Tuesday, Nov. 7
Diet Lite7 p.m., Ruins, 2653 Commerce St. $12 at eventbrite.com
Milwaukee rock 'n' roll saviors Diet Lite kicked off a short run of dates last week in Urbana, Illinois, and the band will be making its way to Deep Ellum Tuesday night. The band's sound is reminiscent of T. Rex with just a little bit more psychedelia thrown in to keep things on the trippy side. The band has been releasing music since 2018 and is currently touring in support of its April release, the sprawling 18-track album Into the Pudding. As a small band on the road, Diet Lite is not touring with an opening act, but it will have local support from indie band Aliens Overhead and folk-pop artist Cosmic Frownies.
Trauma Ray
7 p.m., Rubber Gloves, 411 E. Sycamore St., Denton. $12 at the door.
Fort Worth doomgaze band Trauma Ray has been a stalwart on Cowtown's indie music scene for going on five years now. Last April, the band released its latest EP, Split, which shows the its sound growing more atmospheric and chaotic with notes of early Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine. Trauma Ray will be headlining the night after with sets from Brooklyn shoegaze band Bedridden, Salt Lake City grunge band Worlds Worst and Nashville noise-rock band Lockstep. The show will take place at the same time Rubber Gloves hosts a metal show on another stage, and if history is any indicator, wristbands for both shows will likely be available at a discount.
Wednesday, Nov. 8
Danny Joseph7 p.m., Lava Cantina, 5805 Grandscape Blvd., The Colony. Free.
You may know Danny Joseph from his '50s rock 'n' roll throwback band IronVine. Known for his soulful voice and blues guitar, Joseph is originally from London but now resides in Dallas as a singer-songwriter who records, produces and mixes everything he creates from his home studio. This week in The Colony, Joseph will be playing a solo show with a collection of songs he's written over the years along with some unique renditions of classic songs.
Simon Flory
7:30 p.m., Magnolia Motor Lounge, 3005 Morton St., Fort Worth. Free.
Born in rural Indiana, Simon Flory’s music is informed by the days spent in the fields, church choirs, gravel roads and genuine mule-drawn molasses from his childhood. His songs are sketches of these scenes, sung to a soundtrack of country and gospel with a guitar-playing style more commonly heard on a clawhammer banjo or Appalachian fiddle. Flory moved to Fort Worth after working with Charley Crockett, Summer Dean, Vincent Neil Emerson and others, and his music career has only blossomed from there.
Thursday, Nov. 9
The Dirty Shirts
9 p.m., Sundown at Granada, 3520 Greenville Ave. $12 at prekindle.com
Raised on a steady diet of English rock 'n' roll bands from the '60s to the early '00s, The Dirty Shirts debuted in October 2020 with their first single "Ol' Chains Romance" — a song that paid respect to the music they grew up on, with a voice that refused to shake its Southern roots. Three years later, the band is still going strong, releasing its first album, In the Get Up from the Get Go, last year and a string of singles this year, from March's "HEART ATTACK" to last week's "Midnight Casanova." Saskatchewan rock band Autopilot opens the show.
Friday, Nov. 10
Dev Wulf8 p.m. Firehouse Gastro Park, 321 W. Main St., Grand Prairie. Free.
Singer-songwriter and Texas native Dev Wulf is the lead singer of Dev Wulf & The Midnight Howl and of Southern Americana band Texicana. As a solo artist, Wulf has released only one single, 2020's "Fade Out," a duet with Texicana bandmate Scarlett Deering. Wulf played a lot of solo shows around town in March and April, and this week he will be back at it in Grand Prairie.
Skatenigs
8 p.m., Reno's Chop Shop, 210 N. Crowdus St. $12 at the door.
Formed in Austin in 1989, Skatenigs combines punk rock with industrial metal. The band's 1992 debut album, Stupid People Shouldn't Breed, was produced by Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen. The original band broke up just a few years later in 1995, but in 2011, singer Phil Owen reformed the band with Mike Scaccia of Ministry and Casey Orr of GWAR — though that lineup never released anything together. In 2016, the band formed its current lineup and has since released four full-length albums. The band will have local support from punk band American Shit Storm and industrial metal band Lotus Throat.
Fire Sale
8:30 p.m., Double Wide, 3510 Commerce St. $12 at prekindle.com
Fire Sale is an American melodic punk band supergroup comprising Chris Swinney of The Ataris on lead guitar, Matt Riddle of Face To Face and No Use For A Name on bass, Pedro Aida of River City High on vocals, Matt Morris of Darlington on drums and Brad Edwards of Weaver Street on rhythm guitar. The band started releasing music in 2021 but has yet to release more than a handful of singles. Fire Sale will have opening support from Dallas punk band From Parts Unknown and Nonstarter as well as Austin band Compilations.
Squeezebox Bandits
9 p.m. Twilite Lounge, 212 Lipscomb St., Fort Worth. Free.
State Fair Records has brought many acts to the fore — Joshua Ray Walker, The 40 Acre Mule, Ottoman Turks, Jade Nickol (see below) and honkytonk, Tex-Mex band Squeezebox Bandits. The band released its first record, Check to Check, on the label last year, its third following two completely independent releases. The band is known for its crowd-pleasing live shows that are sure to get your feet two-stepping.
Saturday, Nov. 11
Soviet Space
6 p.m., Lola's Fort Worth, 2000 W. Berry St., Fort Worth. $15 at prekindle.com
Fort Worth's Soviet Space formed in the spring of 2000, with singers Noah Garcia and John Southard, Jordan Richardson on drums and Jim Keith on bass and keys. The band mixed the feeling of post-punk with the crashing sounds of rock 'n' roll. Soviet Space received a lot of attention from the local media the next year, but fizzled out the way many local bands do. This Saturday, however, the band will reunite in Fort Worth with the help of Dallas hard rock legends Doosu and Joe Gorgeous and Spring Palace.
Kill Bill: The Rapper
8 p.m., Dada, 2720 Elm St. $18 at prekindle.com
South Carolina indie hip-hop artist Kill Bill: The Rapper will close out a short run of tour dates in Deep Ellum Saturday night with help from fellow members of the EXOCIETY collective, Rav, Scuare and newcomer, Meltycanon. The collective celebrated its 10-year anniversary this year with the release of SHIFT!, which introduces audiences to the new roster of rappers, displaying a wide range of styles all with intense focus on the lyrics. With the slogan, "EXO doesn't chase shadows, they cast them," this collective is following the pathway paved by Odd Future. That said, this could be your last time to see any of these artists at a venue this small with a ticket price that cheap.
Sunday, Nov. 12
Jade Nickol
5 p.m., The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. Free.
Singer-songwriter Jade Nickol is a North Texas native who won first place in a singing competition at the age of 10 and began vocal training shortly thereafter. Nickol began to do shows as a musician after graduating high school in 2018. The next year, she signed onto State Fair Records and released her first EP, Murphy's Law. Her voice has been compared to those of Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks, earning her a nomination for "Best Vocalist" in the 2020 Dallas Observer Music Awards. Nickol will play Sunday on the Kessler Green behind the venue, which is a free event with first come-first served seating.
Monday, Nov. 13
Playboy Manbaby
7 p.m., Andy's Bar, 122 N. Locust St., Denton. $10 at prekindle.com
Taking a break from its tour with Mac Sabbath, Arizona art punk band Playboy Manbaby will stop in Denton before rejoining the tour Tuesday night at the Granada Theater. This is the band's second time touring with Mac Sabbath, and the last time that tour came through Dallas, Playboy Manbaby absolutely stole the show with its audience-engaging performance, biting sense of humor and incredible musicianship. If goofy gimmick tribute bands aren't your thing, it is totally worth the trip to Denton to see Playboy Manbaby as a headlining act with support from Slump, Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique and Friends Don't Let Friends Do Drugs.
