many young artists feign irony and self-deprecation (i.e. the chic slacker-ification of promoting your art in 2025) Dezi promotes his first headlining show at the Kessler as if he knows it will be the greatest show of the year. The culmination of a nearly yearlong push for his debut album, Dirty Laundry, which included a deluxe vinyl release, record signing and a series of mythological Instagram posts, Dezi’s Herculean sense of self serves as the antidote to the disease of cool.

A singer/songwriter, DJ, event promoter and the brains behind the Dallas Entertainment Awards (a new but certified institution in the city), Dezi is chasing an old-school type of stardom. Like a sort of populist inevitability, that "everyone look at me, I'm the man" mentality. A Machiavellian building of the trophy, then taking it for yourself.

After attending his evening at the Kessler ourselves, it just might've been one of the best shows we've seen in Dallas this year. The evening was opened by Luke Herbert, Pierce Washington and Dana Harper, with Dezi taking the stage around 9:45 p.m. with We Them Grays as his backing band. The use of “taking the stage” here is undercutting the all-in-one double espresso shot, shotgunned Red Bull, life-or-death adrenaline level of energy that Dezi entered with, immediately winning over an already adoring crowd of Dallas who’s who like Cayuga All-Stars, Poppy Xander, Lily Taylor and Remy Reilly.

“Welcome to the Dezi 5 experience,” he bellowed after the opening number, which included an unreleased song, before leading into the opening notes of Dirty Laundry’s title track.

The album is a blast, a high-octane fusion of funk, pop and soul that manages to have instantly recognizable hooks while still sounding original. “Dirty Laundry” is a catchy opener, with a playful double entendre chorus that describes the beginning of a laundry cycle and the dissolution of a relationship all at once.

“I’ve been working my fucking ass off to get you here tonight. So do one thing: fuck with me,” shouted Dezi, introducing the next song, “F.W.M. (Fuck With Me).”

Most of the tracks on Dirty Laundry were played in sequential order, plus the two new tracks on the “Unfolded” deluxe edition, “Paint The Town” and “Lady.”
Much credit should be given to We Them Grays, who were given the unenviable task of bringing each song to life, plus having to keep up with Dezi's energy for the entire night. For the most part, the songs played pretty similar live to their recorded versions, except for the significantly more rock-inspired live version of "Alone," which featured an extended keyboard solo from Kwinton Gray.

"Alone" is Dezi at his sonic and emotional heaviest, with thumping bass and lyrics about not being able to find love. After the song, he revealed that he showed the song to a tarot card reader, who was surprised that he was letting all his "dirty laundry" out like that. Of course, that had to be the name of the album, which was originally going to be called Master Plan.

After a rousing rockabilly performance of "Paint The Town," Dezi's latest, he returned to the stage one last time for a cover of Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight." The celebration continued into the lobby and onto the Oak Cliff streets, as the room full of Dallas music faithful spilled out into their haunts of choice, plotting the next all-night revival to hit the city.

See photos from Saturday's show by Andrew Sherman: