24 February 23-March 1, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Larkin Poe 7 P.M. THURSDAY, FEB. 23, THE ECHO LOUNGE & MUSIC HALL, 1323 N. STEMMONS FREEWAY. $30+ AT LIVENATION.COM Georgia-born and Nashville-bred roots rock band Larkin Poe is led by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, who named the band after their great-great-great-grandfather and distant cousin of writer Edgar Allan. The sisters started their career with their other sister, Jessica, in Lovell Sisters, a bluegrass band that made ap- pearances on A Prairie Home Companion and the Grand Ole Opry. When the group dis- banded, Rebecca and Megan Lovell decided to take their music in a new direction. Once de- scribed as the little sisters of the Allman Broth- ers, the frontwomen of Larkin Poe boast incredible prowess on the guitar, bewitching blood harmony and songs that you just can’t help but sing along to. In 2020, Larkin Poe’s Venom & Faith received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. The band released its sixth studio album, Blood Har- mony, last November. Austin indie-rocker Zach Person opens the show. DAVID FLETCHER August Burns Red 7:30 P.M. FRIDAY, FEB. 24, SOUTH SIDE BALLROOM, 1135 BOTHAM JEAN BLVD. $29.50+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM Returning to Dallas is August Burns Red, one of the first metalcore bands to find mainstream success by placing heavier emphasis on melodic instrumentation. Often cast as a Christian metal band in its early years, August Burns Red’s members have often stated that, despite their personal beliefs, the band’s music stands on its own. It’ a formula that has served the band well leading up to its 20 Year Anniversary Tour. Last November, August Burns Red surprised fans with the announcement of its 10th studio album, Death Below, which is due out at the end of March. The first two singles from the new album, “Backfire” and “Ancestry,” are now streaming. Warming up the crowd Friday night is metalcore heavyweight The Devil Wears Prada and Scot- tish heavy metal band Bleed From Within. DF Turnpike Troubadours 6:30 P.M. SATURDAY, FEB. 25, AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER, 2500 VICTORY AVE. $50+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM It wasn’t long after the Turnpike Troubadours played its last show in 2019 that the band an- nounced an indefinite hiatus. For many years, many thought that would be the last show the band would ever play as singer Evan Felker struggled with his addictions and fiddler Kyle Nix began a solo career. All that changed two- and-a-half years later when the band an- nounced a pair of reunion shows in its home state of Oklahoma followed by three dates in Fort Worth at Billy Bob’s Texas that would ulti- mately become one of the fastest sell-outs in the venue’s history. The band would continue to tour mid-sized venues throughout 2022 and kept any new material close to its vest, perform- ing just one new song, “Cat in the Rain” twice on the entire tour. The Troubadours kicked off its arena tour this year in San Antonio on Wednes- day and will have two sets of brothers opening for them in Saturday night in Dallas: The Avett Brothers and The Wood Brothers. DF Sunny Day Real Estate 7 P.M. SUNDAY, FEB. 26, THE STUDIO AT THE FACTORY, 2727 CANTON ST. $36.50 AT AXS.COM While late-’80s emo carried with it many of the trappings of hardcore punk, bands like Sunny Day Real Estate softened its sound and vocals to serve as a stark contrast to the music’s explosive moments. A Seattle band that signed with the Sub Pop record label the year after Nirvana left it, Sunny Day Real Estate benefited from the atten- tion its hometown received, making appearances on MTV’s late-night, alternative music program 120 Minutes in support of the band’s 1994 debut, Diary. The band would go on to release three more albums until breaking up in 2000. Though the band has come together for several tours since then, a fifth album has yet to see the light of day. Sunny Day Real Estate will have opening support from one of the first bands to form under its influence, The Appleseed Cast. DF John Mellencamp 7 P.M. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, TEXAS TRUST CU THEATRE, 1001 TEXAS TRUST WAY. $44.50+ AT AXS.COM It’s been nearly 15 years since John Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Its hard to imagine that 30 years prior, he was “Johnny Cougar,” whose first album, Chest- nut Street Incident, was such a commercial fail- ure, selling only 12,000 copies, and second album, The Kid Inside, was so disliked that MCA Records didn’t release it and dropped him from the label. As “John Cougar,” his third album, A Biography, wasn’t even released in the U.S. While the heartland rocker’s next two albums under that name would see some success in the states, it was 1982’s American Fool that would catch everyone’s attention. It was 1983’s Uh- huh that would finally make Mellencamp’s name, though he did not drop the “Cougar” until the ‘90s. Now touring in support of his 24th album, Strictly a One-Eyed Jack, John Mellencamp plays Wednesday night in Grand Prairie. DF Mike Brooks August Burns Red plays Friday. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN TICKETS
