Live Music Heaven

Here's your schedule for Toyota Music Factory's grand opening weekend

The day — or days, we should say — is finally here. Toyota Music Factory's grand opening weekend is set for April 13-15, and the line-up is packed with family friendly events and, of course, plenty of live music.

The entertainment and music mecca in Irving has already been feeding hungry fans at its restaurants and bars, which started opening last fall, and big names have begun appearing on its stages. But get ready to see Toyota Music Factory pull out all the stops for its official kick-off.

What should you be sure not to miss, besides strolling performances from the Dallas Rhythm & Blue dancers and drumline, the Dallas Maniaacs, magicians, face painters, and more that's enticing for everyone in the family? Here's a day-by-day breakdown of all the celebrations.

Friday, April 13
The party gets going nice and early, with live music in the Highway 61 courtyard starting at 7 am. At 11 am, the live music shifts over to Texas Lottery Plaza, where it'll continue until 7 pm, when a DJ takes over for a few hours while Brad Paisely takes the stage at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. A main stage concert featuring Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys runs from 9 pm to midnight in Texas Lottery Plaza. Two big events to remember: the grand opening ribbon cutting at 11 am and the Texas Lottery "Kick Off" at 4:30.

Saturday, April 14
Live music is the theme of the day, as you can listen to some in Texas Lottery Plaza from basically 7 am to midnight. From 3-6 pm, 99.5 The Wolf takes over for a live remote show, while Keith Sweat featuring SWV, Tank, Stokley, and Vivian Green all perform at The Pavilion beginning at 6:45 pm. CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band is that evening's late-night entertainment, filling Texas Lottery Plaza's main stage with hot tunes starting at 9 pm.

Sunday, April 15
Where can you find Texas' largest Bloody Mary bar? In Texas Lottery Plaza, where a Sunday Jazz Brunch — with music courtesy of Kickin' Brass Band — is happening from 10 am to 2 pm. Live music continues throughout the rest of the day, with Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band performing from 7 pm onward.

Basically, from Las Colinas Boulevard to Highway 114 you will be surrounded by live music and entertainment at every turn. All events are family-friendly, so be sure to bring the kids so they can enjoy balloon twisters, face painters, magicians, an aerialist, side show performers, and fire performers.

Many of Toyota Music Factory's tenants are getting in on the fun too, so pick up an opening weekend passport at the Toyota Tent and collect as many stamps as you can.

The festivities will be fun for the whole family.

Photo courtesy of Toyota Music Factory

The festivities will be fun for the whole family.

families celebrities music openings concerts brunch promoted

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.

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