Weekend Event Planner

Homegrown Music Festival and Lady Antebellum top best weekend events in Dallas

Mother's Day weekend has rolled around again, and along with the plethora of brunch-related options on Sunday, there are plenty of other ways you can show dear old Mom that you love her, including fun concerts and a chance to meet some bona fide celebrities.

Below are your best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, May 8

Crow Collection of Asian Art presents The Eastern Legends
The Eastern Legends are a 12-person Chinese rock group that blends together rock and electronica with instruments many of us have likely never seen used, at least not in this manner. The group, presented by the Crow Collection of Asian Art, perform at Dallas City Performance Hall. You can get 50 percent off tickets by using the code CROW15 online.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Beethoven Festival: Bronfman Plays Emperor
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is in the midst of honoring the works of Ludwig von Beethoven, and this weekend marks the first big concert of the month-long celebration. The concert, with four performances Thursday-Sunday, features pianist Yefim Bronfman playing Beethoven's piano concerto No. 5, Emperor, along with other selections. Make sure to get to the Meyerson Symphony Center early, as there is a curated exhibit in the lobby featuring manuscripts, first editions and artifacts from the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at San Jose State University.

Friday, May 9

The Fault in Our Stars Demand Our Stars Tour
Movie stars sometimes grace Dallas with their presence, but rarely in a manner such as this. Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff and author John Green hit the South Side Ballroom for a free event in advance of the release of the highly anticipated The Fault in Our Stars. They discuss their roles in the film and show exclusive clips.

Lady Antebellum in concert with Billy Currington and David Nail
May is the time of year when outdoor venue Gexa Energy Pavilion finally starts putting on concerts again, and this year things kick off with country superstars Lady Antebellum. The trio comes to Dallas in support of their 2013 album, Golden, which hit No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and country charts. They are joined by opening acts Billy Currington and David Nail.

Saturday, May 10

One Day University: Spring 2014 Full Day Event
If you ever dreamed of getting an Ivy League education but didn't have the money and/or smarts to do so, you can get the next best thing at One Day University at Hyatt Regency Dallas. Ten professors from prestigious universities like Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Cornell and more give one-hour lectures on a variety of topics, including "The Future of Healthcare" and "Four Films That Changed America."

2014 Homegrown Music & Arts Festival
The Homegrown Music & Arts Festival, now celebrating its fifth year, is true to its name and focuses solely on bands and artists from the state of Texas. Headlining the 2014 edition, which features two stages at Main Street Garden, are bands like the Toadies, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Sarah Jaffe, Seryn and Mystery Skulls.

Sunday, May 11

Mother's Day events
Virtually every restaurant in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area is offering a Mother's Day brunch, but there are a few places that are doing a bit more. At the Dallas Arboretum, the United States Navy Band Cruisers perform; Nasher Sculpture Center is offering free admission to the David Bates exhibition, among other things; and Mother’s Day Diamond Dig at Lone Star Park is just what it sounds like — a chance for moms of any age to dig in the dirt for a diamond solitaire worth $2,500.

Wolfmother in concert
True, this band does have the word "mother" in its name, but it's unlikely most mothers would view this concert at House of Blues Dallas as an appropriate gift. That's because Wolfmother is a heavy metal band hailing from Sydney, Australia. They haven't made much of an impact on this side of the world yet, but they're hoping to change that with this tour in support of their third album, New Crown.

The Toadies are one of the headliners at the 2014 Homegrown Music & Arts Festival, taking place May 10 at Main Street Garden.

News_Michael D. Clark_concert pick_The Toadies

Photo by Peter Marince

The Toadies are one of the headliners at the 2014 Homegrown Music & Arts Festival, taking place May 10 at Main Street Garden.

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Outside Ideas

New podcast series uncovers hidden gems found at Texas parks

Better Outside podcast host Morgan O’Hanlon

Photo courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)

Podcast host Morgan O’Hanlon captures ambient sound from a river.

Outdoorsy Texans have a new way to keep track of conservation initiatives within Texas' parks. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) launched a new podcast on May 21 called Better Outside, available on all major podcast platforms.

A press release promises that listeners will "travel the woods and waters of Texas through an array of awe-inspiring stories about conservation, recreation and the outdoors."

The podcast does mean "travel" in a literal sense, taking listeners out in the field to experience the environments firsthand. They'll have a knowledgeable guide in host Morgan O’Hanlon, who is a senior writer at Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, as well as TPWD executive director David Yoskowitz.

“People are at the core of conservation work in Texas,” said Yoskowitz in the release. “I’m excited for you to hear their voices straight from the field, so they can share why the work they do matters and the impact it makes.”

$David Yoskowitz and Morgan O\u2019Hanlon recording Better Outside podcast$ David Yoskowitz and Morgan O’Hanlon record in the studio as well as in the field.Photo courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)

Some examples of the work featured include creating a new trail across the state, touring an existing park, and restoring bighorn sheep (which were on the brink of being wiped out by 1900) in West Texas. Another episode in the Hill Country follows feral hog bounty hunters. Although well-informed listeners may already know about some of these subjects, the podcast specifically hopes to focus on hidden gems and expanding horizons.

“I love adventure sports and am excited to inspire people to try new, and sometimes scary, things,” said O’Hanlon. “In our episode on the Devils River, I took my non-outdoorsy mom on one of the state’s most feared paddling trips. You’ll hear straight from her about the challenges I put her through — and why she would do it again.”

Better Outside isn't TPWD’s first podcast. It was Under the Texas Sky, which launched in 2019 and followed similar themes, with a notable focus on culture. Some episodes followed the Indigenous history of Texas parks, cowboy poets, and chefs who are involved in sustainable farming and cooking. Under the Texas Sky stopped being made when its host, longtime Passport to Texas radio host Cecilia Nasti, retired.

The new podcast is sponsored by the Austin-based Whole Earth Provision Co., which originally opened in 1970 as a real-life manifestation of the Whole Earth Catalog, and is now a cross between a camping, home goods, and outdoorsy gift store. It operates six locations in total in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas.

podcast parks state parks nature sustainability conservation