21 December 14 - 20, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Abraham Alexander 7 P.M. THURSDAY, DEC. 14, MAJESTIC THEATRE, 1925 ELM ST. $26+ AT PREKINDLE.COM Born in Greece, Abraham Alexander was ad- opted in Texas at the age of 11 after losing his mother in an automobile accident. Alexander excelled at sports in his adopted home before an injury left him with a lot of unoccupied time that he would later fill with music. After a few years developing his voice and guitar skills, a chance meeting led Alexander to record back- ing vocals on Leon Bridges’ 2015 debut album Coming Home. On the advice of his new mentor, Alexander began playing open mics around North Texas, amassing a huge local following. Earlier this summer, the singer celebrated the release of his debut album, Sea/Sons, with three headlining shows at The Kessler. This week, Al- exander will be closing out the year at the Ma- jestic Theatre in downtown Dallas with an opening performance from Melissa, Texas, singer-songwriter Jackson Scribner. DAVID FLETCHER Touché Amoré 7 P.M. FRIDAY, DEC. 15, TULIPS, 112 ST. LOUIS AVE. $25 AT PREKINDLE.COM Post-hardcore band Touché Amoré formed in LA in 2007 and came up quick in the national scene with the release of its debut album, ...To the Beat of a Dead Horse. It’s not that the album sold well, but everyone who heard it knew that the genre had a new classic. Ten years after the release of that album, after the band had been signed to the iconic punk label Epitaph Records, Touché Amoré celebrated its debut by re-re- cording it in its entirety, giving the album the wider release it initially deserved. The band doesn’t seem to be touring in support of any particular release this year, however, as its last release, a split EP with Circa Survive, came out over a year ago. No, this tour seems to be just about connecting with fans. Touché Amoré’s Friday night show in Fort Worth will have open- ing support from Denton emo band Record Set- ter and Austin experimental band palefade. DF Midlake 7 P.M. SATURDAY, DEC. 16, TULIPS, 112 ST. LOUIS AVE. $25 AT PREKINDLE.COM Currently composed of Eric Pulido, McKenzie Smith, Eric Nichelson, Jesse Chandler and Joey McClellan, Denton indie-folk pioneers Midlake play a special holiday show Saturday night in Fort Worth. Midlake’s first albums established the band as a fixture on the international music scene, each one incorporating different sound elements. Their 2004 debut Bamnan and Sliver- cork brought in shades of psychedelia, while breakthrough album The Trials Of Van Occupan- ther added in some ’70s soft rock, and they in- fused Brit-folk into their sound on The Courage Of Others in 2010. The band’s 2013 album Anti- phon brought all of these elements together, and their 2022 release, For the Sake of Bethel Woods, pushed things even further with great sonic reach through layers of new sounds. This Saturday, three of the band’s members will open the show as the Midlake Jazz Trio with an open- ing holiday set performing Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas. DF Anita Baker 8 P.M. SUNDAY, DEC. 17, AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER, 2500 VICTORY AVE. $39.50+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM You may or may not remember this, but back in the late ’70s through the mid-’80s, there was a radio format known as “quiet storm.” The format focused on the R&B genre performed in a jazzy, smooth and sexy way. If you were born in that time period, there’s a chance that quiet storm radio was the soundtrack to your conception. All that to say that Anita Baker was one of the brightest stars from the quiet storm period. Baker got her start singing in the funk band Chapter 8, but she achieved international ac- claim with her debut album, The Songstress, in 1983. In 1986, Baker would release Rapture, which reached the No. 11 spot on the Billboard 200 before the popularity of quiet storm radio receded. Forty years later, Baker is taking her debut album back out on the road with The Songstress Tour, which will be making its way through Victory Park on Sunday. DF Squirrel Nut Zippers 7 P.M. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20, THE KESSLER, 1230 W. DAVIS ST. $34+ AT PREKINDLE.COM Swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers was probably the coolest band to come out of that mid-’90s movement, effectively reintroducing the genre to the masses in 1996 before The Gap got ahold of it. What set the Zippers apart from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and The Brian Setzer Orchestra was that the Zip- pers captured a lot of the darkness behind that old speakeasy jazz, which the rest just danced away in new khakis. While the group was prolific throughout the ’90s, Squirrel Nut Zippers be- came mostly a road show, doing mostly “reunion” tours until 2018 when the band released its first album since 2000, Beasts of Burgundy. The band’s latest, Lost Songs of Doc Souchon, was in- spired by the mysterious characters from New Orleans jazz music history, which is really where the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ whole aesthetic comes from. The band’s Holiday Caravan Tour rolls through Oak Cliff on Wednesday. DF Barbara FG Midlake plays a Christmas concert in Fort Worth on Saturday night. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music Hand built not bougHt. 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