I sure hope you're into music or theater, as the slate of events in and around Dallas this weekend is packed with both, sometimes in the same event. All of the theater events will involve local companies, while each of the music events involve musicians with national profiles. You can also see a great comedy show, enjoy athletes playing an unfamiliar sport, or celebrate a unique feature of a local city.
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, June 7
Audacity Theatre Lab presents Dallas Solo Fest
Audacity Theatre Lab's Dallas Solo Fest features six distinct one-person shows presented by performers from around the country. Among the shows, each of which will be performed three times at Dallas Children's Theater through Sunday, will be pieces involving a policeman seeking redemption, magic, an alcoholic lion, a meatball seance, Jesus in the 21st century, and a 34-year-old virgin.
AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Off Broadway on Flora: The Second City Summer Blockbuster
The Second City presents the next generation of comedy superstars in Summer Blockbuster. Taking place at Wyly Theatre through Saturday, surprises will abound as Chicago’s famed Second City ensemble combines great sketch comedy with on-the-fly improv to create new sidesplitting, knee-slapping, and sometimes groan-inducing realities out of thin air.
Dua Lipa in concert
English singer Dua Lipa is already making history with her self-titled debut album. She won two Brit Awards earlier in 2018, including Best Breakthrough Act and Best Female Artist, and she's had three huge hit songs in the the past year: "New Rules," "IDGAF," and "One Kiss" with Calvin Harris. After postponing her February date in Dallas, she'll play on Thursday at South Side Ballroom.
Shakespeare Dallas presents The Comedy of Errors
Shakespeare Dallas will present The Comedy of Errors as their first Shakespeare in the Park production of the season. The production, running at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre through July 15, is Shakespeare's farcical comedy of twins and mistaken identity involving Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse and Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus.
Friday, June 8
Dirk Nowitzki's 2018 Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game
Dirk Nowitzki’s 2018 Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game features celebrity players slugging it out for a good cause. Among the players scheduled to appear at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco will be Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban; Demarcus Ware, Herschel Walker, and Von Miller. The event, benefiting the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation and the Heroes Foundation, also features family-fun festivities, a Heroes Special Olympics All-Star Softball Game, and a post-game fireworks finale.
Lyric Stage presents Guys and Dolls
Considered by some to be the perfect musical, Guys and Dolls is a romantic comedy involving the unlikeliest of Manhattan pairings: a high-rolling gambler and a puritanical missionary, a showgirl dreaming of the straight-and-narrow and a crap game manager who is anything but. The musical, presented by Lyric Stage at Majestic Theatre through Sunday, features songs like "Adelaide’s Lament," "I’ve Never Been in Love Before," "If I Were a Bell," and "Luck Be a Lady."
WaterTower Theatre presents The Last Five Years
Jason Robert Brown’s intimately observant and often funny musical, The Last Five Years, follows the story of Jamie and Cathy through opposing intersecting chronologies. The relationship of the two 20-something artists in New York blossoms and sours, and the beginning, the end, and everything in between is put into perspective in this touching and sympathetic tale of love, loss, and timing. The musical will run through July 1 at WaterTower Theatre in Addison.
Saturday, June 9
Canal Fest
Canal Fest is one of Irving's signature events, celebrating the diversity that exists within its borders. Taking place along the city's Mandalay Canals and Lake Carolyn, the free event showcases the dance, music, art, and foods of many countries. The expanded festival will feature four distinct areas — Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas — each with its own performance stage.
Leon Bridges in concert with Jon Batiste and Stay Human
Just back from touring in South America and Mexico with Harry Styles, Fort Worth's Leon Bridges will be the headliner for this concert at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving. Bridges is touring in support of his just-released album, Good Thing. He'll be joined by Jon Batiste and Stay Human, the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Maroon 5 in concert with Julia Michaels
Now that The Voice is done for the season, Adam Levine is freed up to get back to his day job, i.e. heading up one of the biggest bands on the planet. That band, Maroon 5, is touring in support of their latest album, 2017's Red Pill Blues, but they'll be sure to play their big hits like "This Love," "Makes Me Wonder," "Moves Like Jagger," and "One More Night." They'll be joined at American Airlines Center by Julia Michaels.
Sunday, June 10
Styx, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and Tesla in concert
Classic rock fans will be in heaven at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory on Sunday when three favorites from the 1970s and '80s team up for a blowout concert. It won't be all old songs, though, as Styx — which has been without former lead singer Dennis DeYoung since 1999 — Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and Tesla remain active, with each group releasing an album of new work in the past five years.
WaterTower Theatre presents The Last Five Years, June 8-July 1.
