22 September 19 - 25, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Gracie Abrams 8 P.M. THURSDAY, SEPT. 19, THE PAVILION AT TOYOTA MUSIC FACTORY, 300 W. LAS COLINAS BLVD. $112.53+ AT LIVENATION.COM Is The National merely a Trojan horse for radio- friendly, high-gloss pop music? These are the things one ponders upon learning nepo baby Gracie Abrams — her father is filmmaker J.J. Abrams — has collaborated on not one, but two albums with that band’s guitarist, Aaron Dessner. It’s another data point for Dessner, whose pro- ducing portfolio also encompasses work with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, to name just a cou- ple. Maybe it’s an inversion of the old “one for them, one for me” school of thought — by taking on these high-profile, heavy rotation gigs (and the attendant paydays), it’s easier to subsist on critical adulation and (comparatively thin) album sales. Eh, we digress. The 25-year-old Abrams is touring behind her sophomore LP, The Secret of Us, which also features production work from Swift and Jack Antonoff, and dropped earlier this year. Role Model will open. PRESTON JONES Ray LaMontagne 7 P.M. FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, MUSIC HALL AT FAIR PARK, 909 1ST AVE. $25+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM Singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne has spent the better part of 20 years carving out a career in almost spiteful indifference to the demands of the modern music business. Tucked away with his family in relative seclusion in Massachusetts — it had to gnaw at the famously private LaMon- tagne last year when the sale of his long-time home, for more than $4 million, made headlines — his is a catalog no one would confuse for mass-produced pop. LaMontagne’s finely ob- served, handsomely crafted songs can shift in scope, style and tone, but remain resolutely a product of the man who writes them. His ninth and latest studio effort, the self-produced Long Way Home, is no exception — a gorgeous collec- tion showcasing his singular, scraped tenor voice and affinity for the elastic boundaries of folk-rock. The Secret Sisters will open. PJ Cigarettes After Sex 8 P.M. SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, DICKIES ARENA, 1911 MONTGOMERY ST., FORT WORTH. $189.50+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM El Paso trio Cigarettes After Sex is, as the kids say these days, a total vibe. Befitting a band with its evocative name, Cigarettes After Sex traffics predominantly in dream pop, densely layered tunes suffused with mood, if not neces- sarily explicit meaning. The songs slip out of the speakers like the whispered nothings of a lover — sinuous, moody and anchored by the tender voice of founder and singer-songwriter Greg Gonzalez. It’s been a steady upward climb since Gonzalez founded the group way back in 2008 — five years elapsed between the second album (2019’s Cry) and the third album (this year’s X’s). Having gained a foothold with fans via YouTube and word-of-mouth, the band now finds itself in arenas, which can be challenging spaces for inti- mate, ambient material. However, Cigarettes Af- ter Sex seems like a band to underestimate at your peril. PJ Andre 3000 7:30 P.M. SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, WINSPEAR OPERA HOUSE AT AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, 2403 FLORA ST. $65.50+ AT TICKETS.ATTPAC.ORG Nearly two full decades elapsed between musical releases from Andre 3000, idiosyncratic rapper, songwriter, producer, occasional actor and for- merly one-half of Outkast. His emergence from the sonic wilderness was a bit of a head fake — his extraordinary contribution to Killer Mike’s 2023 single “Scientists & Engineers” turned out to be a one-off — as he pulled the wraps off … a jazz flute album?! What seemed, briefly, to be an epic, Ron Burgundy-level gag was instead a pivot: an acclaimed artist pursuing that which most fascinates him. New Blue Sun is the name of his excursion into New Age and ambient sounds, a nearly 90-minute odyssey which will also serve as the foundation for his solo appearance here in Dallas. Just, please, for the love of God, don’t be the jerk that shows up screaming for “Ms. Jack- son” all night long. With Sudan Archives. PJ Tom Jones 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, TEXAS TRUST CU THEATRE, 1001 PERFORMANCE PLACE, GRAND PRAIRIE. $49+ AT AXS.COM At 84 years young, not a single living soul would begrudge Sir Tom Jones if he decided to find a nice spread somewhere in the countryside of his native Wales, call it a day and spend the rest of his life relaxing. After all, this is an artist whose six-decade career means he’s shared chart space with the Beatles and Prince. His soulful baritone has also weathered well, the anchor of so many indelible classics: “It’s Not Unusual,” “She’s a Lady,” “Sex Bomb” and “Delilah,” to name just a few. Yet, rather than fade away, Jones has remained a vital creative force, collab- orating with producer Ethan Johns, who over- saw his most recent studio effort, 2021’s Surrounded by Time. The record found Jones tackling a wide variety of material, covering ev- erything from Todd Snider and Bob Dylan to Cat Stevens and Tony Joe White. PJ Reid Long Ray LaMontagne is touring behind his ninth studio album. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music Hottest Latin aduLt CLub in daLLas! Free Menudo all day sunday Happy Hour everyday 11aM-7PM hours: sun-thur 11aM-2aM // Fri-sat 11aM-4aM 11044 Harry Hines boulevard // (214) 206-3820 chicasbonitas.business.site
