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Judas Priest, The Old Grey Wolf, Sugarland and More in this Week's Music Roundup

Singer Rob Halford of Judas Priest performing at Abbotsford Centre. By James Jeffrey Taylor/Shutterstock The weather may often still be very winter-like, but believe it or not, we’re creeping ever closer to spring.
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Singer Rob Halford of Judas Priest performing at Abbotsford Centre. By James Jeffrey Taylor/Shutterstock

The weather may often still be very winter-like, but believe it or not, we’re creeping ever closer to spring. Such a seasonal turn means even more big-time concert announcements and a treasure chest-full of news and developments from the best local artists, now that the chilly shackles of the holidays are a lengthy way back in the rearview. 

Alt-country pioneers the Old 97’s has been one of Dallas’ favorite native bands for over two decades now. Last weekend during the group’s concert in the storied dancehall of Luckenbach, Texas, lead singer Rhett Miller told the crowd his group had been gearing up to record a new record. The band will head to Nashville early in March to record its twelfth proper album with producer Vance Powell, who produced the Old 97’s stellar 2017 LP Graveyard Whistling.  

And speaking of the Old 97’s and Dallas-based alt-country, there’s some cool stuff going on with the younger generation of bands who’ve been influenced by Miller and the 97’s. The Tejano- and punk-influenced outfit the Vandoliers, just released a killer cover of the 1993 radio-smash “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” Rolling Stone premiered the track, a fiery, rambunctious take on the only hit song Scottish duo the Proclaimers ever had. 

Dallas rapper Yalla Beezy has arguably been the biggest North Texas hip-hop breakout story of the past couple of years. This week he released a new Dallas-centric video for his arresting new track “Keep It In the Streets.” 

Join a number of local musicians help out one of their own when they come together for Love For Lovell. Among his many other roles in the music community, Chad Lovell is known to many as the drummer for storied North Texas rock band Course of Empire. On November 19, 2019 Lovell suffered a number of injuries sustained from a fall in his home. The first Love For Lovell will take place on March 13 at Trees in Deep Ellum and will feature performances by Metal Mike Ames and Dead Scene Believers, among others. 

And speaking of fundraising, noted local folk singer Vanessa Peters is ready to record her twelfth record. As she’s done before, she’s conducting a crowd-funding campaign to make it all happen, and after only a few days, she’s almost at her goal. Help her soar past it. 

Interested in hitting a live concert this weekend but aren’t too keen on driving, let alone Uber-ing, all the way down 75 to Deep Ellum? This weekend offers a pretty solid selection of shows much closer to home:

  • Outlaw country great Mo Robson performs at Love and War in Texas on Friday night.
  • Mike Rhyner, the Texas Radio Hall of Famer, leads Petty Theft, his Tom Petty tribute band, through a free-fallin’ set of classics on Friday night at Lava Cantina.
  • On Saturday night at Hank’s Texas Grill in McKinney, Chris Knight will bring songs from his fantastic 2019 album Almost Daylight, as well as others from his storied 20-year career.

Even more than usual, this week’s national concert announcements make for a head-spinning smorgasbord of styles and sounds.

Recently reunited pop-country duo Sugarland will hit the Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas on Saturday, June 13. 

Leather-clad metal pioneers from across the pond Judas Priest swing back through North Texas to celebrate the group’s half-century together of performing on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Pavliion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving. 

The Theatre in Grand Prairie (formerly Verizon Theatre) will host Lonestar LandFest on May 30 and 31. The bluegrass-intensive lineup will feature giants of the style including Allison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs and Yonder Mountain String Band as well as twangy artists who aren’t confined to strictly acoustic music including Steve Earle and Jerry Jeff Walker. 

German electronic music trailblazers Kraftwerk brings its world-famous 3-D Tour back to Dallas on Thursday, July 2 for a date in Deep Ellum at the Bomb Factory. 

Garage rock duo the Black Keys played in Fort Worth last year but will be returning to North Texas in 2020 with Texas blues rocker Gary Clark Jr. along for the ride on Friday, July 17 at Dos Equis Pavilion. 

It’s been a quarter century since Sheryl Crow dominated the Grammys with her iconic tune “All I Wanna Do,” but she’s still a creative force. Catch her outdoors at Strauss Square on Sunday, June 21