On the Road Again

Willie Nelson brings star-filled Outlaw Music Festival back to Dallas

SXSW Supermensch Shep Gordon After Party Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson will be at Dos Equis Pavilion on July 2 as part of the Outlaw Music Festival.

Photo by Shelley Neuman

Country music legend Willie Nelson may not be playing indoor venues again in the near future, but Dallas will still get to see him perform soon as he headlines the Outlaw Music Festival, taking place at Dos Equis Pavilion on July 2.

The festival is actually a tour, featuring a variety of bands and musicians at 19 different events over the course of three months, starting with a stop in St. Louis, Missouri on June 24. Each stop will feature a different group of performers, with Willie Nelson & Family leading the way at every concert.

Performing alongside Nelson in Dallas — the only stop in Texas — will be Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Brothers Osborne, Charley Crockett, Steve Earle & The Dukes, and Allison Russell.

This will be the first time the Outlaw Music Festival has come to Dallas since 2019. The tour, which began in 2016, started up again in 2021 after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Austin was its lone Texas stop last year.

“The Outlaw Music Festival Tour has always been about family and friends coming together for a great day of music and fun, and with the amazing group of artists joining us, this year promises to be our most special Outlaw Tour to date," said Nelson in a statement. "I just can’t wait to get back on the road again.”

Nelson will be 89 by the time the tour starts, but he remains one of the hardest working people in show business, releasing his 98th album, A Beautiful Time, on his birthday, April 29.

Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, March 25, at 10 am. VIP packages, which include premium seats and exclusive festival merchandise, will be available. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, March 22, at 10 am until Thursday, March 24, at 10 pm through the Citi Entertainment program.

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New Theater

Premieres lead the way in Dallas Theater Center's 2026-27 season

Aigner Mizzelle and Okieriete Onaodowan in the off-Broadway production of The Monsters

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

The Monsters, which started off-Broadway, will make its regional premiere as part of Dallas Theater Center's 2026-27 season.

The 2026-2027 season for Dallas Theater Center will feature six productions, including three world premieres, a regional premiere, a returning favorite, and a to-be-determined sixth production.

The inaugural season of incoming Enloe/Rose Artistic Director, Jaime Castañeda, will be marked by a renewed commitment to new work at Dallas Theater Center.

That starts with with the world premieres of three new shows:

The Cold War thriller Reykjavik86 by Gabe McKinley, which brings the 1986 nuclear summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev to life on stage. It will be the initial production of the season, running September 11-27, 2026 at Wyly Theatre.
The dark comedy musical Kill Local, with a book by Mat Smart and music and lyrics by Liza Anne, is about Sheila and her sister, Abigail, who work together for their mother’s small family business, which just so happens to be assassins. It features killer songs about blood ties, revenge, and how hard it is to get unstuck. It will run March 26-April 11, 2027 in the Wyly Studio Theatre
The Making of a Saint by KJ Sanchez is theatrical exploration of faith and family in which KJ, a documentary writer/performer, sets out to understand the story of Sister Blandina, whom KJ's brother is helping to canonize. It will be the final scheduled show of the season, running May 14-June 6, 2027 in the Wyly Studio Theatre.

Joining them will be the regional premiere of The Monsters by Ngozi Anyanwu, about a scrappy young fighter named Lil who is ready to enter the ring. She reconnects with her brother Big, an accomplished fighter in the local MMA scene and tries to earn his respect.

The production, which just finished a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run on March 22, runs October 9-November 1, 2026 in the Wyly Studio Theatre.

A yet-to-be-named fifth production, which will be announced on June 1, will run February 5-21, 2027 in the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

All of those productions will be part of the season subscriptions. Dallas Theater Center's annual holiday production of A Christmas Carol, running November 27-December 27, 2026 at Wyly Theatre, can be added on.

“New work is the engine of the American Theater, and Dallas Theater Center will be a laboratory for artists who have something urgent and honest to express today,” said Enloe/Rose Artistic Director Jaime Castañeda in a statement. "These plays are about the now, and they are events for the stage that are in direct conversation with the audience."

DTC’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company members will be featured throughout the 2025-26 season, including Christina Austin Lopez, Tiana Kaye Blair, Blake Hackler, Bob Hess, Liz Mikel, Alex Organ, Molly Searcy, Tiffany Solano, Sally Nysteun Vahle, Esteban Vilchez, Zachary J. Willis, and Bri Woods, who is the Linda and Bill Custard SMU Meadows Actor.

Subscriptions for the 2026-27 season are available now, and can be purchased online at DallasTheaterCenter.org or by calling the DTC Box Office at 214-522-8499.

theater performing-arts