If you're trying to make it to Sunday evening church service and also see some of the biggest acts in town this week, you might be a little busy. Inna Vision, Built To Spill, Korn and Alice in Chains are all rolling into town for North Texas performances that night. But if you'd rather sit those ones out, there's plenty of other acts to see earlier in the week. There's Timecop1983 at Deep Ellum Art Co., Slaid Cleaves at The Kessler Theater and so many more.
Timecop1983
7 p.m. Monday, July 15, at Deep Ellum Art Co., 3200 Commerce St., $20 at prekindle.com
Synthpop’s experimental origins began in the mid- to late-’70s before blossoming and finding chart-topping commercial success in the early ’80s, but lately, more and more folks seem to equate or mix up synthwave with synthpop. Synthwave is not a comprehensive term for all music styles from all eras made with synthesizers. While synthwave did develop aesthetic and sonic influences from some of their synthpop forbearers, synthwave is a markedly more modern musical genre, originating in the mid-2000s as producers began to mine the sights, sounds and themes of ’80s and very early ’90s pop culture from TV shows and movies to video games and arcades. Last summer, when Dutch electronic synthwave, or dreamwave, artist Jordy Leenaerts, aka Timecop1983, toured through, stopping at Curtain Club in Deep Ellum, Leenaerts played to a packed house of (mostly) dancing fans. Leenaerts stands as one of the paramount producers riding the wave of ’80s revivalism still trending in current pop culture (See: Stranger Things, The Goldbergs, GLOW, etc.). Openers Arcade High and Korine join Timecop1983 on the We Are Dreamers Tour. Daniel Rodrigue
The Free Loaders
7 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, at The Free Man Cajun Cafe & Lounge, 2626-2630 Commerce St., free
If a movie was made about The Free Man, a Deep Ellum Cajun restaurant and live music venue, the soundtrack would consist of songs by one band: The Free Loaders. Luckily, a three-piece variation of the band plays at the venue every Tuesday, so there, you don’t have to wait for the movie to come out to hear its killer soundtrack. Just hop over to The Free Man on a Tuesday evening, order a po' boy and listen to frontman and venue owner John Jay Myers slam on his drums and bark into the microphone with keys and stand-up bass behind him. Jacob Vaughn
Revive or Die Local Music Festival
6 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, July 18-21, at The Rail Club Live, 3101 Joyce Dr., Fort Worth, $10-$50 at eventbrite.com
The Rail Club is coming back from the dead as The Rail Club Live. The Fort Worth venue’s heart stopped beating when its doors were closed about a year ago. Now, local promoter Chris Polone is trying to resuscitate it, starting with the Revive or Die Local Music Festival. The festival spans four days, featuring local heavy hitters like The Drop Deadlys, Civil Unrest and In Resistance. Previous owners of the venue Brian Sheid and Josh Campbell will be performing at the festival in their respective bands, the Grant Morrison Band and Hell’s Half Acre. The festival should make for the ultimate comeback for The Rail Club Live. Jacob Vaughn
Slaid Cleaves
8 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis St., $24 at prekindle.com
Deciding to go to college for philosophy is a risky choice in general because, like Slaid Cleaves, you might just end up busking on the streets of Cork, Ireland, and decide to become a folk singer. A cross between a modern-day Woody Guthrie and Tom Petty, with just a soupçon of Conor Oberst on the side, acts like Cleaves are one in a million. After releasing a handful of tracks during the music boom days of the 1990s, Cleaves made his first mark after the release of his 1997 album No Angel Knows and has since then kept the flame alive for the style we now just call Americana. His latest release, 2017’s Ghost of the Car Radio, saw him labeled as Americana’s most underappreciated songwriter by Rolling Stone. Cleaves taps into the discontent of small-time men and women with the accuracy and flair of someone who has already lived it or truly understands it. Being a philosophy major is a tough gig, but looking at the lyrics to "Already Gone" off No Angel Knows, it seems Cleaves knew what he was getting himself into all along: “One more town one more job another chance now, I'm down to muscle and nerve/ May not have gotten all that I dreamed of/ Pretty sure I got what I deserved.” Nicholas Bostick
KUZU: Revolution II
8 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio, 411 E. Sycamore St., Denton, $10 at kuzu.fm
KUZU 92.9 FM, Denton's little radio station that could, is celebrating two years of some of the most original DJ sets and playlists. KUZU plays everything from noise, punk, honky-tonk and beyond, and can be streamed live from its website from anywhere in the world. The party takes place at the newly reopened Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios. Rubber Gloves shuttered back in 2016, but earlier this year had a soft reopening during Denton's documentary festival Thin Line Fest. The KUZU: Revolution II will see several local bands taking to the venue's new outdoor stage for the first time. Bands include The Birds of Night, Cure For Paranoia, Starfruit and more. Also in tow for the celebration will be an art market, food trucks and KUZU DJs streaming live. Diamond Rodrigue
The Baptist Generals
8 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at Andy's Bar, 122 N. Locust St., Denton, $12-$15 at eventbrite.com
Titans of the North Texas music scene Baptist Generals will be at Andy’s Bar on Saturday. Besides Schizo Harmonic: Bad Music, Stray Animals and Everything else from The Baptist Generals, an archival project by frontman Chris Flemmons, the band hasn’t released any new music since their 2013 album Jackleg Devotional to the Heart, and they seldom play shows. Performing with the experimental folk band will be California artist John Vanderslice, on tour after the release of his latest album, The Cedars. Jacob Vaughn
Built To Spill
7 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., $30 at prekindle.com
In 2015, a Phoenix New Times article headlined “Built to Spill Is the Ultimate Indie Rock Band” tried to tackle why Built to Spill, who spent two decades on a major label, are considered indie-rock royalty. After all, Built to Spill’s seminal full-length Keep It Like a Secret was released in early 1999 on then Warner Bros. Records, yet the album cemented the band’s place in the indie-rock pantheon and frontman Doug Martsch as an indie-rock guitar hero. Then, in 2017, after six albums over the course of 22 years on Warner, the band returned to indie status after announcing their departure from the major label. This Keep It Like a Secret Tour commemorates the 20th anniversary of the keenly crafted record, and while “Carry The Zero” remains a fan-favorite track, and the band’s closest thing to a single, even new fans can likely sing along to every track on the album. Newer fans, however, should expect to hear fresh interpretations of the album's tracks, as Martsch & Co. tend to improv and experiment with the larger-than-life arrangements. Daniel Rodrigue
Inna Vision
8 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill, 10261 Technology Blvd. E., $10 at ticketfly.com
It's not too often that a band from Hawaii makes a national impression as big as Inna Vision has over the past decade or so. The state's geographical isolation makes touring and promotion all the more difficult. However, this hasn't stopped the reggae maestros from striking gold. On their perpetual quest to spread positive Aloha vibes to the mainland, the group has played in over 100 cities, recorded four full-length albums and five EPs, and has consistently cracked the iTunes Top 10 charts. They're back out on the road in support of their latest release, Link Up, a collection of Reggae, Dancehall and Hip-Hop that should leave concert attendees bopping along with joy. Jeff Strowe
Twin Tribes
8 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at The Nines, 2911 Main St., $8 at eventbrite.com
Brownsville, Texas, band Twin Tribes is bringing its darkwave, synthesized post-punk sound to The Nines. The duo made up of Luis Navarro on vocals, guitar, synth and beats, as well as Joel Niño, Jr. on bass, synth and vocals, released its debut album Shadow last year with a music video to boot. In the music video for the title track, the band displays an apparent affinity for the occult, with visuals of ritualistic cannibalism. They’ll be sharing the stage with the locals in Rosegarden Funeral Party, and the out-of-state Bathhøuse and Garden of Mary. Jacob Vaughn
Korn with Alice in Chains
6 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at Dos Equis Pavilion, 3839 S. Fitzhugh Ave., $20 at livenation.com
With their low-end rumble, volatile emotions, and raw, barbed-wire energy, both Korn and Alice in Chains were fixtures of the alternative scene that dominated rock radio in the ‘90s (R.I.P. 102.1 The Edge!). Alice in Chains was one of the seminal if less acclaimed grunge acts when that genre was still a thing, while Korn found a middle between nu metal and rap rock, with lead singer Jonathan Davis snarling in his notoriously high-end caterwaul about everything from societal mistrust to personal abuse. A quick Spotify search reveals both bands’ most popular tracks (Korn’s “Freak on a Leash” and Chains’ “Would?”) have a combined age of 48 years — and here we are in 2019 and both acts are still filling stadiums. If you chalk it up to nostalgia you’re probably mostly right, but is there something else to their infectious if garishly unsubtle art? Something that strikes at the benefit of pure expression unfettered by heady encumbrances? Maybe, maybe not. But either way, their best tracks still slap. Jonathan Patrick