Greg Swales
Audio By Carbonatix
Amid the flurry of end-of-year reflections, lists wrapping up the albums and songs of the year nearly concluded, attention turns to what will be passing across the stages, large and small, across North Texas in 2026.
While summing up the full breadth of the artists and genres which will be heard across the dozens of venues here in the coming months would be a small novel unto itself — seriously, the initial list for this article numbered more than 50 possible concerts — it’s worth whittling down that mass to consider a few performances we’re most anticipating as the calendar turns to a fresh set of months. (Updates will follow.)
Here, in chronological order, are some of the biggest concerts we’re looking forward to in the first few months of 2026. See you at the shows.
Sean Rowe
Feb. 1
The Wild Detectives
In 2019, Sean Rowe delivered a magical evening at Main at South Side in Fort Worth, which also housed a small physical location for local Dreamy Life Records. Now, Main at South Side has been closed for three years, Dreamy Life Records reverted to a small independent label. And Sean Rowe hasn’t been back to Texas since. Time flies. Luckily, the New York singer-songwriter will be making his long-awaited return to the city at another intimate venue, the backyard at the Wild Detectives. Rowe is among the best living songwriters, creating a unique hybrid of late Springsteen melodies and early Tom Waits inflections all packed behind a deeply emotional punch. Even as a full-time solo act, he is a totally captivating live performer, and a dimly lit backyard in Bishop Arts is the ideal setting to appreciate him. SP
Aimee Mann
Feb. 27
Longhorn Ballroom
The acclaimed singer-songwriter does not often make her way to our neck of the woods, making any instance of her stopping by on one of our stages noteworthy. This appearance at the historic Longhorn Ballroom will mark Aimee Mann’s first headlining set in North Texas in eight years. Expect an abundance of sharply observed songs, wry humor and intricate melodies. PJ
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Roy Rochlin/Getty-Images
Lady Gaga
Feb. 28-March 1
Dickies Arena
Mother Monster is bringing her Mayhem Ball to North Texas for a two-night stand. Grammy and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Lady Gaga is making her first tour stop here in four years, and returning to Tarrant County for her second consecutive tour (The Chromatica Ball took over Arlington’s Globe Life Field in 2022). “The show felt bigger than just one album and served as almost a manifesto for the singer, combining her love of music, fashion, film and theater to pull together her sprawling catalog and create a cohesive statement,” the Observer wrote of that performance. PJ
Nine Inch Nails
March 3
American Airlines Center
This will be an encore of sorts for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, whose blistering industrial rock laid siege to Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena in 2025. Nine Inch Nails will thrash the sensibilities of its Dallas fans as part of its ongoing Peel It Back tour, which is scheduled into mid-March. “Reznor’s product is a rare example of one artist’s vision managing to be so fully realized and also so tightly presented, it’s as if you’ve stepped inside the mind of a genius and you get to see him operate in real time,” the Observer wrote of the September Peel It Back stop. PJ
The Format
April 7
House of Blues
One of our most anticipated concerts of next year doubles as some of the most stunning music news of this year. After a nearly 20-year absence from touring and recording, former fun. frontman Nate Reuss and songwriting partner Sam Means revived their old pop project, The Format. Although a short run of reunion shows was planned and subsequently canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, 2026 will mark a full-blown comeback, complete with a nationwide tour and a new album, Boycott Heaven, set to arrive on January 23. The record will also be the first new material from Reuss since his 2015 solo album, Grand Romantic. Whether for a dose of early 2000s pop rock nostalgia or for a small glimpse into the unfulfilled promise of fun, The Format’s April date at House of Blues is a must-see. SP
Leon Bennett/Getty Images
Caifanes
April 12
Toyota Music Factory
Though decades removed from the release of their last album, El Nervio Del Volcan, Caifanes remains on anyone’s shortlist for the greatest Mexican rock bands of all time, next to Maná and Zoé. The band’s teased-out black hair, streaky eyeliner and Smiths-esque sound delivered a much-needed shock to late ‘80s Mexico City’s system. Their self-titled debut album hit shelves in 1988, and they were headlining 10,000-seat arenas by 1989. Nearly 40 years later, the Mexican counterculturalists still sound as fresh as ever. SP
Robert Plant
March 18
Majestic Theatre
The immortal voice of Led Zeppelin has, over the last several decades, steadfastly followed his muse over the hills and far away from anything resembling the cranium-rattling crunch of that epochal rock band. His latest foray into a more folky, bluesy register comes in the form of Saving Grace, Plant’s latest solo album, which finds him collaborating with vocalist Suzi Dian, who’ll be on hand as Plant makes his first solo appearance in Dallas in eight years. PJ
The Last Dinner Party
March 28
The Bomb Factory
British rock quintet The Last Dinner Party made a splash with its 2024 debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, and followed that work in short order with this year’s sophomore effort, From the Pyre. The buzzy group is returning to the venue where it last sold out in 2024, armed again with its whip-smart, senses-throttling songcraft.
PJ
Fatboy Slim
April 10
SILO Dallas
The man born Norman Cook was, up until a year ago, a fairly scant sight on the decks in Dallas clubs. But that changed when Fatboy Slim was drafted to help open the doors of now-essential club SILO Dallas. His return, just over a year after he christened the space, is a veritable rarity in his touring history here. Seize the opportunity to watch a master at work in a comparatively (for him, anyway) cozy spot. PJ
Tyler Childers
April 23
Dos Equis Pavilion
A fast-rising star in the Americana genre (a description increasingly becoming such an umbrella term as to be nearly meaningless), singer-songwriter Tyler Childers will headline one of his largest Dallas shows to date next year, in support of the Kentucky native’s recently released LP, Snipe Hunt. PJ
Molly Darlington/Getty Images
PinkPantheress
April 23
Southside Ballroom
With signature electronic-inflected vocals, sub-two-minute songs and a sarcastic personality, PinkPantheress is the perfect pop star for the digital age. But don’t think of her as just a fad. Layering those tight pop melodies over breakbeat instrumentals sounds fantastic and legitimately fresh. We can only hope that she’ll be really glad to meet us at her Dallas date in April. SP
The Wallflowers
May 1
Granada Theater
In May, Jakob Dylan brings The Wallflowers to the Granada Theater for a full playthrough of the band’s seminal sophomore album, Bringing Down The Horse, celebrating its 30th anniversary. Plus, the band will be playing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album, Long After Dark, making for a glorious two-act evening of rock/Americana. Dylan inducted Petty into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and has long cited him as a major inspiration, releasing a cover of “The Waiting” in 2024. The Granada Theater seems small for a show that feels this big, but we’re grateful to see the band in such an intimate setting. SP
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Raye
May 3
South Side Ballroom
This British singer-songwriter has enjoyed a slow burn, as her career is more than a decade old at this juncture. With a lone LP to her name, 2023’s My 21st Century Blues, but a fistful of high-profile opening stints for A-listers like Taylor Swift, Halsey and Kali Uchis under her belt, Raye will make her Dallas headlining debut ahead of her anticipated sophomore album release in 2026. PJ
Mac DeMarco
May 18
Longhorn Ballroom
It’s always hard to contextualize history as it’s still happening, but just over a decade removed from Mac DeMarco’s early 2010s prime, it’s becoming increasingly clear that he’s one of the most influential musicians of the 21st century. Managing to be a sonic chameleon yet retaining a recognizable sound, DeMarco’s jungle of synths and irresistibly lo-fi guitar riffs served as the soundtrack to an entire generation of high school kids and bedroom DIY artists in between. Not to mention, he was championing a distinctly 2020s thrift store style back when people were still curling their mustaches and listening to the Lumineers. Scary times. At 35, DeMarco has plenty more years of music ahead of him, but he already feels like a mythical figure in indie music. As such, we hope you already have tickets to this one, because his summer evening at the Longhorn Ballroom is already sold out. SP
Andrew Sherman
Jason Isbell
May 20-21
Winspear Opera House
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter uncorked a quietly devastating record earlier this year, Foxes in the Snow, a collection of songs featuring only Isbell and an acoustic guitar. He’s taking that solo approach out on the road for what’s likely to be a series of unforgettable, bracingly raw evenings. He’ll treat Dallas audiences to a two-night stand in one of the finest listening rooms in town. PJ
Demi Lovato
May 23
American Airlines Center
Dallas-bred pop star Demi Lovato reconnected with her love of music on 2022’s Holy Fvck and wasted little time fashioning a follow-up, It’s Not That Deep, which dropped earlier this year. Lovato’s homecoming tour stop will be their first North Texas appearance in four years. PJ
Doja Cat
Nov. 4
American Airlines Center
The more her contemporaries reach for an ‘80s pop sheen, the better Doja Cat’s breezy album, Vie, seems to sound, nailing the bouncy melodies and instrumentals without coming off as contrived. A departure from the previous two Scarlet albums, which were more hip-hop focused and featured a run of TikTok-friendly hits, Vie is further proof that Doja Cat can do it all. We’ll have to wait until next November for her date at American Airlines, but if her last Dallas show nearly three years ago to the day was any indication, it’ll be one of the best shows of the year. SP
