Dallas has been enjoying a series of huge weekends as of late, and this long holiday weekend features a lot to do, too. There will be two different music festivals, some top drag performers, a new interactive art exhibition, two new local theater productions, two dance events, a big hip hop/R&B concert, a classical music concert, and a movie marathon.
Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this Memorial Day weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, May 26
RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World Tour
Since 2009, RuPaul's Drag Race has been one of the most popular reality competitions on television, spreading to 12 different countries, earning its famous host five Emmy Awards in the process. One of its offshoots, RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World, just finished its first season, and now contestants like AWhora, Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea, Cheryl Hole, Divina de Campo, Janey Jacké, Krystal Versace, Lawrence Chaney, Lemon, Pangina Heals, and Tayce To will strut their stuff in this show at House of Blues Dallas.
Psychedelic Robot: An Immersive Art & Storytelling Experience
The immersive art exhibition Psychedelic Robot has had several incarnations in Dallas in recent years, and now it heads north to set up shop at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano. The 360-degree visual storytelling experience features interactive exhibits, augmented reality, narrative audio, and art & design by world-class artists, all narrated by TNX, a thousand-year-old dragon. The exhibition will be open through at least August 28.
Outcry Theatre presents Lipstick Traces
In Lipstick Traces, a narrator with a Ph.D. joins Sex Pistols’ manager and self-proclaimed mastermind Malcolm McLaren to recount an alternative history of the 20th century via the Sex Pistols, the Cabaret Voltaire, the May ’68 riots, and a handful of medieval heretics. The production, which will have five performances through Sunday at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre, is a physically ecstatic and intellectually nervy theatrical vision of “movements in culture that raised no monuments… movements that barely left a trace.”
mixtamotus presents #Filtering
#Filtering by mixtamotus is a a 50-minute intimate installation exploring beauty ideals through the use of dance, interactive media, and music. The audience is invited to join the company in the creative process during the production, which will have four performances through Saturday at Bath House Cultural Center.
Jeezy & K. Michelle in concert
Two big names from 21st century hip hop/R&B will band together for this special concert at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie. Rapper Jeezy has been at or near the top of the charts since the beginning of his career in 2005, notching three No. 1 albums. K. Michelle used a starring role on VH1's Love & Hip Hop to get a recording contract, and each of her first three albums made it to the top 10 on both the Billboard 200 and R&B charts.
Ochre House Theater presents In The Garden: Under The Moon
Ochre House Theater will present the fourth and final show in their one-act play series In The Garden. Under The Moon is about an old wizard who, along with the help of his cuckoo bird apprentice and captive angel, attempts one last work of magic: to marry the moon. The production is an unlikely tale of enchanted misfits, filled with song, dance, music, and spectacle. It will play at Ochre House Theater through June 4.
Friday, May 27
So What?! Music Festival
For the first time since 2017, Third String Entertainment will present the So What?! Music Festival, which features a weekend of metal, rock, rap, hip-hop, alternative, and pop-punk performances. Bands performing at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington will include I Prevail, Parkway Drive, The Ghost Inside, Blackbear, Simple Plan, Sum 41, 2 Chainz, Rae Sremmurd, Trippie Redd, Tyga, Knocked Loose, The Maine, Princess Nokia, 3OH!3, and more. The festival takes place through Sunday.
Shen Yun
Shen Yun’s unique artistic vision expands theatrical experience into a multi-dimensional, deeply moving journey. Featuring one of the world’s most ancient and richest dance systems — classical Chinese dance — along with dynamic animated backdrops and all-original orchestral works, Shen Yun opens a portal to a civilization of enchanting beauty and enlightening wisdom. There will be four performances through Sunday at Winspear Opera House.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Mussorgsky’s Pictures"
Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Mussorgsky’s Pictures," featuring conductor Gemma New. Selections for the concert, which will have three performances at Meyerson Symphony Center through Sunday, will include the world premiere of Jessie Montgomery's new orchestral work, Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole, Grainger's Pastoral from In a Nutshell, and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
Saturday, May 28
Klyde Warren Park presents Memorial Day Movie Marathon
Movie lovers can get a full day of great films at Klyde Warren Park's Memorial Day Movie Marathon. The marathon will start with the kid-friendly Raya and the Last Dragon, continue with the vampire romance Twilight, and finish off the Oscar-winning musical La La Land. As always, there will be a variety of food trucks on hand for viewers to grab a snack or meal.
Sunday, May 29
KEGL's BFD featuring Papa Roach
KEGL's BFD is an annual festival-style concert that features a variety of great rock acts. Taking place at Dos Equis Pavilion, the concert will feature performances by headliner Papa Roach, along with Seether, Bush, The Hu, Fuel, Dead Sara, and Giovannie & The Hired Guns.
Shen Yun returns to Winspear Opera House for four more performances, May 27-29.
