This weekend in and around Dallas offers a diverse lineup of events that will please people of all ages. They include two film festivals, a famous astronaut, hilarious comedian, legendary Broadway singer, classic play, country music icon, first peek at a new stadium, new art exhibit, unique performance, and one truly funky musician.
Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, January 23
Denton Black Film Festival
The Denton Black Film Festival will feature great black cinema, spoken word, music, and more. The festival, taking place through Sunday at various locations in Denton, exists to address under-representation in film and media by giving black stories an audience and black creatives a platform. Proceeds from the annual festival fund scholarships for African-American students in Denton.
AT&T Performing Arts Center presents #HearHere: Captain Scott Kelly
Captain Scott Kelly’s epic Year In Space solidified his status as one of the greatest pioneers in history. On his trip, Scott, together with his identical twin brother, Mark, on Earth, paved the way for the future of space travel and exploration. They were the subjects of an unprecedented NASA study on how space affects the human body. In this event at Winspear Opera House, he'll talk about his experiences and his vision for the future.
Improv Addison presents Michelle Wolf
Since her television debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2014, Michelle Wolf has quickly become one of the most recognizable voices in comedy. Her performance at the White House Correspondent's Dinner in 2018 was ruthlessly funny, and she has a continuing partnership with Netflix, including her newest special, Joke Show. She'll perform five times through Saturday at Improv Addison.
Friday, January 24
Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Bernadette Peters
Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning actress Bernadette Peters joins the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for an evening of show-stopping musical numbers. Conductor and long-time musical partner, Marvin Laird, rounds out the cast in this sensational night of music. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.
Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas presents Pride & Prejudice
Bold, surprising, boisterous, and timely, this Pride & Prejudice for a new era explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life. The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry, despite mounting pressure from society. But can she resist love, especially when that vaguely handsome, mildly assuming and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn? The production will run at Irving Arts Center through February 8.
Dwight Yoakam in concert
Country singer Dwight Yoakam didn't hit it big until he was 30, but the success he's had in the past 30+ years made up for the lack in the first half of his life. He's released 17 albums in his career, including 2016's Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars, and only a handful of those failed to reach the top 10 on the country charts. He'll go through his long list of hits in this concert at the Bomb Factory.
Saturday, January 25
Texas Rangers presents Comerica Peek at the Park
Comerica Peek at the Park will allow fans to get a behind-the-scenes look at the new Globe Life Field in Arlington, which is scheduled to open in March. A viewing area will be set up on the outfield main concourse of the new park. The event at Texas Live! will also feature autograph sessions with Rangers’ players and coaches, Q&A sessions with Rangers’ executive and players, food and beverages on sale, and more.
Nasher Sculpture Center presents Barry X Ball: "Remaking Sculpture" opening day
Barry X Ball: "Remaking Sculpture" will be the first in the United States to survey more than 20 years of the highly technical but classically-inspired work of the New York artist. Since 1997, Ball has adapted innovative technologies and traditional techniques to make work that pushes the physical and conceptual boundaries of sculpture. The exhibition will be on display at Nasher Sculpture Center through April 19.
36th Annual KidFilm Family Festival
KidFilm is the oldest and largest-attended children’s film festival in the United States, featuring an entertaining, educational, and diverse lineup of new and classic films for both children and adults. This year, the festival pays tribute to favorite children's book authors and illustrators; commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and women's right to vote; and more in a program that includes live-action and animation, short films and feature-length works. The free festival will be at Angelika Film Center Dallas on Saturday and Sunday.
Teatro Dallas presents 19th International Performance Festival
Teatro Dallas' 19th International Performance Festival will explore the themes of space and the body with a festival of performances. On Saturday will be Electric Hamsa in which dancer Alia Mohamed will present a live music spectacle as she merges contemporary and traditional middle eastern dance forms with a sci-fi, vanguard performance. On February 1 will be Paper Piel, a multi-disciplinary experience created by dancer and choreographer Jimena Bermejo that explores the cartography of the body and its relationship to paper. Both performances will be at Latino Cultural Center.
Sunday, January 26
Trey Anastasio Band in concert
Fort Worth native Trey Anastasio is best known as the lead singer of Phish, the psychedelic rock band that has electrified and mystified people in equal measure since the early 1980s. For the past 20 years, he's taken breaks from that band to explore a solo career, releasing 10 albums, including 2019's Ghosts of the Forest. Anastasio and his bandmates will perform at the Bomb Factory.
Bernadette Peters will perform with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at Meyerson Symphony Center, January 24-26.
