The 10 Best Concerts of the Week: Snoop Dogg, Fortress Festival and More

This week starts off quiet, but if you missed Of Montreal a few months ago when they stopped through Fort Worth, you can see them at Trees on Monday night. This weekend is packed full of local singer-songwriters and punk bands like Claire Morales and The Bralettes, two hip-hop heavyweights in Snoop Dogg and Chief Keef, and the third annual Fortress Festival, which features local favorite Leon Bridges headlining.


Of Montreal
8 p.m. Monday, April 22 at Trees, 2709 Elm St., $17-$20 at ticketfly.com

Of Montreal’s sound is forever in a state of flux. With singer-songwriter and frontman Kevin Barnes at the wheel, this will be the band’s second performance at Trees in less than a year. Of Montreal’s latest album, White is Relic/Irrealis Mood, was influenced by ’80s electronic music and touches on the fragile state of reality. They will be joined by the punk-rock, R&B-pop trio Yip Deceiver. Although in 2015 they recorded an EP that was never released, Yip Deceiver bounced back this year by releasing Koneic and jumping on tour with Of Montreal. The matchup is not new, as the two bands have supported each other over the years, but this stop is one you won’t want to miss. Cob Vaughn


Melissa Etheridge
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24 at Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 300 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Irving, $43-$148

These days, Melissa Etheridge's musical activism regarding the benefits of cannabis equal that of Willie Nelson. The two-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter's latest album, The Medicine Show, released earlier this month, has numerous references to the healing powers of the seemingly forbidden plant. It's also Etheridge's 15th studio album since the start of her career more than three decades ago. Catch some new tracks off the album at her show Wednesday night. Diamond Rodrigue


10,000 Maniacs
7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 26-27 at The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis St., $38 at prekindle.com.

10,000 Maniacs, the critically acclaimed Jamestown, New York, band, will kick off their 2019 tour in Houston and make it to Dallas just in time to hit the stage at Kessler Theater. They'll even come back for seconds, playing two shows back to back. Fort Worth folk act Izzy will open for the band both nights. As one of the first indie bands, they helped create college rock along with bands like R.E.M., and they’re still making music today. For almost four decades, 10,000 Maniacs hasn’t stopped hitting and playing shows. 2019 marks their 38th year in action, and they don’t show any signs of slowing down. Cob Vaughn


The Bralettes
with Acid Carousel, 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at The Foundry Bar, 2303 Pittman St., free

The trio born, bred and formed in Oak Cliff known as The Bralettes play a catchy brand of bubblegum punk that’s sure to warm even the coldest of cynical critic’s hearts. Paulina Costilla (guitars and vocals) backed by drummer Andy Cantu and bassist Molly Hernandez know how to write ear worms with emotional lyrics any outsider can identify with. The LP-release show serves as the last date of The Bralettes East Coast tour, which saw the trio play for the first time at venues in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and nearly a dozen other cities. To date, The Bralettes only have six songs available to stream online — one three-song EP and three singles — so the band’s debut full-length, 10-song album Cheers! has been eagerly anticipated by fans. Cheers! was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Ian Salazar at The Acid Pad in Arlington. (Multi-instrumentalist Salazar plays bass and sax in Acid Carousel, and guitar and vocals in Majik Taylor — to name a few). Daniel Rodrigue


Fortress Fest
With Leon Bridges, Chvrches, Rae Sremmurd and more, Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28, Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth

In just two years, Fort Worth’s Fortress Festival has earned rave reviews from local and out-of-town attendees and critics alike for mixing world-class touring acts with homegrown North Texas talent. The fest has already been called a “Can’t Miss Music Festival” by Harper’s Bazaar, an “arbiter of taste” in Texas Monthly and reportedly a “defiant outpost for Black music” by the Daily Dot. Headlined by Fort Worth’s own Leon Bridges, Fortress Fest’s third annual two-day event boasts a buzzworthy 22-act lineup with a cool mix of performers, ranging from hip-hop to indie-rock and indie-pop to a couple of “collectives.” A few of Saturday’s highlights include sets from Dallas-based Def Jam signee Bobby Sessions, pop and R&B singer-songwriter Tinashe and Scottish synth-pop trio Chvrches, who headline the first night. But the chart-topping rap duo behind behind “Black Beatles,” “Swang” and “No Type,” Rae Sremmurd, is slated to deliver one of the fests can’t-miss sets. Sunday’s bill includes eight-piece London-based electronic-pop collective Superorganism, Houston-based psych-funk band Khruangbin and Tank and the Bangas soulful fusion collective out of New Orleans who won the NPR Tiny Desk Contest in 2017. Visit fortressfestival.com for the full schedule. Daniel Rodrigue


Black Label Society
8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28 at Canton Hall, 2727 Canton St., 214-932-1563, $50

Perhaps the greatest Ozzy Osbourne guitarist still breathing, Zakk Wylde has become something of an institution in his own right. From his iconic guitars, tooth-chipping riffs and badass biker aesthetic, everything about him could be found right up the alley of any red-blooded metal head. The fact that Wylde is also known as a genuinely agreeable fellow is just gravy. His band, Black Label Society, has reached its platinum 20th anniversary and is celebrating by issuing a re-release/re-blend of their debut studio album, Sonic Brew, on May 17. Due to Wylde’s inability to acquire the original masters for the album, portions of the “re-blend” were re-created in studio by BLS’ drummer and bassist, Jeff Fabb and John DeServio. But before the album’s official re-release, BLS will spend two nights in Dallas as part of their 20 Years of Sonic Brewtality Tour. The first night, the band will play Sonic Brew in its entirety, with the second being dedicated to greatest hits. This should be a standout weekend for local head bangers. Nicholas Bostick


Peter Bjorn and John
9 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at Club Dada, 2720 Elm Street

It's been over a decade now since "Young Folks" was a mainstay of modern rock radio, car commercials and campus dorms. The ubiquitous and catchy single featured non-ironic whistling, staccato beats and just enough whimsy to fit right in with mid-2000s musical fads. And though it still holds up surprisingly well all these years later, the song's authors, Swedish alternative rockers Peter Bjorn and John, are far from one-hit wonders. Out on tour behind the recent release of their eighth studio album, Darker Days, the trio — consisting of Peter Moren, Bjorn Yttling and John Eriksson — continue to create moody, atmospheric medleys and sunny, melodic pop hooks that prove worthy of repeated listens. Yttling has also carved out a nice niche as an in-demand collaborator, having written and produced with the likes of Chrissie Hynde, Robyn and Neko Case. Yell for "Young Folks" if you must, but enjoy the remainder of their vast catalog as well as they play Club Dada on Saturday night. Jeff Strowe


Claire Morales
With Poppy Xander, 8 p.m. Sunday, April 28 at Three Links, 2704 Elm St.

Do not dismiss Claire Morales as just another Denton singer-songwriter. Her music packs a serious punch with hints and glimmers of '60s and early '70s rock 'n' roll. Her live performances, especially with her backing band, are rousing and rollicking, turning any quiet club into a high-energy, singalong party. Her latest album, All That Wanting, came out last year and Rolling Stone dubbed her one of its 10 new Americana artists to know. Diamond Rodrigue


Snoop Dogg
With Warren G, 7 p.m. Sunday, April 28 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, 300 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Irving, tickets start at $25 at livenation.com.

From his online sports and culture commentary to his brilliant performance in provocateur Harmony Korine’s recent film The Beach Bum, Snoop Dogg never ceases to remain relevant. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his indisputable masterpiece, Doggystyle, Snoop Dogg is touring with old friends Warren G, The G Funk All Stars, Tha Dogg Pound and more. Twenty-five years on and Snoop’s iconic delivery — smooth as velvet, languid as a dream — is as enthralling as ever, still scanning as something genuinely radical and peerless. Above lyricism, mood and even presence, Snoop’s insouciant vibrancy, the way he ambles through each bar, remains his greatest feature, each syllable and distinct emphasis a hook to itself. Rap will never find another stylist quite like Snoop Dogg. Love live the king. Jonathan Patrick


Chief Keef
8 p.m. Sunday, April 28 at Gas Monkey Live!, 10110 Technology Blvd. E., $25 and up

Long before the early uproar trying to demonize the style of rapping known as drill music, most of the young proliferators of the aggressive, violent style of hip-hop grew up on Chicago’s South Side during a particularly violent period in the city’s history known to be plagued by record numbers of murders and gang violence. Like other drill forerunners in Chicago, Keith Cozart grew up with the murders making headlines every week. Cozart reportedly started rapping on his mom’s karaoke machine as a young child, began recording at 11 or 12, and in 2012, at 17, he released his debut album as Chief Keef, Finally Rich, which included singles “I Don’t Like,” "Hate Bein' Sober" and “Love Sosa” — some of drill music’s most iconic songs. (Expect to hear all three songs at the concert.) Kanye West helped catapult "I Don't Like" to many new ears after dropping a remix on his Cruel Summer compilation album as "Don't Like.1." Whether folks love or hate Chief Keef’s delivery and style, he’s quickly solidified a cult-like following. Daniel Rodrigue