Thursday (09/22)
Kanye West | American Airlines Center
Perhaps you’ve already heard about the levitating “stage.” Maybe you’ve already peeked at a setlist, heavy on Life of Pablo cuts and recent features. Hell, let’s say you even waited for three hours at a Frisco mall and already bought that overpriced “Saint Pablo” tour hoodie and a pair of Yeezys. If you fall in the camp that considers West our most fascinating pop star, there’s no real way to prepare yourself for the jolt of a Kanye West concert, which — love him, hate him, or fall somewhere in between — is as innovative as stadium spectacles get. No opener. Who would have the guts?
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Oaktopia, with Norah Jones, Rae Sremmurd, Dr. Dog, and many more | Outdoor stages and venues in Denton
The Denton music festival’s strongest bill yet is topped by Norah Jones, performing in Denton for the first time since the Grammy-winning jazz singer was a student at UNT. We appreciate the relative diversity of the lineup, which has hip-hop acts (Rae Sremmurd, O.T. Genasis) sharing space with indie rock bands (Dr. Dog, Best Coast) and local artists — numbering in the dozens and playing at the Denton venues that haven’t closed down in the past year.
We’re also anticipating several satellite events, including a food truck fest, a video game competition, and a stand-up comedy showcase. Oaktopia kicks off Thursday night with Petty Fest, in which several featured performers — including Jones, ahead of her headlining set later in the weekend — play the music of Tom Petty. Perhaps most of all, we’re thankful for a schedule that runs just through Saturday, leaving Sunday open for rest and recovery. For more info and a full schedule, go here.
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Classixx | Trees
The Los Angeles duo’s sun-soaked electro pop is missing something live, deprived of a murderers’ row of guest vocalists including Nancy Whang and T-Pain. But the music still bounces, and some live instrumentation keeps things fun, as long as the crowd isn’t too cool to dance.
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Natalia LaFourcade | The Bomb Factory
LaFourcade’s a certified phenomenon in Mexico, with enough gold records and Latin Grammys to fill Fort Knox. Whatever your Spanish speaking proficiency, the heart behind LaFourcade’s music should have no trouble crossing international or language barriers.
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Titus Andronicus | The Loft
This is a great band that deserved a much bigger audience when it played Trees about this time last year. A life-affirming mix of drunken punk and classic rock swagger, laced with singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles’ anxiety-ridden lyrics. Stadium rock for the DIY crowd.
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Friday (09/23)
James Blake | House of Blues
Blake’s spooked, spacey R&B has made fans of Beyonce and Frank Ocean. Stamps of approval don’t get much better than that.
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Saturday (09/24)
Cymbals Eat Guitars | Three Links
An underrated rock band channeling Springsteen by way of Modest Mouse — with some production help from Dallas’ own John Congleton on its most recent album.
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Ray LaMontagne | South Side Ballroom
The 21st century’s most popular folkie skipped a scheduled show at UT because of the university’s campus carry policy. Fortunately for us, the gun laws at Gilley’s are more to his taste.
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Sunday (09/25)
Prophets of Rage | Gexa Energy Pavilion
Members of Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy have united to form a political supergroup, one that, in the Election Madness of 2016, has plenty to be mad about.
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