Bon Jovi play American Airlines Center on Thursday.
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STRFKR
With Psychic Twin, 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214-824-9933 or granadatheater.com, $24-$28
Portland indie-pop outfit STRFKR has a knack for delivering dance music that you can actually listen to. That’s the band’s mantra, really. Since 2008 they’ve crawled away from comparisons with electro acts like Cut Copy and MGMT by continuously evolving with each passing album, including their most recent release, Being No One, Going Nowhere, from 2016. Founder and frontman Joshua Hodges went rogue from the band and wrote most of the album alone in Joshua Tree, California. The end result is an album of shimmery, psych-funk dance tracks worth a listen that explore “that idea of letting go of the idea of who we think we are and what we need to be happy and letting ourselves exist as we are,” Hodges has stated in interviews. Mikel Galicia
Sting
8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, 1001 Performance Place, 972-854-5111 or verizontheatre.com, $10-$245
Late last year, Sting released his first real rock album, 57th and 9th, in 16 years. The former frontman of the Police has released a string of albums, rich with folk, classical and electronic tones, since embarking on his solo career in 1985. And he's been no stranger to his fans with several tours and television and movie appearances. Fans old and new will enjoy seeing the Englishman live since he's pretty good about mixing the bill with classic Police hits, as well as his own older and current solo numbers. Diamond Victoria
Suicide Silence
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, Trees, 2709 Elm St., 214-741-1122 or treesdallas.com, $21-$26
Deathcore band Suicide Silence lost founding member and lead vocalist Mitch Lucker in 2012 after he died from complications from a motorcycle accident. But the band prevailed, and released several songs with some of Lucker's final lyrics. Their latest self-titled album is a means to redefine what Suicide Silence is, according to Eddie Hermida, the band's new frontman. It's the band's first album in three years, and second since Lucker's death, and is set to release Friday. But you can get a preview of what's to come at their Tuesday show at Trees. DV
Twenty One Pilots
7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave., 214-222-3687 or americanairlinescenter.com, $40-$60
This hard-to-categorize duo, which blends elements of rock, pop and hip-hop, has been around longer than you think. Twenty One Pilots formed in 2009 in Columbus, Ohio, self-releasing two albums and going through some lineup changes before arriving at the successful pairing of vocalist and keyboardist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun. Their career took off after they signed to Fueled by Ramen in 2012, a subsidiary of Atlantic that became well-known in the early 'aughts for representing kindred artists such as Yellowcard, Jimmy Eat World and Fall Out Boy. Their second album with the label, Blurryface, is the one that put them on the map, earning them five Grammy nods, and one win in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category for the track "Stressed Out." Despite the fact that the group shares an honor with the Beatles and Elvis — they're the only three rock acts to have two top five singles at the same time — the music lacks their timelessness, but Joseph and Dun are aspiring poets and derived their name from an Arthur Miller play, so they've got some soul. Caroline North
Bon Jovi
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave., 469-708-4367 or americanairlinescenter.com, $19-$367
For their first studio album without ultimate, bad-ass guitarist Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi’s This House Is Not for Sale doesn’t seem to miss a beat. The classic rock band’s 13th studio album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 last November, making it the band’s sixth album to to do so. Phil X steps in for Sambora on lead guitar and the band has also added another member in the form of legendary session bassist Hugh McDonald. Dallas is Bon Jovi’s ninth stop on the tour promoting the album. At their packed Valentine’s Day show in Tampa Bay, Jon Bon Jovi quizzed the audience on local radio station facts and rewarded the winner with V-Day kisses. So in addition to a rousing rendition of “Livin’ On a Prayer,” Dallas fans can expect lots of audience engagement and all around showmanship. No promise that you’ll get to fulfill a lifelong dream of making out with Jon Bon Jovi, though. Molly Mollotova
Kiss
9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, Winstar World Casino, 777 Casino Ave., Thackerville, OK, 580-276-4229 or winstarworldcasino.com, Sold Out
Kiss don’t play shows for the purists. If you understand why Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons prefer carrying on the Kiss brand with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer instead of Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, then you should consider making the trek to this show. Yes, it's at a casino, but the venue itself is quite nice, and Kiss will make it an enjoyable event. On their Freedom to Rock tour, the band will be heavy on the hits and gags that they are known for (fireworks, fire-breathing, etc). The show is sold out so if you have a friend offering you a spare ticket, take up the offer. It's meant to be fun and theatrical, which has been Kiss' aim for their entire career. Eric Grubbs
Clint Black
9:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, Billy Bob’s Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, Fort Worth, 817-624-7117 or billybobstexas.com, $16-$55
Hailing from Long Beach, New Jersey, by way of Kirby, Texas, Clint Black is coming to Dallas for some boot-scootin’ fun. The silk smooth baritone took his inspiration from the likes of Waylon Jennings, George Strait and Willie Nelson, so it comes as no surprise that Black was a fixture on the country music charts in the ’90s and early 2000s. Black’s style is a far cry from the bro-country pop that seems to be the choice de jour nowadays, opting to sing a more traditional brand of country filled with lonely nights, ruined relationships and the occasional beer. His last album, On Purpose, was a welcome surprise after a nearly decade long gap between albums, and luckily lived up to Black’s legacy, reaching number 13 on the Billboard U.S. Top Country Albums chart. So if you’re looking to dust off your dancing boots, then this is a show guaranteed to get you and your friends two-stepping into the night. Nicholas Bostick
Us The Duo
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., 214-978-2583 or houseofblues.com, $23
Six-second video service Vine called it quits in January, but not before launching a folk-pop duo to stardom. Married couple Michael and Carissa Alvarado achieved notoriety on the service for their covers of radio hits beginning in 2013. Within a year, Los Angeles-based Us The Duo had amassed millions of followers and signed to Republic Records, where they've since released two albums of original music, 2014's No Matter Where You Are and 2016's Just Love. Last year they toured with Arlington natives and Grammy winners Pentatonix, and this week they're showing North Texas some more love with a stop at House of Blues. If you do attend, make sure to hold up a lighter in Vine's memory. Caroline North
Tift Merritt
With Sera Cahoone, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at Three Links, 2704 Elm St., 214-653-8228 or threelinksdeepellum.com, $17-$20
Tift Merritt’s music falls somewhere between folk and Americana, maybe even alternative country, but the real enduring trait of her nearly 20-year music career is poignant storytelling that speaks to everything from her days growing up in North Carolina to her times living in Paris, and more recently her experiences of motherhood. She’s often compared to other singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris, and she’s worked with Elvis Costello and Sam Beam of Iron and Wine, who produced her latest album Stitch of the World. Her delicate voice and smooth guitar strumming will be a match for Three Links’ intimate setting. Mikel Galicia
Erykah Badu
8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., 214-932-6501 or thebombfactory.com, $43
It’s time again for Erykah Badu's annual birthday blowout. “The First Lady of Neo Soul” and unofficial queen of the Dallas music scene is set to perform alongside her famed funk/soul/hip-hop supergroup the Cannabinoids. Apart from the artist’s birthday, this event celebrates the 20th anniversary of Badu’s seminal masterpiece Baduizm. With thunderous bass, lush jazz instrumentals and her lilting, smoky vocals, Badu’s future-looking debut set in motion waves that are still rippling through popular and underground music alike. To this day, Badu’s energizing creative spirit and inspiring persona make for unbelievable live performances, the sort you tend to brag about for years to come. Any event celebrating Erykah Badu is in turn a celebration of our city’s unique arts community, an opportunity to bring Dallas together to consider our music scene’s many accomplishments and rejoice in our ever brightening future. Jonathan Patrick
