17 January 2 - 8, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Playtown 8 P.M. THURSDAY, JAN. 2, MAGNOLIA MOTOR LOUNGE, 3803 SOUTHWEST BLVD., FORT WORTH. FREE AT OUTHOUSETICKETS.COM The music business goes into a bit of a hiberna- tion period immediately before and after the year-end holiday blitz, so concert options can get scarce until mid-to-late January. Rather than lament what isn’t on stage, take it as an opportunity to appreciate what’s hiding in plain sight every other week of the year. One such option is the Fort Worth “party band” Playtown, which counts among its ranks some of the city’s longest-tenured and sharpest play- ers — Danny Ross, Tone Sommer, Randy Cates and Sammy Boe (whose son-in-law Josh Weathers, you’re probably familiar with). The band pulls from rock, blues, funk and New Or- leans-rooted tunes for its setlists, and also takes care to welcome a rotating cast of its contemporaries. It’s free, the musician- ship will drop your jaw and shake your hips — what more encouragement do you need? PRESTON JONES The Wild Frontiers 7 P.M. FRIDAY, JAN. 3, GRANADA THEATER, 3524 GREENVILLE AVE. $15+ AT PREKINDLE.COM Back in 2019, Observer contributor Roder- ick Pullum noted of Dallas alt-rock outfit The Wild Frontiers: “They’re known for ani- mated, grandiose live shows and look the part of bona fide rock stars.” Five years since, precious little would appear to have changed — the group was once a quintet, now a quartet — but the band’s website goes so far as to declare that the group “bring[s] a musical blend to the table that no one else can ... and they look cool as hell doing it.” Trent Rush, James Wilson, Travis Hepler and Josh Reed cultivate an air of reckless abandon which you don’t often find in modern rock bands — that alone may qualify as a recommendation for some folks. (Or, for the local music lore fans, perhaps the connection between Wild Frontiers and long-ago Dallas industrial metal band Ugly Mustard might spark interest: Trent Rush’s father, Fred, played drums for Ugly Mustard.) With Flight By Nothing, Phantomelo and Pet Taxi. PJ Max Stalling 8 P.M. FRIDAY, JAN. 3, TULIPS, 112 ST. LOUIS AVE., FORT WORTH. $39+ AT SEETICKETS.US Uvalde-born singer-songwriter Max Stalling took a roundabout route to his musical career. As a grad student at Texas A&M University, he began playing guitar and trying his hand as a songwriter, but it wasn’t until he moved to Dal- las — taking a corporate gig at Frito-Lay as a re- search scientist — that he first became truly inspired by fellow Texans Townes Van Zandt and Robert Earl Keen. To date, Stalling, who fre- quently performs with his wife Heather who’s an acclaimed songwriter and fiddle player, has re- leased six studio albums (the most recent of which is 2015’s Banquet) and three live albums (the most recent of which is 2019’s Portmanteau — Live from the Mucky Duck) while maintaining an impressive pace of more than 150 gigs a year, a quartet of collaborators at his back. “Any suc- cess I’ve had, I chalk it up to the strength of the songs and the strength of my band,” Stalling said in press materials. PJ Xandri 8 P.M. FRIDAY, JAN. 3, CLUB DADA, 2720 ELM ST. $12+ AT SEETICKETS.US The Dallas-based Xandri bills her alternative rock style as “Paramore meets Michael Jackson with a hint of Depeche Mode.” Taking a listen to the singer-songwriter-producer-pianist-guitarist’s singles — such as “Disconnected,” released in 2021 — bears out those associations. It’s an intoxi- cating brew that should prove even more potent in concert. What’s more, there should be consid- erable polish on display: Xandri has collaborated, according to her bio, with award-nominated pro- ducers and engineers such as Kadis and JJ Cata- lyst (both of whom have worked with A-listers such as Bruno Mars, Lil Wayne and Trey Songz). Later this year, Xandri plans to drop a new single, “25,” which will doubtless be showcased at this headlining performance. With Sculpture Club, with drag performances from May May Graves, Arya Jealous and Blue Valentine. PJ Happy Birthday Joe! 8 P.M. SUNDAY, JAN. 5, DAN’S SILVERLEAF, 103 INDUSTRIAL ST., DENTON. FREE AT PREKINDLE.COM Former Brave Combo drummer Joe Cripps relo- cated from Denton to his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas a decade ago, and went missing not long after — October 2016. He has not been seen since. Despite this unspeakably sad turn of events, there has been an effort by Cripps’ friends and collaborators to turn something aw- ful into something positive. The Joe Cripps Foundation was established in 2019 as a non- profit organization intended to help cultivate new generations of percussionists — and the an- nual celebratory concert timed to Cripps’s birth- day (2025 would mark his 60th birthday) will this year feature performances from Slobber- bone’s Brent Best and Isaac Hoskins & the Glass Mountain Orchestra. The event is free to attend, but donations are strongly encouraged — all of which will benefit the Joe Cripps Foundation. PJ | LET’S DO THIS | t Music Courtesy of Max Satlling Max Stalling went from working as a research scientist to playing more than 150 shows a year. SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN TICKETS TO AN UPCOMING DALLAS MAVERICKS GAME TICKET GIVEAWAY
