As we sit in our cubicles, school chairs or desks today, the Texas sky is relentless with its 73-degree beauty, tempting all of us to turn on some tunes, throw up our hands and have recess. Texas has just reached the perfect time of year when all of the alchemy is correct for hosting a plethora of music festivals. Well, the announcements have been pouring in for these spring and early summer fests, and you can expect more in the coming weeks. Read about them below, then get your ass outside.
HomeGrown Music and Arts Festival Saturday, May 11, at Main Street Garden Park, $17-$25 Dallas' own HomeGrown Music and Arts Festival is upon us already, believe it or not, and we just received the first round of announcements. All of the bands have Texas ties, since that's kind of the point of HomeGrown. Another dispatch of bands will come in early April, but for now, this is what ya get: Divine Fits, Larry g(EE), The Burning Hotels, Madison King, Zhora, Quiet Company and J Charles & the Trainrobbers.
City of Richardson's Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival Friday, May 17 to Sunday, May 19, at Galatyn Park Urban Center, $20-$30 Richardson's annual Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival is gearing up again and has just dispatched another round of acts. The fest's whole thing is trying to feature the best in classic rock, country, Texas blues, funk, pop, alt-rock, folk and Americana. The festival's heavyweights have been previously announced, and in case you missed it, they include Toadies, The Reverend Horton Heat, Robert Earl Keen and Uncle Kracker. Just announced today are: Cowboy Mouth, Gretchen Wilson, The Charlie Daniels Band, Spin Doctors, Blue Oyster Cult, Grand Funk Railroad, .38 Special, Eleven Hundred Springs and Jolie Holiday.
Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds Five, Guster Monday, June 17, at Verizon Theatre In celebating their 25th anniversary as a band, Barenaked Ladies are hitting the road with groundbreaking pop trio Ben Folds Five and funny boys Guster, and are kicking off their "Last Summer on Earth" tour right here in Big D this June. It seems everyone's getting the old crew back together and/or writing new material. Ben Folds Five are touring in support of their first new album in 13 years, and Guster just self-released a collection of recordings from their 2012 acoustic tour. Barenaked Ladies are giving it another shot and releasing a brand new album on Vanguard on June 4.
Mayhem Festival Sunday, August 4, at Gexa Energy Pavilion Metalheads rejoice! Tickets go on sale this Friday for Dallas' annual Mayhem Festival at Gexa. Returning to Dallas since his last show at Freaker's Ball on Halloween with Marilyn Manson is Rob Zombie, who will be headlining this whole shindig. The entire event will feature four stages--more than ever before, and will have a stage for local bands, although they won't be announced until June. Other bands on the bill include Five Finger Death Punch, Mastodon, Amon Amarth, Machine Head, Children of Bodom, Behemoth, Job For a Cowboy, Emmure, Born of Osiris, Motionless in White, Butcher Babies, Battlecross, Huntress, Thrown Into Exile and City in the Sea.
Heart Thursday, August 15, at Gexa Energy Pavilion Tickets go on sale Friday for sister rock legends Heart, who are hitting the road with John Bonham's son, Jason Bonham, who will perform his Led Zeppelin Experience show on tour. Ann and Nancy Wilson first met Jason Bonham when they performed "Stairway to Heaven" together at the Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Led Zeppelin in December 2012. It's only been a few months and they're already hitting the road together. I guess the six million fans watching the event really responded to it.
