The 10 Best Concerts of the Week: Old 97's Holiday Hoopla, Washed Out and More

Get into the spirit of the season this week as Old 97's play a holiday show at The Statler. Share some original music at Josh Fleming's singer-songwriter night at Fort Worth Live. And catch Washed Out at Canton Hall and others this week.



Singer-Songwriter Night with Josh Fleming
7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 24 at Fort Worth Live, 306 N. Houston St., 817-945-8890 or fortworthlive.live, free

Joshua Fleming, vocalist and guitarist for local cowpunk sextet Vandoliers, recently began hosting a recurring gig to welcome new songwriters at Fort Worth Live. By sharing his knowledge of the music biz, Fleming hopes to help young musicians find their foothold in the industry. During this "songwriter's night," as he calls it, Fleming plays his music and considers it a great chance to try out new material for the audience. He also wants the Monday night sets to be a way for young songwriters to hone their craft and to network with local veteran musicians for potential collaborations. If you're looking to catch a first glimpse at some of the area's best up-and-coming singer-songwriters, this weekly gig is the place to be. Diamond Victoria


Outward Bound Mixtape Sessions
10 p.m. Monday, Dec. 24 at RBC, 2617 Commerce St., 469-487-6149 or rbcdeepellum.com, free

We actually look forward to Mondays now, thanks to the work of Stefan Gonzalez. The lineup he curates on that day every week at RBC makes it one of the best places in the city to discover new music. Outward Bound Mixtape began a few years ago at Crown and Harp on Lower Greenville before it moved to Deep Ellum, where it offers the same opportunity for local and touring acts to try out something new in front of an enthusiastic and open-minded crowd of regulars, whether that means a first show, new songs or a sound that defies genres. If you ask the act du jour in Dallas — noise, punk, goth or free jazz — where it played some of its first shows, you'll likely be told Outward Bound, so attend Mondays and stay ahead of the curve. Caroline North


PriMadonna
with Cheers for Tears, 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 27 at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., $12-$20

This year's Dallas Observer Music Awards Best Cover Band winner PriMadonna plays Granada Theater tonight. The Madonna tribute band is fairly new to the game but has garnered quite a following. Featuring some of the best pop musicians in town, PriMadonna puts on an electric live performance. DV



Washed Out
7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28 at Canton Hall, 2727 Canton St., $24 and up at ticketfly.com

In less than a decade since releasing his first tracks as Washed Out, Ernest Greene Jr. went from recording music in his bedroom at his parent’s house to playing festival stages in front of crowds upward of 20,000 – and Washed Out had 5 million fans on Spotify streaming songs in 65 countries nearly 50 million times in 2018. Forever tied to the “chillwave” genre of lo-fi, bedroom electropop that leap from Myspace pages onto trendy MP3 blogs in 2009 and 2010, Washed Out remains perhaps best known for recording "Feel it All Around," which has served as the theme track during opening credits for all eight seasons of Portlandia and a gateway-drug track of sorts for many of Washed Out’s fans. In 2017, Stones Throw Records released Washed Out’s Mister Mellow as a “visual album” with videos accompanying each track on the record. With Mister Mellow, Greene moved toward pairing his music with visualizations, and tour stops in 2017 and 2018 saw Washed Out touring with a live band and a visually heavy production, with projections choreographed to the music. MACK and Luna Luna open. Daniel Rodrigue


Charlie Sexton
8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28 at The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis St., $25 at prekindle.com

If you've seen Ethan Hawke's recent film Blaze, you witnessed a whole lot of Charlie Sexton. There, with uncanny resemblance, he portrayed Townes Van Zandt, the iconic folk-blues singer, known just as much by his trail of decadence and destruction as he is for his brilliant songwriting. The near-universal praise Sexton has received for his acting chops mirrors the praise he's been receiving for 30-plus years for his musical prowess. A guitar gunslinger since junior high school, Sexton has worked alongside rock music's biggest names — from touring with David Bowie to recording with Ron Wood, Keith Richards and Lucinda Williams. Since the late '90s, he's been the primary guitarist on Bob Dylan's Neverending Tour. Not too shabby of a resume, and it doesn't end there. He's got quite the catalog of his own songs and a master's attention to detail with music history that has made him the undeniable go-to musician for big celebratory events, inventive collaborations and star-studded jam sessions. See the mastery on display in the comfortable confines of The Kessler. Jeff Strowe


Robert Earl Keen
7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28 at House of Blues Dallas, 2200 N. Lamar St., $68 and up at livenation.com

Probably best known for his work with artists like George Strait, Lyle Lovett and The Highwaymen, Texas icon Robert Earl Keen Jr. has spent nearly half of his life as one of the Lone Star State’s best musical ambassadors. But of course when the holiday season rears its head, sometime in mid-October, he turns his focus to spreading yuletide cheer. As he does every year, the Hall of Fame songwriter will bring his annual country Christmas revue to North Texas. This year dubbed Robert Earl Keen’s Cosmic Cowboy Christmas, the man himself has promised the show will overload your pleasure centers with sugarplum endorphins. An homage to the holiday will, of course, be capped by a rendition of Keen’s cult Christmas anthem “Merry Christmas from the Family.” A true holiday tradition with one of Texas’ most distinguished artists, this show will prove to be out of this world. Nicholas Bostick


Raised Right Men
10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28 at Double Wide, 3510 Commerce St., free with RSVP

Twice nominated for Best Cover Band by the Observer, Raised Right Men are a Denton gem covering all your favorite old country songs. The five-piece who call themselves a honky tonk band invite you to crack open a beer and celebrate the legacy of Willie, Waylon and the boys. DV


Old 97's Holiday Hoopla
7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29 at The Statler Ballroom, 1914 Commerce St., $26.50 at prekindle.com

The Old 97's released a holiday-themed album this year called Love The Holidays. So it makes sense they're throwing something like this a few days before 2019 kicks in. Expect plenty of songs from the album, which is mostly made up of original tunes written about Christmas, Santa, and winter. Casey Magic, a "DIY punk rock magician" will also perform, in addition to a solo acoustic set by Rhett Miller. Save your shouts for songs from Miller's "Iron Child" and "Song for Truman Capote" for another time. This is supposed to be about Christmas, not proof you found a CD-R copy of an album Miller made in 1989. Eric Grubbs


The Black Angels
with Holy Wave and Pearl Earl, 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29 at Trees, 2709 Elm St., tickets start at $22 at ticketfly.com

Woozy, abstract, drone-y, hallucinatory — these words get you somewhere in the realm where Austin neo-psych act The Black Angels’ music lives. Flitting between white-noise sheets of crunchy guitar, throwback garage-rock riffs, echoic percussion, and an endless stream of delays and dissolves, Black Angels are one of the few bands to successfully channel classic psych rock without slipping into full-on nostalgia. They might have slowed down some recently, but there’s no denying these Austin pathfinders’ place in Texas rock history. The illustrious torch for Lone Star psych and garage rock lives on. Jonathan Patrick


Bastards of Soul
with DJ Gabe Mendoza, 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29 at Double Wide, 3510 Commerce St., $15

Once you've served yourself enough turkey and dressing for the week, give your soul something to fill up on. Catch the seven-piece local cover band Bastards of Soul for a night of some of the best soul from the '60s and '70s. DJ Gabe Mendoza spins some funk favorites at the main bar. DV