25 July 24 - 30, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents The Fray 7 P.M. FRIDAY, JULY 25, SOUTH SIDE BALLROOM, 1135 BOTHAM JEAN BLVD. $87+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM Somehow, 20 years have slipped by since The Fray initially broke big with its debut studio al- bum, How to Save a Life. The Denver-formed in- die-rock band — Joe King, Dave Welsh, Ben Wysocki and Isaac Slade (who left the group in 2022) — shot to fame on the strength of two enormous hit singles, the anthemic “Over My Head (Cable Car)” and the album’s pensive, pi- ano-driven title track, with the record eventually being certified double platinum. While only three-fourths of the 2005 line-up will be on hand to mark its two-decade anniversary, fans are still embracing The Fray. “We really had a couple years of soul searching and discussing and planning, on the heels of Isaac leaving the band,” Wysocki told revuewm.com last month. “The first show back was really surreal ... here we are 20 years into the game after some bumps in the road, and it was incredible.” The Strike and Cassandra Coleman will open. PRESTON JONES Talib Kweli 8 P.M. FRIDAY, JULY 25, TREES, 2709 ELM ST. $35+ AT PREKINDLE.COM Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli often seems like a legend hiding in plain sight. First earning atten- tion 27 years ago in Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklynite and rhyme-slinger Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey), Kweli has continued to carve out an artistically satisfying and culture- enriching path as one of the most dynamic MCs going. Equally comfortable forging his own path — his most recent solo LP, 2017’s Radio Silence, was elastic enough to encompass features from Anderson.Paak and Rick Ross — as he is collab- orating with others (notable team-ups include Madlib, J. Rawls and 9th Wonder), Kweli shows no signs of slowing. (This concert was resched- uled from March 9; all previously purchased tick- ets will be honored.) RC and the Gritz and Branoofunck will kick off the evening with open- ing sets. PJ Keyshia Cole 7 P.M. SATURDAY, JULY 26, DICKIES ARENA, 1911 MONTGOMERY ST., FORT WORTH. $33+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM Another day, another 20th anniversary: Singer- songwriter Keyshia Cole is on the road marking two decades since the release of her debut al- bum, The Way It Is. Cole’s step into the spot- light was bolstered by a formidable array of collaborators, including Jadakiss and Eve, along with production work from Polow da Don, John Legend, Alicia Keys and someone named Kanye West (wonder what that dude’s up to these days). Of this current run of dates, Cole told Billboard in June she’s excited: “It’s been my goal from so long ago to have the theatrics of my show tell a story like a movie or a play. I want fans to understand where I’ve come from, what I’ve made it through and where I am. ... It’s feeling right when I listen to [the set list]. It feels like a great moment, an experience. It matters to me.” With Tink, Keri Hilson and Elijah Blake. PJ John Moreland 9 P.M. SATURDAY, JULY 26, TANNAHILL’S TAVERN AND MUSIC HALL, 122 E. EXCHANGE, SUITE 200, FORT WORTH. $38+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM John Moreland’s songs hit you like a splash of cold water — bracing yet clarifying. The East Texas-born, Oklahoma-raised and -based musi- cian has built a career on a series of records no- table for their rawness and emotional acuity, not least of which is his latest LP, 2024’s Visitor, a project Moreland crafted in just 10 days at his home, after he withdrew in 2022 from live per- formance for a year and eschewed a smart- phone for six months. “At the end of that year, I was just like, ‘Nobody call me.’ I needed to not do anything for a while and just process,” More- land said in a statement. The results are breath- taking: “But we don’t grieve and we don’t rest / We just choose the lie that feels the best,” he sings in the album opening “The Future is Com- ing Fast.” With Matthew McNeal. PJ Primus 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, THE BOMB FACTORY, 2713 CANTON ST. $77+ AT AXS.COM The resolutely oddball alt-rock outfit Primus — ringleader, bassist and vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer John Hoffman — has sailed the seas of cheese for more than four decades now, finding them- selves with an occasional left-field, heavy rota- tion hit (“My Name is Mud,” “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” or “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” — look, the ’90s got weird from time to time) but remaining a critical and cult favorite. Although it’s been nearly a decade since the group’s last studio album (2017’s The Desaturating Seven), Primus has remained a can’t-miss live act, pack- ing ’em in across the country and around the world with visual flair and a madcap sensibility which has aged remarkably well. MonoNeon will provide support. PJ Andrew Sherman Bassist-vocalist Les Claypool has helped anchor Primus for more than 40 years. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music
