The 10 Best Concerts of the Week: Childish Gambino, Yo La Tengo and More

The weather's cooling off and the concerts are heating up this week. Eighties post-punk band Killing Joke kicks things off Monday night at Granada Theater, Andrew W.K. is sure to put on a great show Friday night at Trees and Childish Gambino plays American Airlines Center on Sunday.


Killing Joke
With at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., granadatheater.com, $30-$240

After numerous cancellations in previous years, it looks like Killing Joke will finally make it here on their 40th anniversary tour, The "Will they or won't they?" does loom and people have been burned before, but Jaz Coleman, Geordie Walker, Youth and Paul Ferguson hope to kiss and make up with the fans. With roots in post-punk and industrial, the band is legendary, inspiring many bands since their beginning. Respect is strong with this band, and they should make for a killer show. Eric Grubbs


Jade Bird
7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 18, at Dada, 2720 Elm St., dadadallas.com, $15-$18

Jade Bird is a 20-year-old indie-pop darling from England whose music is inspired by universal feelings of love and what it means to be young. Inspired at an early age by Bob Dylan and Neil Young, Bird found her folksy roots with her grandmother's old acoustic guitar. With a five-piece EP behind her, Bird's first full-length album is expected to release next year. Diamond Victoria


Buddy Guy
7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214-824-9933, granadatheater.com, $75 and up

If you're a fan of Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards or Eric Clapton, to name a few, you can thank Buddy Guy. The legendary blues guitarist has inspired many of the world's greatest musicians. Guy began specializing in Chicago blues — just like his predecessor Muddy Waters — in the late '50s after moving to the Windy City from Louisiana. These days, Guy, 81, is still going strong, as is obvious with his newest album, The Blues is Alive and Well. DV


Yo La Tengo
7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 20, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., granadatheater.com, $30-$50

Yo La Tengo loves to play at any volume. Founders Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan have been a band since 1984, and they have been quite consistent ever since. Their latest, There's a Riot Goin' On, is a gorgeous addition to their catalog. They can play quietly on acoustics and brushes, or they can play loud, droney jams on loud amps, and it all seems to make sense. They're also known for their covers, so who knows, what they will play? They will be good, whatever's on the set list. Eric Grubbs



A.J. LeGrand
10 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 20, at Sundown at Granada, 3520 Greenville Ave., 214-823-8305, free

Not one to be cast into any one category, local singer-songwriter A.J. LeGrand describes his music as cosmic country psychedelic folk rock storytelling. Raised in rural areas, LeGrand heard plenty of storytelling in the music he listened to and has carried it with him in his career, which only really started a few years ago. DV


Jimmie Vaughan
8 p.m., Thursday, September 20, at Levitt Pavilion, 100 W. Abram St., Arlington, free

There must be something in the famous Vaughan family blood that makes for great blues guitarists, as is made obvious by the talent of Stevie Ray and his older brother, Jimmie. After the two released an album together in 1990 and after his brother's death, Oak Cliff native Jimmie went on to release numerous successful blues rock records and win four Grammy Awards. DV


Laraaji
With Arji OceAnanda, Dallas Acid and City of Dawn, 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21, at Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., $30 at prekindle.com

With new age music on the upswing, it’s an apt time for one of its pioneering figures, Laraaji, to roll through town. After a chance encounter with Brian Eno in the late ‘70s, the multi-instrumentalist launched his career with Day of Radiance, the third installment in Eno’s ambient series and a record that would introduce Laraaji’s meditative music to the world. The release’s five hypnotic movements remain a fitting introduction to Laraaji’s sound art, immersing listeners in a drifting stream of gauzy dulcimer, percussive zither and the rhythmic textures of eastern mysticism, a mainstay of Laraaji’s compositions. Presented by DAMN (Dallas Ambient Music Nights), the finest curatorial organization for left field electronic music in the city, this audio-visual event offers a rare chance to bliss out with one of the godfathers of ambient music. Psychedelics not included. Jonathan Patrick


Andrew W.K.
8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21, at Trees, 2709 Elm St., 214-741-1122, treesdallas.com, $20

“Are you ready to party?” is a rallying cry typically heard at the beginning of Andrew W.K.’s concerts. (W.K. really knows how to party.) On The Party Never Dies Tour with his full band, W.K. is known for party-perfect tracks such as "Party Hard," “Party Party Party,” "We Want Fun” and “It’s Time To Party.” Sensing a theme here?Memorable for his positive stage banter; kinetic, high-energy performances; and frequently pointing his mic at his fans for their help with his call-and-response and anthem-style lyrics, he truly knows how to captivate and rally an audience. But Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier is much more than your typical singer-songwriter or charismatic frontman. The multi-instrumentalist is also a writer and touring motivational speaker, and in 2016, he announced the launch of a political party, The Party Party, "to unify and unite people under a common celebratory philosophy." Daniel Rodrigue


KC and the Sunshine Band
10:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22, at Billy  Bob's, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, Fort Worth, 817-624-7117, $35-$55

Shake your booty and get down tonight with funky outfit KC and the Sunshine Band. It's one of those bands your parents probably made you listen to, but you didn't mind too much. For 45 years, KC and the Sunshine band have encouraged you to party, so why not go along for the ride? DV


Childish Gambino
8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 23, at American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave., $49 and up at ticketmaster.com

When comedian, actor, singer, songwriter, DJ, producer and director Donald Glover signed to Glassnote Records in 2011, few fans, music writers, critics or bloggers could have imagined the impact the young celebrity’s rapper alter ego would have after only three studio albums, three EPs and a dozen singles. Easily the most influential, his single "This Is America" debuted in May 2018 at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 after Glover performed the song on Saturday Night Live while simultaneously unleashing the single and the remarkable Hiro Murai-directed music video, which quickly went viral. In the four months since the single dropped, the video has already garnered a staggering 400 million views on YouTube and more than 220 million plays on Spotify. Fans on the fence about attending won't want to miss this tour, because after kicking off the This Is America Tour in Atlanta on Sept. 6, SPIN, Fader and others reported that in fan-captured videos from the concert Glover announced the tour would be “The last Gambino tour ever.” Daniel Rodrigue