If you haven't been able to tell yet from all of our Willie Nelson content on DC9 at Night this week, it's Willie Nelson Week here on the music blog! I know! We love him just as much as you do. But don't worry, we've got some other awesome options for the people who either can't make it out to see Willie this time around, or who just don't care. Children of all credos are welcome on DC9 at Night, and there's a little something for everybody, Willie-lovers or otherwise. Now get to scrolling!
See also: - "How Willie Nelson Won the Lone Star State: Illustrated Map"
Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic Thursday, July 4, at Billy Bob's Texas, $20-$60What more can we say? It's Willie Week!
Weedeater Thursday, July 4, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Free When you consider the word "fiesta," what do you think of? A parade of gaudily dressed individuals? A fancy party outside somewhere with upbeat music? The poorly received Ford hatchback that was re-branded as the Mazda 121 and yet still failed to sell? Or maybe you think of three stoner metal bands crammed into a dive bar in Denton, proudly displaying their hair, tattoos and ear-shattering approach to music for no cost to you whatsoever. If it's the latter, you are not only a free thinker unbound by social norms, but you are also in luck on Independence Day, as Parade of Flesh is putting on a free show up at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios headlined by North Carolina's finest sludge metal heroes Weedeater, 16 years into a career of not giving a solitary crap. Be there or be less cool than you could have been. -- Gavin Cleaver
Starparty, Black James Franco, Ghost Daddies Friday, July 5, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, $10 Starparty is exactly as it sounds. Imagine one gigantic party in the stars, with an electro-funk band that guides and entertains as you dance your way through the universe. Literally speaking, their shows are complete with ornate golden masks, glitter, awesome lazer-light shows and more. Just take a look at this video for their song "Beam Me Up (To Outer Space)" and you'll see what I mean. -- Rachel Watts
White Elephant Friday, July 5, at The Curtain Club, $10 To give you an idea of what to expect if you were to mosey over to Curtain Club this weekend, Dallas' heavy rock band White Elephant fits nicely on a bill with Fair to Midland or The Raven Charter, and has a similar knack for heavy, drony chords and melodic bass lines. The band is fairly new, and three out of the four members used to be in a band called RedPyramid. Although they're fresh, they've already made a few adjustments to the lineup, replacing their drummer just a couple months ago. Now that the group is back on track, they're working on putting out their first EP this fall. They have booked five or six dates in June and July, so if you're in or around Deep Ellum this summer, they'll be hard to avoid. Stop in and see what you think. -- Rachel Watts
97.1 The Eagle Presents: The Battle For BFD Saturday, July 6, at House of Blues, $10/$12 Now don't get this mixed up with 97.1's BFD concert that they just had in late May with Megadeath and Slash. This one is called "The Battle for BFD" with a lineup of hard rock and punk local acts that will get your blood flowing. Bands include local and newly-formed hard rock foursome White Elephant, female-led punk and glam-grunge band Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs, psych-rock wildlings The Gypsy Bravado, The Roaming Soldiers and Midnight Empire. -- Rachel Watts Beyonce Saturday, July 6, at American Airlines Center, $30-$300It's a good time to be a Carter. Beyonce's Mrs. Carter World Tour has been so successful they've doubled back on several dates and added a slew of new ones. And Mr. Beyonce releases his new Samsung-aided album today. Both have reached truly legendary proportions in pop music, but for our money we'll take her recent output over his. --Kiernan Maletsky
Fungi Girls Saturday, July 6, at The Wherehouse, $5 We're coming up on the five-year anniversary of the moment Fungi Girls made the entirety of the Dallas music scene say "Wait, these kids are in high school?" Since that moment the narrative has focused on the band's prodigious talent, and the fact that their music is much more mature than their years. It's an easy line to follow, but it's a disservice to such a quality band. 2009's Seafaring Pyramids will one day be held up as a classic of the late aughts garage revival in Texas. The album earned considerable local praise. It wasn't until 2011 when the band released their second full length, Some Easy Magic, that the national praise really came pouring in. Receiving a coveted Pitchfork endorsement, the band started to earn comparisons to garage punks Thee Oh Sees and quickly took off to tour the nation behind them. This was followed up by a hiatus that left fans wanting. Luckily 2013 has seen the band playing more frequently, including an appearance on a packed bill Saturday in Fort Worth with Seattle's La Luz, who play a breathtaking mix of doo wop, surf and garage rock that's sure to leave several young men swooning. -- Jaime-Paul Falcon
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company Wednesday, July 10, at Verizon Theatre Grand Prairie, $23.50-$86 It's totally fitting the remaining boys of Lynyrd Skynyrd are playing at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie on their North Texas stop (in promotion of their newest record, Last of a Dyin' Breed, a return to their Southern rock roots). Because on any given night at Theo's Bar and Grill -- a Grand Prairie institution, for whatever that's worth -- you're certain to hear some Skynyrd during a drunken night of karaoke. And you know what? There's something comfortable and cozy about that. For me, both the headliner and opener Bad Company represent high school parties in the field, car rides with my dad as a kid (before "classic rock" became a negative term) and now seemingly ancient Guitar World articles. And even though most of those memories -- and both of these bands' music -- are a bit cringe-worthy now, there's still something beautiful about what they represent to me and countless others. -- Lee Escobedo
With both of these bands celebrating 40th anniversaries, it seems only proper that Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company do a tour together. Bad Company, like Skynyrd, have a slew of terrific tunes as well as a better singer. Indeed, at 63, Paul Rogers still has some of the most awe-inspiring pipes in all of rock. Add in the always classic riffing of guitarist Mick Ralphs and it's pretty easy to determine the best band on this bill. -- Darryl Smyers
