Big Shows

For those of us raised on classic rock — or as my one Gen-X-yet-still-ageist pal puts it, “Baby Boomer bullshit” — two indisputably huge concerts are coming to the region this summer. Grab your walkers!

Arguably the biggest is Bob Dylan. The legendary troubadour will perform at 8pm on Thu, Jul 2, in Oklahoma at Lucas Oil Live at WinStar World Casino & Resort (777 Casino Av, Thackerville, 866-946-7787). Not to be morbid, but ol’ Bob’ll turn 85 on May 24. Catch him while you can. (Should be easy. He probably can’t move too fast.) Tickets start at $79.

The next biggest classic rawwwk! gigs (plural) are by Rush, all four concerts — Jun 24, 26, 28, and 30 — at Dickies Arena (1911 Montgomery St, Fort Worth, 817-402-9000). As a fan of the Canadian power trio since “Tom Sawyer” first flipped my wig in sixth grade (circa 1981), I admit I will crap my ridiculous, some would say “overworn” cargo shorts if Geddy or Alex addresses the crowd as “Fort Worth” instead of “Dallas,” since the guys haven’t played the Fort in decades if at all (maybe the convention center back in the day?) but have done Big D dozens of times in the intervening years. And, y’know, since Fort Worth — now the country’s 10th largest city — gets lumped in with Dallas all the time, and I’m sorry for having some civic pride. Geddy, Alex, you’ll be in Fort Worth, not Dallas. Geddy, Alex, I don’t think any place in town serves poutine, but I know where to get some killer Mexican food. Text me!

The tour represents the Toronto dudes’ first foray back onto the stage in 11 years and after the 2020 death of easily the best prog-rock drummer of all time. (Sorry, Phil C. Sorry, Bill B. Sorry, Danny C. Sorry, Carl P.) Replacing Neil Peart (R.I.P.) is Anika Nilles, a certified fusion badass who should be given better material than what’s on the rumored setlists circulating online. Do we really need to hear “Fly By Night” or any of that other wonky, screechy stuff again? No. The answer is no. Give her something great, something innovative that Neil wrote that maybe she can put her own jazzy spin on. She — we — need some deep cuts. Then again, I’ve seen the band more than 20 times in nearly 10 different cities since 1982 and own every album. Forgive me if the “greatest hits” don’t really pump my ’nads as much anymore.

A shame because some of Geddy, Neil, and Alex’s best work is their most overlooked. Everything from Signals (1982) through their 19th and final studio album, 2012’s Clockwork Angels, is incredibly thoughtful and mature. And brilliant. And non-screechy. I think I’d even say that 2002’s Vapor Trails is my favorite Rush album of all time. (Best Rush song, though? Comes down to “La Villa,” “Natural Science,” “Camera Eye,” and, for purely personal/sadsack reasons, Vapor Trails’ “Secret Touch,” a rocking yet moody and melancholy track that Neil wrote after both his wife and young-adult daughter died tragically around the same time several years earlier. *hug emoji*) But don’t listen to me, a Rush geek since my Z. Cavaricci-clad pimple-poppin’ era who’s seen the trio probably more than you have and still listens to them … too much. (Geddy, Alex, Don Artemio in Monticello is the real deal.) Tickets to Rush’s Dickies shows start at *gulp* $339 (plus fees). On that note …

Part of this column also includes possibilities for mini-vacations or road trips, so if you can’t wait to see undisputed pop star Madison Beer at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory (300 W Las Colinas Blvd, Irving, 214-978-4888) on Tue, Jun 9, then check her out the night before in Austin at the Moody Center (2001 Robert Dedman Dr, Austin, 512-651-7600). Though she doesn’t get the same props as some of her peers, the 26-year-old who was signed at 13 and dropped at 16 is supremely talented and puts on a wild show. I’d say that within the next year or so, she’ll be up there with the next generation of queens we all know by name: Olivia Rodrigo, Lisa, Sabrina Carpenter, and the next-gen’s queen of queens, Dua Lipa, whose publicist — and I hate to brag — keeps sending me (and 9 zillion other people) press releases. I mean, stop already. I’m happily married, Dua. Anyway, maybe Madison Beer just needs to host SNL lol. (She may have already. I dunno. Don’t watch much TV except for sports and PBS.) Tickets to her Irving show start at $35 and to her Austin gig begin at $53.

I’m not a huge hater of listicles, but I’m so glad Rolling Stone has stopped putting out new ones seemingly every other week. Their most recent “best guitarist” list still gives me the sads. Yeah, I get it, writing a killer, memorable riff or three is awesome and definitely inspires more youngsters to pick up instruments and start messing around with them than fiery soloing or hot lixxx, but where’s the rock-guitarist list that just talks about technical skill and linear phrasing and all the other criteria that determine our evaluations of classical and jazz guitarists? That style of rock guitar can also be inspirational.

I don’t have any personal list or anything, but I know that near the top of mine would be David Gilmour, Alex Lifeson, Michael Schenker, Joe Satriani, and Buckethead. Why my man covers his noggin with a KFC bucket, I’m not sure, but he is equal if not superior to Vai and Satch in terms of pure songwriting and shredding mixed with melodic playing. He’ll be in Dallas at the Granada Theater (3524 Greenville Av, Dallas, 214-841-4900) on Fri, Jun 12, then the next night in Austin at Emo’s (2015 E Riverside Dr, Austin, 512-777-0873). Tickets to the Dallas show start at $51.92 and to the Austin one begin at $37.65. Guitar geeks (me) and fast-food fried-chicken fiends (me again), unite! (If I were a monumental guitar talent, I’d put one of those KFC Bowls on my head, because I could eat about 10 of those things in one sitting.)

On Fri, May 29, Dickies will be the site of another cool traveling show. Now, I mostly tuned out mainstream-radio rock and pop to focus on Fort Worth music a few years back. Being the parent of a young teen now, I’ve been exposed to some mainstream playlists that let me know pretty clearly that radio rock and pop are not dead. At all. A month or two ago, the boy and I caught Scottish soulman Calum Scott at House of Blues. What a show. My kid was not only one of only a handful of Black people in the crowd, but he was pretty much the only (straight) teen boy, who sang along to every word. No fucks given, which is saying something for a pretty self-conscious eighth grader. (And he wears his $45 — ! — Calum Scott tour T-shirt to school once a week.) (Yes, I put it on Klarna.) The Dickies show I’m getting around to is by another one of my 14-year-old’s favorite contemporary singer-songwriters. Alex Warren is a Hype House bro who has some actual talent, penning really heartfelt, really emotive, not gonna say “sappy” pop that you can sing along to and to which my kid undoubtedly will. *heart emoji* Tickets start at $75.

Wrapping up summer from a big-artist/big-show perspective is my new favorite rapper and for reasons other than rapping. Afroman, who fought the law and won (“Talkin’ ’bout Pound Cake,” Mar 26, 2026), is playing Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall (122 E Exchange Av, Ste 200, Fort Worth, 817-900-9300) on Fri, Aug 7 (tickets start at $41), then the next night in Dallas at The Echo Lounge & Music Hall (1323 N Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, 214-438-2042), with tickets starting at $22. Experiencing him performing “Will You Help Me Repair My Door?” is worth twice as much in either city. — A.M.

Get in, Loser, We’re Going on Tour

Whether sliding just across the Metroplex or hopping into dingy vans and traversing hundreds of miles, road shows allow area musicians a chance to play for some faces different from those they regularly see at the city’s handful of remaining venues. Not only can going out on the road give a boost to an artist’s career, it’s also an opportunity to elevate Fort Worth as a bona fide music city in the eyes of the rest of the state and country. Depending upon where they’re headed, it’s also a chance to escape some of the season’s vicious 100-degree days.

It’s hard to think of a better way to kick off the face-melting season than with some music that will do the same. On Sat, May 23, the thundering Werewolf Victim Revival cruise up I-35 to Denton’s iconic Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios (411 E Sycamore St, Denton, 940-514-0675) to support Dallas heavy rockers The Infamists, who are celebrating the new single “Feral Noises and Amphetamines.” North Texas’ blistering Van Damme, which features members of beloved wall-of-guitar heroes DUELL, are on the bill as well.

If that doesn’t give one their fill of cranked-up Marshalls, on Sat, May 30, down-stroke rockers The Dangits are at Three Links in Deep Ellum (704 Elm St, Dallas, 214-484-6011) with Houston’s badge-and-baton-wielding Cops.

To close out the month, back up at RGRS on Sun, May 31, Tarrant County death-metal pioneers Gammacide hit the 40-year milestone as they rip it up with Silvertonguedevil and Chemicaust.

This week, folk singer-songwriter Jacob Furr heads up north with a show in Edmond, OK, on Wed, May 20, before stretching out to Missouri, Chicago, Kansas, New Jersey, and Arkansas through the beginning of August. Fellow Fort Worth singer-songwriter Clint Niosi is following a similar path on his own tour, bringing his jazz-tinged melancholia on a swing up through Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota in July and August.

On Sat, Jun 6, at Dallas’ Four Corners Brewing (1311 S Ervay St, Dallas, 214-748-2739), the dust-up Southern rock of Fort Worth’s Quaker City Night Hawks headlines the second annual Dumb Zone Generic Summer Event. The former Ticket midday hosts continue to cultivate an even more obsessive post-Ticket podcast listenership, and QCNH will cap an evening of fun, beer, tunes, special guests, and yuks.

One of the larger bands from the area, high-energy cowpunks the Vandoliers are currently on tour through the Northeast. They’re playing Boston, New York, and Philly before swinging through the Midwest in support of their latest album, Life Behind Bars, the confessional record about frontperson Jenny Rose’s recent coming out as one of alt-country’s only trans women artists. The tour ends with a trip to Norway (!) mid-June.

The captivating elementary school teacher-turned-country music star Summer Dean heads through the Hill Country the first week of June with stops in Austin and Fredericksburg before heading north to the seemingly popular tour destination of Wichita, Kansas. She then heads northwest with dates in Montana, Washington, and Oregon.

Also heading toward the mountains, albeit on the southern side, cosmic country troubadour Broke String Burnett has a three-date swing through Big Bend’s Chisos Mountains, starting with a Thu, Jun 18, stop in the famed ghost town of Terlingua before heading through the small mountain towns of Alpine and Marathon. Broke String previews his tour set on Fri, May 29, at The Cicada (1002 S Main St, Ft Worth, 817-405-9318) with Walker & The Texas Dangers.

The same night, homegrown Texas rock darlings Cutthroat Finches play the first of a trio of dates over the summer, this one at Arlington’s scenic outdoor venue Levitt Pavillion (100 W Abram St, Arlington, 817-543-4308) before heading down I-30 to Dallas’ Granada Theater (3524 Greenville Av, Dallas, 214-841-4900) on Sat, Jul 25, then coming back home to Tulips FTW (112 St. Louis Av, Fort Worth, 817-367-9798) on Sat, Aug 8.

Neo-soul husband-and-wife duo Igimèjí are taking their jazzy R&B to Big Sky Country in August, beginning with a stop in El Paso before moving on to three shows in California, then heading back home with stops in Tucson and Albuquerque.

Even when summer ends, the touring doesn’t. Raw Fort Worth punk revivalists Love Cuts are heading out in September just about the same time raspy-voiced soul songstress Katie Robertson joins the equally soulful Paul Schalda on the road supporting indie-rock icons Built to Spill over September and October. — P.H.