Essential Sounds & Best Bets

Waco Live Music (3/10–3/15/23)

Painting Fences, Rad Dragon & Bedtime Stories | Brotherwell Brewing | 6 pm, Friday, March 10

Local punk rockers Rad Dragon have been touring the Southwest in support of hard rock band Painting Fences, and on Friday night, both bands—along with Bedtime Stories—play Brotherwell Brewing in East Waco. The show starts at 6 pm, so don’t be late.

$10 cover.

Truelove Fest | Truelove Bar | 2 pm, Saturday, March 11

When Truelove first appeared at the corner of Lake Shore Drive and 19th Street over a decade ago, passersby didn’t quite know what to make of it. (The conventional wisdom at the time was that it just had to be a strip club.) Long since relocated to downtown Waco on Franklin Avenue, the bar has become a perennial hipster hangout for craft beer lovers and karaoke devotees. It’s also known for putting on an eclectic mix of live shows—and to celebrate its 11th anniversary, the first-ever Truelove Fest takes place this Saturday, starting at 2 pm and running until the early hours of Sunday morning.

Bands scheduled to perform range from the smooth R&B sounds of Suede to Killbozby’s caterwauling death metal and also include Leaf Vxllage, Rewound, Richard Donavann, Happy Camper, Dog Bite, and Dead Horse Creek. Plus, from 2 pm to 7 pm shop among vendors such as Wah Wah Vintage, Ninety-Nine Scents, Erratic Oddities, and others on the outdoor patio.

$5 cover.

Aaron LaCombe with Kent Klaras | Undercroft Social Club | 7 pm, Saturday, March 11

On Saturday night, Aaron LaCombe plays Undercroft, Waco’s BYOB speakeasy that lurks underneath Cultivate7twelve on Austin Avenue. Mining territory familiar to fans of Robert Earl Keen, LaCombe’s “Uncle Carl,” about a family uncle who comes out at Christmas dinner, is a more-than-worthy successor to Keen’s “Merry Christmas from the Family.” Expect honest, heartfelt songs in Undercroft’s intimate confines.

Tickets are $15 and are available online.

Kenny Hada & The Others | Texas Music Cafe | 8 pm, Saturday, March 11

Continuing its quest to bring the best music to downtown Waco you didn’t know you needed to hear, the Texas Music Cafe hosts Kenny Hada & The Others on Saturday night. The Austin-based band, which came together in 2020, plays its own brand of “alternative blues” that’s equal parts hard driving and soul stirring. Powered by frontman Kenny Hada on guitar and vocals, the band hits all the right dynamics to create a sonic soundscape that audiences are bound to love.

(Read more about Kenny Hada & The Others in this article by Terry Otto.)

Tickets are $20 and are available online.

Kayla Ray & Meredith Crawford | Papa Joe’s Texas Saloon | 6 pm, Sunday, March 12

We’re surrounded by posers in this world, but when it comes to honky-tonk music, Kayla Ray is 100% the real deal. And if Papa Joe’s Texas Saloon has a prodigal daughter, that’s certainly her. Ray seemingly spends about 350 days a year on the road, barnstorming from one gig to another, so when she lands back in Waco, it’s a real treat to see her perform at her old stomping grounds. Plus, this time around she’s got comrade-in-arms Meredith Crawford with her too.

No cover, but bring plenty of cash for the tip jar.

wht.rbbt.obj | Texas Music Cafe | 8 pm, Wednesday, March 15

The Texas Music Cafe has yet another can’t-miss show when wht.rbbt.obj plays next Wednesday night. While the band’s output is more varied than the down-and-dirty “Jolene’s Reply,” James Van Osdol still described its music on his Car Con Carne podcast as “bluesy, smoky, sexy and raw. … like last call in a laundry list of bad decisions.”

Tickets are $20 and are available online.

More Live Music

• You don’t often think of Hendrix-style guitar theatrics and the family-friendly Camp Fimfo at the same time, but that’s the case on Friday night when TJ Bell’s Another Band of Gypsys plays there.
• Saturday brings a pair of dueling tribute bands with Mötley Krüe: The Mötley Crüe Tribute at the Backyard and the Selena Forever Tribute at the Waco Hippodrome Theatre.
• Outlaw country singer Cody Jinks plays the Extraco Events Center on Saturday night with Josh Meloy and Erin Viancourt opening.

Have a band or venue with an upcoming live show? Submit it to our events calendar.