Open Air Concerts

The best Dallas-Fort Worth outdoor concerts for families in summer 2018

Even with the temperatures rising, plenty of venues in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will present outdoor concert series this spring and summer. These seasonal outings make for fun family picnics, great friend-gatherings, and romantic date nights under the stars.

Tribute bands are a big theme, but you can also get your fill of original artists, classical music, and more. Below are the best places to listen to music in the great outdoors this summer. And as a bonus, nearly all of them are completely free.

Box Garden at Legacy Hall Concert Series
Foodies have had months to enjoy all of the food options at Legacy Hall in Plano, and now The Box Garden, their outdoor beer garden and live entertainment venue, is up-and-running with a new performer almost every day. The series focuses on all-local musicians, running the gamut from up-and-comers to established veterans like The Polyphonic Spree and Kirk Thurmond.

Dallas Arboretum presents Cool Thursdays Concert Series
Boasting one of the best views in Dallas-Fort Worth alongside White Rock Lake, the Dallas Arboretum's Cool Thursday Series continues through June 28 before taking a break until after Labor Day. Among the tribute and party bands on the docket over the next month include U2 by UV, Memphis Soul, Rio (Duran Duran), The Prince Experience, and Sounds of Summer (The Beach Boys).

Dallas Zoo presents Safari Nights
Dallas Zoo's Safari Nights concert series features original artists and tribute bands who will fill the park with music every Saturday night. Free with zoo admission, it allows guests to enjoy all that the zoo has to offer before settling down for the concert. Taking place through July 14, it'll feature bands like Desperado (Eagles tribute band), Trout Fishing in America, and The O's.

Levitt Pavilion presents Music Under the Stars
Every weekend through July 22, the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts in Arlington welcomes in local, regional, and national artists to perform for the masses. Performers this summer will include Vocal Trash, Bowling for Soup, Green River Ordinance, Rick Trevino, Radney Foster, and Marcia Ball. As a bonus, they also show the occasional movie, like Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, and Mamma Mia.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Parks Concerts
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra decamps from the Meyerson Symphony Center and takes its act outside with the Parks Concerts series. Over the course of two weeks between May 28 and June 12, Assistant Conductor Ruth Reinhardt will lead the DSO in a program featuring light classics, patriotic tunes, and other popular fare. Concerts will take place at Flag Pole Hill, Timberglen Park, Crawford Memorial Park, Kidd Springs Park, and Paul Quinn College.

Sounds of Lewisville
Sounds of Lewisville is a free concert series that has been going strong for close to 30 years. Taking place at Wayne Ferguson Plaza in Lewisville, it will feature a tribute band-heavy lineup every Tuesday in June and July. Among the performers will be Just Like P!nk, Me & My Monkey (Beatles tribute), Las Vegas Nights with Elvis, Forever Mac (Fleetwood Mac tribute), and Dancing Dream (ABBA tribute).

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Concerts in the Garden
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's annual Concerts in the Garden series is always highly anticipated, presenting a variety of great music every weekend in June. Among the popular events at Fort Worth Botanic Garden this season will be The Music of Michael Jackson, Star Wars and Beyond: A Laser Light Spectacular, The Music of Journey, and Old 97's. As always, the series will end with the Old-Fashioned Family Fireworks Picnic, taking place the nights of July 2-4.

Vitruvian Nights Live
Vitruvian Nights Live will feature popular party and tribute artists every other Thursday night starting June 14 in the amphitheater at Vitruvian Park in Addison. Performers will include Emerald City, Warehouse (Dave Matthews Band tribute band), King George (George Strait tribute band), The Landsharks (Jimmy Buffett tribute band), and Blaze of Glory (Bon Jovi tribute band). In addition to the live music, guests may purchase bites from food trucks and shop from the mobile boutiques.

Panther Island Pavilion presents Rockin’ the River
Once the weather gets blazin' hot in July, head to Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth for the Rockin' the River series. Taking place July 7-August 11, it features live bands, a fireworks show, and the ability to take it all in from a tube on the Trinity River or from the shore. Headliners will include Micky and the Motorcars, Kody West, Cody Canada and the Departed, The Dirty River Boys, Dalton Domino, and Shinyribs.

The Cool Thursdays Concert Series takes place at Dallas Arboretum through June 28, starting up again on September 6.

Cool Thursdays Concert Series at Dallas Arboretum

Photo courtesy of Dallas Arboretum

The Cool Thursdays Concert Series takes place at Dallas Arboretum through June 28, starting up again on September 6.

music concerts

Racket sports

Trendy Austin padel club Padel39 lobs first DFW location into Carrollton

Photo by Juan J Valdes

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A popular padel club from Austin is serving up its first location in Dallas-Fort Worth: Padel39 has purchased and taken over the existing Dallas Padel Club, at 3000 Belmeade Dr.

According to a release, multimillion-dollar renovations are underway and are expected to be complete by summer 2026. The revamp includes:

Seven new outdoor courts are being added to the current three indoor courts (with completion expected by March 2026).
Full food and beverage capabilities for a premium sports bar that is open to the public.
A fitness area for members that is affiliated with HYROX, recovery areas, wellness facilities (sauna, cold plunge, etc.), upscale locker rooms.
Upscale lounging and coworking space.

For those not up on their racket sports, padel is a cousin of pickleball, tennis, and racquetball. The sport has been wildly popular in Spain and Latin America for decades and is one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S. Like pickleball, it's a doubles game played on a small court, and players hit off glass walls.

Padel was invented in Acapulco, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera; Padel39 bears the first two numbers of all Acapulco ZIP Codes.

Padel39 co-founders Will and Naomi Boyce.Photo by Juan J Valdes

The company was founded in 2024 by husband-and-wife William Boyce and Naomi Boyce; William played tennis for the University of Texas at Austin.

Padel39 currently has two locations in Austin, with a third opening in March. They say they aim to open 12 to 15 Padel39 clubs in Austin, Dallas, and Houston by 2028. After Carrollton, a location will open in central Dallas in late 2026/early 2027, they say.

“We currently introduce 200+ new players to the sport each month, while maintaining a core group of repeat clients who return for the fitness, competition and vibrant community,” William Boyce says in the release. “Each new location fulfills our vision to put Padel39 and Texas at the epicenter of the padel community.”

In addition to offering courts to play on, Padel39 features on-court programming, tournaments, social events, and physical wellness opportunities such as courtside Pilates and morning yoga.

Padel39 Padel39 courts and lounge areas at a location in Austin. Photo by Josh Graziadei

While Padel39 offers memberships, all guests are welcome to play, they say. According to the website, each club is priced differently. At the flagship location in Austin, Padel39 memberships start at $89 per month or $890 per year, but players can also rent courts as needed for 90 minutes at $30.

“We set out to create a modern take on a country club; a place where members and guests could ‘play and stay,’” Boyce says. “We’ve built that and more. We work to improve the experience for our guests each day.”

Outdoor construction on the Carrollton club is expected to be completed by March. Indoor food and beverage, fitness and lounging renovations will be finished by summer, they say. The club will remain open during renovations.

padel pickleball sports