20 February 20–26, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Mary J. Blige 7 P.M. FRIDAY, FEB. 21, DICKIES ARENA, 1911 MONTGOMERY ST., FORT WORTH. $55+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM The singer-songwriter, rapper, actress and pro- ducer often dubbed the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” added yet another feather to her cap last year, when she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “This honor is above me,” she said at the October plaque dedication cere- mony. “It’s been a long time coming and my fans know what I mean. But we came, we saw, we conquered and now, we’re here.” That Blige would make her presence felt in yet another space was unsurprising — her career has been one barrier broken after another. This is an artist who has won nine Grammys, an Emmy, been nominated for an Oscar (for both singing and acting), and who has sold an estimated 100 mil- lion records worldwide. With her 15th studio al- bum, 2024’s Gratitude, out in the world, what better time to mount a tour titled “For My Fans”? With NE-YO and Mario. PRESTON JONES David Gray 8 P.M. FRIDAY, FEB. 21, MAJESTIC THEATRE, 1925 ELM ST. $49.50+ AT AXS.COM If the extent of your awareness of British singer- songwriter David Gray begins and ends with his 1998 breakthrough LP White Ladder (and its in- escapable singles “Babylon,” “This Year’s Love” or “Please Forgive Me”), you’ve deprived your- self of one of the most consistently pleasurable, handsomely mounted catalogs in the last quar- ter century of rock music. Driven by acoustic guitar, drums and bass, but expansive enough to take on multiple electronic flourishes, Gray’s music is rich with irresistible melody, and finely wrought lyrics which ache with a universal spec- ificity. The 56-year-old has maintained a steady pace of records and tours since first breaking big with Ladder at the turn of the century — his “Past & Present” tour is in support of his 13th studio effort, Dear Life, which dropped earlier this year. Sierra Spirit will open. PJ Cursive 8 P.M. SUNDAY, FEB. 23, KESSLER THEATER, 1230 W. DAVIS. $28+ AT PREKINDLE.COM Nebraska indie rock septet Cursive — Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn, Ted Stevens, Clint Schnase, Patrick Newberry, Pat Oakes and Megan Siebe — reached a critical mass with its 2003 LP The Ugly Organ, its sophisticated post-punk songs establishing a beachhead in Omaha (and else- where) for emo kids. The group has continued to tour and record in the two decades since, most recently dropping its eighth studio album, Devourer, last year. As with the rest of Cursive’s acclaimed catalog, this latest batch of songs is heady, intense and propulsive: “I am obsessive about consuming the arts,” Kasher said in press materials. “I’ve come to recognize that I devour all of these art forms then, in turn, create my own versions of these things and spew them out onto the world.” With Pile. PJ Tim Heidecker 8 P.M. SUNDAY, FEB. 23, THE STUDIO AT THE FACTORY, 2727 CANTON ST. $39+ AT AXS.COM While Tim Heidecker may be best known for his contributions to the world of comedy — along- side long-time collaborator Eric Wareheim in the duo Tim & Eric — the Pennsylvania native, in ad- dition to writing, directing and acting, also dab- bles in music, having released eight albums as a singer-songwriter. His latest solo musical effort, Slipping Away, dropped last year. To hear Heidecker tell it, there’s much less daylight be- tween his comedic and musical projects than you’d think. “People ask me a lot about the dif- ference between making music and comedy,” he said in a statement. “I finally got to a point where I was like, ‘Let’s stop thinking about these things as genres.’ It comes out in different for- mats but hopefully it all becomes one big thing that I’m making. I think it’s fairly united.” He’ll be joined in Dallas by what’s being billed as a “se- cret surprise guest.” PJ Lauren Mayberry 8 P.M. TUESDAY, FEB. 25, GRANADA THEATER, 3524 GREENVILLE AVE. $30+ AT PREKINDLE.COM Singer-songwriter Lauren Mayberry is likely best known for her work in electro-pop trio Chvrches, which drew considerable power from her lithe soprano. (To wit, of a 2021 Chrvches gig at South Side Ballroom, I noted that “the gripping songs provide enormous catharsis, thunderous beats underpinning ethereal melodies, all unfurled be- fore a near-capacity audiences with its arms col- lectively stretched heavenward.”) Now, four years after that last North Texas gig, Mayberry is back — with a twist. She returns in support of her debut solo album, Vicious Creature, which ar- rived at the tail end of 2024, and served as a chance for her to reconnect with her essence. “So much of this process has been an exercise in empowering myself to listen to my own intuition — something I really trained myself out of,” May- berry said in a statement. With Cult of Venus. PJ Charlotte Patmore Lauren Mayberry goes it alone on her solo debut, Vicious Creature. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music The 100 bars we can’t live without. view this years full list
