18 February 27 - March 5, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Bright Eyes 8 P.M. FRIDAY, FEB. 28, THE FACTORY IN DEEP ELLUM, 2713 CANTON ST. $50+ AT AXS.COM Nebraska trio Bright Eyes — Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott — has only recently been a going concern again, restarting the band after a nine-year break from 2011 to 2020. Even so, the depth of Oberst’s influence makes it seem as if Bright Eyes and Oberst’s plaintive, in- tense brand of indie folk-rock never really went away. Last year, Oberst and his bandmates of- fered up their 11th studio effort, Five Dice, All Threes, a title reflecting that “life is a game of chance and a metaphorical street brawl, so that is what we’re putting out there,” as Oberst put it in a statement. Such a sentiment only feels truer in the months since Threes’ release, so it doesn’t feel like much of a stretch to call Oberst a sage of sorts. Hurray for the Riff Raff will open. PRESTON JONES Kool Keith 10 P.M. FRIDAY, FEB. 28, RUBBER GLOVES REHEARSAL STUDIO, 411 E. SYCAMORE ST., DENTON. $15+ AT PREKINDLE.COM The opportunity to commune with genuine hip- hop legends doesn’t come around terribly often, mostly because those who truly moved the cul- ture tour infrequently, if at all. Given that, fans of the genre should avail themselves of the oppor- tunity to see an artist of Kool Keith’s caliber in a room capped at less than 300 people. The Bronx-born rapper and producer, born Keith Thornton, was active from hip-hop’s earliest days as a co-founder of landmark group Ultra- magnetic MCs. (Fun fact: That’s Keith’s voice providing the hook for Prodigy’s hit single “Smack My Bitch Up,” a sample pulled from Ul- tramagnetic MCs’ 1988 debut Critical Beat- down.) Keith then went solo, releasing his debut, Dr. Octagonecologyst, as Dr. Octagon in 1996. The man loves an alter ego, with reportedly more than 60 different aliases credited to him on various projects. MC Homeless, DJ Halo, Marc Live and J Stylez will provide support. PJ Robert Cray Band 8 P.M. SATURDAY, MARCH 1, LONGHORN BALLROOM, 216 CORINTH ST. $27.50+ AT PREKINDLE.COM It would be faster to come up with a list of musi- cians with whom blues guitarist-singer Robert Cray hasn’t collaborated over the last 50 years. The Grammy-winning Georgia native has crossed paths with just about any artist of consequence since starting out in 1974: Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, John Lee Hooker and B.B. King are just some of the rockers who’ve enlisted Cray’s services. Cray and his trio will doubtless pull from not only his most recent LP (2020’s That’s What I Heard) but an expansive back cata- log as well. Cray even shares a specific, poignant connection with Dallas — he was on stage at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wiscon- sin, performing alongside Stevie Ray Vaughan, before the Oak Cliff native died in a post-show helicopter accident. With Jo James. PJ Summer Dean 8 P.M. SATURDAY, MARCH 1, TULIPS, 112 ST. LOUIS AVE., FORT WORTH. $20+ AT SEETICKETS.US Fort Worth singer-songwriter Summer Dean is one of the hardest working musicians alive — a relentless road warrior who has maintained a steady output of real, raw country music (like the sort found on her 2023 LP The Biggest Life) earning her praise from the likes of Marty Stuart and Colter Wall, to name just a couple. Toward the end of 2024, Dean achieved one of her life- long aspirations: to appear on the Grand Ol’ Opry. “It’s been a goal on my vision board for years,” Dean told the Observer last year. “The view of the iconic WSM mic stand from inside the wooden circle has been the home screen on my phone for more than five years.” Having re- alized that dream hardly means Dean is down- shifting — she just dropped a new single, a sizzling cover of Terri Gibbs’ “Somebody’s Knockin’.” Hayden Redwine will kick off the evening. PJ Timecop1983 8 P.M. SUNDAY, MARCH 2, CLUB DADA, 2720 ELM ST. $25+ AT SEETICKETS.US Let’s be crystal clear: The retro-kitschy name of this band has a great deal to do with why it’s be- ing highlighted. The product of Dutch electronic musician Jordy Leenaerts, Timecop1983 — which Leenaerts credits to the year of his birth and British electronic composers Futurecop! — specializes in synthwave and has had its work featured in everything from Grand Theft Auto V to Netflix series such as Coin Heist. “I try to get people to return to their childhood with my mu- sic,” Leenaerts told Dutch public broadcaster VPRO in 2016. “Some kind of nostalgia. And melancholy. These are the key words of the mu- sic I make.” Timecop1983 has dropped six al- bums over the last decade, the latest of which is 2023’s self-released Searching for Tomorrow (quickly followed in September by the Metropo- lis EP). With Droid Bishop and Brent Michael Wood. PJ Scott Slusher Fort Worth singer-songwriter Summer Dean is one of the hardest working musicians alive. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music
