10 Best Concerts of the Week: Lyle Lovett, M83, Stars and More

With highs in the upper-70s, this upcoming concert week in North Texas is looking perfect for a night out, and thankfully, there is a whole lot of music to choose from no matter your taste. The week kicks off with Lyle Lovett playing the first of three nights scheduled in Downtown Dallas. Thursday also sees ’70s rock band Styx’s 2023 World Tour coming to Grand Prairie. Deep Ellum hosts two shows Friday night with Pedro the Lion playing on one side and North By North playing on the other. Blood harmony band The Cactus Blossoms will play Friday night in Fort Worth. Over the weekend, local favorite Jaret Ray Reddick performs with a full acoustic band on Saturday, while on Sunday, M83 lights up Victory Park. While Monday offers a much-needed breather, things gear right back up on Tuesday when Canadian band Stars plays the House of Blues, and on Wednesday, rapper and cannabis enthusiast Devin the Dude gets The Colony lit on 4-20 eve while Homewrecker & the Bedwetters play a five-band, hardcore bill that is sure to be heard across Denton.

Lyle Lovett
7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April 13-15, at Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St, $50+ at axs.com

Houston singer-songwriter and Texas music legend Lyle Lovett will perform for three nights at Dallas’ Majestic Theatre backed by an acoustic band. Each night will include an opening set by a different act. On Thursday night, Lovett will be supported by Hayes Carll; on Friday, indie-folk duo The Milk Carton Kids will open the show; and on Saturday, Lovett will welcome the husband-and-wife, singer-songwriter combo of Sierra Hull & Justin Moses. As for Lovett, the 64-year-old singer released his 12th studio album, 12th of June, last year – his first in over a decade. The album includes swinging songs with Lovett’s Large Band as well as acoustic ballads, so there is a good chance we’ll hear some of the new material live. And with three separate acts setting a very different tone for each night, these three dates are certain to be unique.

Styx
8 p.m., Thursday, April 13, Texas Trust CU Theatre, 1001 Performance Place, $29+ at axs.com

Seventies rock band Styx’s 2023 World Tour brings the band to town this weekend for an evening of classic hits and new fan favorites. The band had its greatest success in the late ’70s and early ’80s with a string of multiplatinum albums. Many claim that Styx was the first band to release four consecutive triple-platinum albums, but it’s a bit more nuanced than that; Styx is the first band to ever be awarded four consecutive multiplatinum albums with three of those ranking better than double platinum. While The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight and Paradise Theatre all achieved triple-platinum status, Cornerstone only made it to double-platinum – an incredible achievement nonetheless. In 2021, Styx released its 17th studio album, Crash of the Crown, and last summer, the band was inducted into its home state of Illinois’ Rock & Roll Museum Hall of Fame.

The Cactus Blossoms
7 p.m. Friday, April 14, Tulips, 112 St. Louis Ave., Fort Worth. $20 at prekindle.com

“Blood harmony” isn’t one of those terms that gets thrown around a whole lot these days, but there was a time in music history – particularly country music history – when blood harmony ruled the airwaves. In the 1950s and ’60s, bands made up of siblings like the Louvin Brothers and the Everly Brothers made records showcasing the eerie tones that come together when siblings harmonize their similar voices. It’s a style that audiences didn’t hear much of outside of Dennis, Carl and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys or Nancy and Ann Wilson of Heart. The Cactus Blossoms, however, bring back that blood harmony sound in the purest of forms. Brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum are touring in support of the group’s third album, One Day, which was released last year on the band’s own Walkie Talkie Records.

Pedro the Lion
7 p.m. Friday, April 14, The Studio at the Factory, 2727 Canton St. $30 at axs.com

Formed by multi-instrumentalist David Bazan in 1995, Pedro the Lion began as an entirely solo project with Bazan playing nearly every instrument on the band’s first EP and following two full-length albums. For about 10 years, Bazan would play with a rotating cast of musicians to bring the project to life for another two albums and four EPs, but in January 2006, Bazan dissolved the Pedro the Lion project to pursue his solo work again. The project lay dormant until 2017 when Bazan announced that the project would return with drummer Sean Lane and guitarist Erik Walters. The band has released two albums as a trio, including the band’s latest, Havasu, which was came out last year. The album was the second in a planned pentalogy, with each album representing a different town in which Bazan spent his childhood. For this show, however, Bazan will be playing every song from his first and third albums, It’s Hard To Find a Friend and Control.

North By North
8:30 p.m., Friday, April 14, Double Wide, 3510 Commerce St. $12 at prekindle.com

Named “Best Out-of-Town Band That Calls Dallas a Second Home” in the 2019 edition of Dallas Observer‘s Best of Dallas issue, North By North returns to Dallas with a show at the Double Wide on Friday. The two-piece indie rock band from Chicago has been known to make frequent stops in DFW as guitarist and singer Nate Girard comes from around these parts, but North By North is a road band through and through and on tour for life, spreading its addictive and energetic music across the country with very little time between shows and tours. The band’s latest release, Get Weird, arrived shortly before the pandemic brought the tour to a halt in March 2020. A catchy album that is sure to get you dancing, Get Weird finally started to get the support it deserves when the band set back out on the road late last year. North By North will have local support from a host of North Texas bands including Glitter, King Clam and Bayleigh Cheek.

Jaret Ray Reddick
7 p.m., Saturday, April 15, Three Links, 2704 Elm St. $15 at seetickets.us

Frontman Jaret Ray Reddick of the longstanding North Texas pop-punk band Bowling For Soup surprised fans around the world last year when he released his first solo album, a country album. While Reddick maintains the sense of humor that Bowling For Soup has been known for, the album, Just Woke Up, also displays a more serious side of the songwriter. The album finds the singer working with the likes of Uncle Kracker, Cody Canada, Frank Turner and the Descendents’ Steve Egerton. Reddick has been performing solo acoustic sets around town leading up to and since the album’s release, but this Saturday in Deep Ellum, he’ll have a full acoustic band playing behind him. Reddick will play at the beloved punk club Three Links, which will offer fans a chance to get up close and personal with the singer, songwriter and voice of Chuck E. Cheese.

M83
7 p.m., Sunday, April 16, House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $115+ at livenation.com

French electronic and synth-pop band M83 comes to Victory Park this weekend in support of its new album Fantasy, which was released a little less than a month ago. The project of French musician Anthony Gerard Gonzalez since 1999, the group picked up the Dallas-based singer-songwriter Kaela Sinclair as its keyboardist in 2016. Sinclair joined the group for its Junk tour and has contributed lead and background vocals to M83’s most recent album and its predecessor, DSVII. A more simple album than the group’s previous work, Fantasy lifts listeners up without a lot of pop hooks. Fans and critics may miss some of the pop elements of M83’s work, but what it shows more than anything is that its members are growing older and more concerned with creating beautiful music than with achieving another hit. Brooklyn-based composer and producer Rachika Nayar opens the show.

Stars
7 p.m., Tuesday, April 18, House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $30 at livenation.com

Canadian indie-rock band Stars formed in Montreal at the turn of the century as an electro-pop band. At that point, Stars became known for its large productions, with lush instrumentation and vocals that acted as much as instruments as they did narrators. Even when the band switched to a more traditional rock instrumentation, Stars maintained its eloquent production quality. Last May, the band released its ninth studio album, From Capelton Hill, its first album in five years – the longest time between Stars releases in its 23-year history. The album has been hailed as the band’s best since the 2004 release Set Yourself on Fire, its only gold-selling record. Stars will be playing in The Cambridge Room at House Of Blues on Tuesday with opening support from Toronto R&B/soul singer Lydia Persaud.

Devin the Dude
7 p.m., Wednesday, April 19, Lava Cantina, 5805 Grandscape Blvd.,The Colony. $15+ at eventbrite.com

Houston rapper Devin the Dude has been inarguably one of hip-hop’s best kept secrets since his solo debut in 1998. Before that, the musician was a part of Scarface’s collective Facemob, and before that, he was a member of Rap-A-Lot Records’ Odd Squad (later known as the Coughee Brothaz). Since 1998, Devin the Dude has released 10 albums without achieving much in the way of mainstream success. Still, the rapper’s effortless, spaced-out flow and chilled-out beats have made him a critical success and your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper, doing features with everyone from Bushwick Bill to E-40 to Snoop Dogg. Devin the Dude’s most recent album, Soulful Distance, came out in 2021 and includes some of the biggest names in his hometown: Big Pokey, Lil Keke, Slim Thug and Scarface. Still as smooth as ever, Devin the Dude rolls into the Lava Cantina on the eve of 4-20.

Homewrecker & the Bedwetters
7 p.m., Wednesday, April 19, Andy’s Bar, 122 N. Locust St., Denton. $10 at prekindle.com

If you’re looking for a little midweek excitement, you’re going to want to head to Denton Wednesday night for an absolutely insane lineup of local punk and hardcore acts that includes Yatsu, Grandpa Vern, Narcissist, Casual Relapse and Homewrecker & the Bedwetters. This is not a show for the faint of heart. If you go, you will likely find yourself in a mosh pit at some point, and there is a good chance you’ll take home a couple of bruises as souvenirs. Trans-fronted band Homewrecker & the Bedwetters released its most recent album, Undressing, earlier this year in January. Recorded and produced by Michael Briggs at Civil Audio in Denton, the album shows the young band growing stronger and louder in its voice, screaming truth to power and validating its mission to show love.