See also: - "How Willie Nelson Won the Lone Star State: Illustrated Map"
Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic Thursday, July 4, at Billy Bob's Texas, $20-$60What more can we say? It's Willie Week!
Weedeater Thursday, July 4, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Free When you consider the word "fiesta," what do you think of? A parade of gaudily dressed individuals? A fancy party outside somewhere with upbeat music? The poorly received Ford hatchback that was re-branded as the Mazda 121 and yet still failed to sell? Or maybe you think of three stoner metal bands crammed into a dive bar in Denton, proudly displaying their hair, tattoos and ear-shattering approach to music for no cost to you whatsoever. If it's the latter, you are not only a free thinker unbound by social norms, but you are also in luck on Independence Day, as Parade of Flesh is putting on a free show up at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios headlined by North Carolina's finest sludge metal heroes Weedeater, 16 years into a career of not giving a solitary crap. Be there or be less cool than you could have been. -- Gavin Cleaver
Starparty, Black James Franco, Ghost Daddies Friday, July 5, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, $10 Starparty is exactly as it sounds. Imagine one gigantic party in the stars, with an electro-funk band that guides and entertains as you dance your way through the universe. Literally speaking, their shows are complete with ornate golden masks, glitter, awesome lazer-light shows and more. Just take a look at this video for their song "Beam Me Up (To Outer Space)" and you'll see what I mean. -- Rachel Watts
White Elephant Friday, July 5, at The Curtain Club, $10 To give you an idea of what to expect if you were to mosey over to Curtain Club this weekend, Dallas' heavy rock band White Elephant fits nicely on a bill with Fair to Midland or The Raven Charter, and has a similar knack for heavy, drony chords and melodic bass lines. The band is fairly new, and three out of the four members used to be in a band called RedPyramid. Although they're fresh, they've already made a few adjustments to the lineup, replacing their drummer just a couple months ago. Now that the group is back on track, they're working on putting out their first EP this fall. They have booked five or six dates in June and July, so if you're in or around Deep Ellum this summer, they'll be hard to avoid. Stop in and see what you think. -- Rachel Watts
97.1 The Eagle Presents: The Battle For BFD Saturday, July 6, at House of Blues, $10/$12 Now don't get this mixed up with 97.1's BFD concert that they just had in late May with Megadeath and Slash. This one is called "The Battle for BFD" with a lineup of hard rock and punk local acts that will get your blood flowing. Bands include local and newly-formed hard rock foursome White Elephant, female-led punk and glam-grunge band Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs, psych-rock wildlings The Gypsy Bravado, The Roaming Soldiers and Midnight Empire. -- Rachel Watts
