Concert news
Fort Worth superstar Leon Bridges among first to play Mark Cuban's glitzy new Dallas venue
UPDATE 8-25-2021: The Leon Bridges show scheduled for September 11 at HiFi Dallas has been moved to Southside Ballroom. According to a Facebook post from opener Abraham Alexander, the change is due to construction delays at HiFi.
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Fort Worth singer-songwriter Leon Bridges is taking his upcoming "Gold-Diggers Sound Tour" to North Texas’ buzziest new concert space — The HiFi Dallas, a Mark Cuban-owned music venue opening soon near the American Airlines Center.
Bridges, joined by fellow Fort Worth singer Abraham Alexander, will play one show at the HiFi on Saturday, September 11.
It’s one of just three Texas tour stops announced (so far) in support of Bridges’ third studio album, Gold-Diggers Sound, set to release Friday, July 23.
He also will play at San Antonio’s Aztec Theatre on Friday, September 10 and at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin on Sunday, September 12. The Grammy winning-singer’s 39-city tour starts August 8 at in St. Charles, Iowa and crisscrosses the country until May 19, 2022, when he wraps up in St. Augustine, Florida.
In keeping with the spirit of the album, Bridges is playing small- to mid-sized venues, calling each show an “immersive experience … in the intimate rooms where it all started.” The album is named for Gold Diggers, a Los Angeles hotel, bar, and recording studio where Bridges said he “lived, worked and drank over the course of two years” — an experience he calls profound.
“I walked in this complex two years ago and I’ve come out the other side an evolved person,” Bridges says in a statement. “I strove to reach new ideas and challenge myself alongside my fans.”
He also wants to honor owners and employees of bars and clubs hit hard during the pandemic by donating a portion of each ticket sale in the fall to the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) and CrewNation, a relief fund for music crews, he says.
As a 1,000-capacity venue, Hifi Dallas aims to provide a level of intimacy that allows guests to enjoy an up-close experience with artists and performers, they say.
Located at 1323 N. Stemmons Fwy., it's in a former warehouse/furniture store, next door to the Dallas Mavericks training facility. Features include an immersive sound system, concert hall with an open floor surrounded by sound-enhanced walls and floors, and luminescent lighting that changes throughout the evening. There's also an outdoor patio and parking hosted on-site, including optional valet, and rideshare access.
Cuban partnered with LiveNation on the HiFi, which originally was set to debut in March 2020, but was delayed by COVID-19. It officially opens August 29, so those who attend the Bridges show on September 11 will still be among the first to experience the new venue.
Tickets, $70.50-$150.50, will go on sale to the general public at 10 am Friday, July 30 via LiveNation. Presales begin July 27. Note there is a two-ticket limit for the Dallas show.
Options to pre-save an album for a concert pre-sale code can be found here.
As for the forthcoming album, AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy writes that “the singles released so far — the insecure, heart-wrenching 'Why Don’t You Touch Me,' the hypnotic, slinky 'Motorbike,' and the powerfully political 'Sweeter' — indicate a restless artist reaching and attaining a new set of wings. In a statement, (Bridges) calls it his 'most sensual and confident album to date, and I cannot wait to unleash it.'"
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Teresa Gubbins contributed to this story.