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    Lend Us Your Ears

    The 5 best live music venues in Dallas-Fort Worth

    Alex Bentley
    Mar 14, 2013 | 11:45 am

    The Dallas-Fort Worth area is certainly not lacking in music venues, from dingy clubs in Deep Ellum to the musician-swallowing Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. But if you truly want to appreciate all a band has to offer, the list of places you should go gets significantly smaller.

     

    There are many traits an ideal music venue should have, but there are also the ineffable details that make it rise above others. Although the places on this list arguably have individual faults, each has that certain something that keeps crowds coming back time and again

     

     Bass Performance Hall
    This downtown Fort Worth treasure is known more for the arts than anything else, but that doesn't take away from its ability to host a concert. Bass Hall is equally as good at presenting the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as it is popular acts like Lyle Lovett or Robert Earl Keen, because it is an engineering miracle.

     

    No matter where you sit, its amazing acoustics ensure you hear the same thing, which helps keep the 2,000-plus-seat venue relatively intimate. Plus, it also has the attached McDavid Studio, which is good for smaller, acoustic performances. Locals owe it to themselves to attend a concert here at least once.

     

     Gexa Energy Pavilion
    This venue has had no less than five names in its 25-year existence, and you can generally tell what generation someone belongs to by how they refer to this Fair Park spot. (For the record, it will always be Coca-Cola Starplex to me.) But that factoid tends to overshadow what a fun place the Starplex Amphitheatre Smirnoff Music Centre Superpages.com Center Gexa Energy Pavilion can be to attend a concert.

     

    As an outdoor venue, the acoustics and sight lines can vary depending on your location, but that's also part of its charm. Even more charming is its verdant lawn and outdoor setting, with picnic tables and trees for shade. If nothing else, it deserves points for bringing a steady stream of big-name acts — like the country-heavy lineup in 2013 — to Dallas.

     

     Granada Theater / The Kessler
    The Granada and the Kessler share a spot on this list because if you'd never been to either one, you could easily mistake one for the other. Both are former theaters that have been converted to music venues. Both put on multiple concerts every week that range from local up-and-comers to established bands who haven't quite graduated to arena shows. And both serve up an intimate experience that allows fans to almost feel like they're part of the band.

     

    Arguments can — and have been — made for the supremacy of one over the other, but the real winners are anybody who wants to experience the true thrill of live music.

     

     Palladium Ballroom
    The Gilley's complex has three main music venues, but the Palladium Ballroom provides by far the most bang for your buck. It hosts one big-name band after another who want an intimate venue that can still handle a semi-large number of people. Three thousand or so hearty souls can fit in one of the space's four areas, with three bars available to lubricate the masses.

     

    One downside is the lack of seating for most concerts, leaving those of short stature to jostle for good viewing positions. But if standing shoulder-to-shoulder is the price to pay to get up close to the likes of Alabama Shakes, Ed Sheeran and Morrissey, we'll gladly pony up.

     

     Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
    There are many venues that claim flexibility when it comes to hosting different acts, but Verizon Theatre truly delivers on that promise. It has a variety of panels that can be dropped down to accommodate smaller acts and make the room more intimate.

     

    But its top capacity of 6,300 fills a great niche for the region, attracting different acts who might not otherwise include Dallas on their tours. From a fan perspective, the sight lines are second-to-none, with the amphitheater-style seating ensuring a great view no matter where you sit.

    Local favorite Sarah Jaffe on New Year's Eve 2012 at The Kessler.

    Sarah Jaffe
      
    Photo by Brian K. Ullrich
    Local favorite Sarah Jaffe on New Year's Eve 2012 at The Kessler.
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    Film Fest News

    Top picks of the 2025 Asian Film Festival of Dallas coming in July

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jul 3, 2025 | 11:27 am
    Baby Assassins: Nice Days
    AFFD
    Asian Film Festival's Baby Assassins: Nice Days

    The annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas — a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating Asian and Asian-American filmmakers — returns in 2025 with more than two dozen films including action movies, comedies, thrillers, and short films.

    The four-day festival will take place July 24-27 at the Angelika Film Center Dallas, 5321 E. Mockingbird Ln. #230, and will include award-winning films, premieres, and red carpet action.

    Highlights include:

    • Opening Night July 24: Shinji Araki's Japanese thriller Penalty Loop
    • Centerpiece July 25: Johnny Ma’s comedy-drama The Mother and the Bear (Johnny Ma will also be in-person at AFFD to participate in the post-screening Q&A.)
    • Women's Showcase July 26
    • Closing Night July 27: Yugo Sakamoto's Japanese action-comedy Baby Assassins: Nice Days

    AFFD will also host a special Saturday Women’s Showcase spotlighting female filmmakers from across Asia—South Korea, India, Singapore, and Vietnam—as well as the U.S.

    "For the festival as whole, while fans can still count on the high-energy action films we’re known for, a deeper theme emerged as I programmed the lineup — the power of connection," says Programming Director Paul Theiss in a release. "This year’s festival explores the deep human need to reach out, be seen, and never go it alone. And what better place to celebrate that spirit of connection than at a film festival, which brings us together through the shared experience of storytelling.”

    Women's Showcase
    Highlights include:

    • Mye Hoang's 25 Cats From Qatar. Film about an American flight attendant and cat cafe owner who reacts to a homeless cat crisis in Qatar by coming up with a plan to fly 25 cats to Milwaukee, with her cat cafe providing the way for people to adopt them.
    • Dương Diệu Linh’s Don’t Cry, Butterfly. Focuses on a wedding venue staffer who learns of her husband’s affair while watching live TV. Instead of confronting him, she uses a voodoo spell to reclaim his love.
    • Nelicia Low’s Pierce. Thriller follows the push and pull between a young fencer and his estranged older brother, recently released from juvenile prison after serving time for killing an opponent during a fencing match.

    All three filmmakers will be in Dallas to participate in Q&As following their screenings.

    Sunday will feature films with attending filmmakers leading up to the Closing Night screening of Yugo Sakamoto's Japanese action-comedy Baby Assassins: Nice Days, including:

    • Jeff Mann’s Paper Marriage finds comedy and drama in the story of a Chinese immigrant facing deportation, who pays an unemployed and directionless man to marry her.
    • Lee Jong-min and Yeum Moon-kyoung’s South Korean comedy The Last Woman on Earth looks at a female screenwriter who finds tension with her fellow film students due to her script’s anger toward men.

    Also noted for its singular party presentations, this year the Asian Film Festival of Dallas will complement the screenings and filmmaker appearances at AFFD with Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night parties at the Angelika Film Center with Asian cuisine and crafted drinks by George Kaiho, featuring Suntory Japanese Whisky, as well as themed presentations, filmmaker meet-and-greets, and photo opportunities for film fans who have come out to enjoy the great AFFD programming during those evenings.

    To purchase badges, tickets, and find a full list of all the films, go to asianfilmdallas.com.

    Over the last 20+ years, the festival has provided opportunities for more than 400 Asian and Asian-American filmmakers to share their vision, often providing the only venue for their films to be shown in Dallas. The films have also allowed festival goers a chance to experience other lives and cultures without leaving their seats.

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