Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean perform at AT&T Stadium on May 16.

Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com

There will be plenty of big events to choose from in and around Dallas this weekend, including a reimagining of a classic musical, a couple of local theater productions, two festivals with well-known musicians, a weekend full of LGBTQ+ celebrations, the return of a country music superstar, and more.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, June 2

Broadway Dallas presents Oklahoma!
Over 75 years after Rodgers & Hammerstein reinvented the American musical, this version of Oklahoma! is something audiences have never seen or heard before, as it's been reimagined for the 21st century. Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core, Daniel Fish’s production tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the frontier life that shaped America. The production will run at Winspear Opera House through June 12.

Eric Nadel's Birthday Benefit featuring Cas Haley and Daphne Willis
Celebrating its 10th anniversary concert, the Eric Nadel Birthday Benefit — in honor of the longtime Texas Rangers announcer — will feature performances Cas Haley, a former runner-up on America’s Got Talent, and opening act Daphne Willis. The concert at The Kessler supports the work of Grant Halliburton Foundation, a local nonprofit that provides mental health education, training, and support to North Texas teens and families.

Urban Arts Collective presents Love You Madly: Celebrating the Music of Duke Ellington
Love You Madly: Celebrating the Music of Duke Ellington transports audiences to 1920s New York City at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. Told through music, dance and spoken word, the production highlights the glitz and glamour of the time with a big band orchestra as the backdrop. The entire band is comprised of Dallas musicians under the direction of Dallas’ premiere jazz band director, Dean Hilland. The production, part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, will have three performances through Saturday at Annette Strauss Square.

Friday, June 3

KHYI's Texas Music Revolution
KHYI's 26th Texas Music Revolution is a two-day festival that will feature performances by a variety of country and folk acts, including Wade Bowen, Jack Ingram, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Summer Dean, Old Crow Medicine Show, Hayes Carll, and over 20 other bands and musicians. Performances will take place in the square in Historic Downtown McKinney on both Friday and Saturday.

Taste Addison
While the main attraction for Taste Addison is obviously the food, featuring dishes from a wide array of classic Addison dining destinations and notable newcomers, the festival has more to offer than just that. Visitors can stroll the marketplace featuring booths selling a variety of items, explore The Discovery Depot featuring presentations and craft activities, and enjoy music from acts like Sean Paul, Stone Temple Pilots, Living Colour, and more. Kids 12 and younger can also enjoy the Adventure Grove, a play area with games, attractions, a petting zoo, and more. The festival takes place on Friday and Saturday at Addison Circle Park.

Theatre Arlington presents The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
In the Tony Award-winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, an eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. The production runs through June 19 at Theatre Arlington.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Baumer String Quartet
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will present a Chamber Concert featuring the Baumer String Quartet and DSO Musicians. Acknowledged as one of the finest young quartets in the country, the Baumer String Quartet was founded in 2003 at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The program for the one-night-only performance at Meyerson Symphony Center will include the Dallas premiere of Samuel Carl Adams' Sundial for String Quartet & Percussion, Leon Kirchner's “Flutings for Paul,” and Mendelssohn's String Octet in E-flat major.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents BalletX
TITAS/Dance Unbound will close their 2021/2022 season with BalletX, a company making their Dallas debut. Co-founded in 2005 by Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox and choreographer Matthew Neenan, Ballet X has produced over 100 ballets by 60 choreographers from across the globe. They will perform twice - once Friday and once Saturday - at Moody Performance Hall.

Saturday, June 4

Trolls Live!
In Trolls Live!, the Trolls’ Hug Time is unexpectedly put at risk. Knowing the only way to save it is by doing what the Trolls do best, Poppy hosts a toe-tapping, Trolls-tastic show. The production is a hair-raising adventure featuring Poppy, Branch, and all their Trolls friends coming to life on stage. The show, which will have four performances through Sunday at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie, will be jam-packed with epic music, glitter, humor, and happiness.

Dallas Pride Weekend
Dallas Pride weekend kicks off on Saturday with the Dallas Pride Music Festival, a family-friendly event at Fair Park featuring a variety of musical and dance performances, shopping, a Family Pride Zone, and more. The Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade takes place on Sunday, encircling Cotton Bowl Stadium with fun floats, outrageous costumes, bands, performers, and groups all marching to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Kenny Chesney in concert
Country superstar Kenny Chesney has made a stop in Dallas-Fort Worth in late spring on a near-annual basis, but this is the first time since 2018 that he's made it back to the area. Taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the concert will feature performances by Chesney, still touring in support of his 2020 album, Here and Now, as well as opening acts Dan + Shay, Old Dominion, and Carly Pearce.

Kenny Chesney will play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on June 4.

0012, RodeoHouston, Kenny Chesney concert, March 2013

Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com

Kenny Chesney will play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on June 4.

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Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records spins new location in Garland

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

They chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."