The tail end of the holiday season is usually light on new events, but this year brings a bunch of different people to town. All of the area comedy clubs will be hopping with performers, and there will be a big comedy event at a larger venue. There will also be an electronic music festival, two new local theater productions, a couple of concerts, and the end of a long-running exhibition.
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. We also have lists for cool New Year's Eve celebrations happening around Dallas-Fort Worth and restaurants serving up special meals for New Year's Eve.
Thursday, December 29
Disco Donnie presents Lights All Night
Lights All Night is a two-day music festival that features prominent names across myriad genres. Performers will include Excision, John Summit, Porter Robinson (DJ Set), Svdden Death, Tchami, Zeds Dead, and more. The festival takes place at Dallas Market Hall.
Improv Arlington presents Faizon Love
Faizon Love is a plus-sized actor of Afro-Cuban descent whose killer smile and infectious laugh can liven up any comedy club. Love got his start as a stand-up comedian and has been seen on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam and BET’s Comic View. He has co-starred in movies like Couples Retreat, Fear of a Black Hat, Elf, and Friday. He'll perform at Improv Arlington through Saturday.
Improv Addison presents Jamie Kennedy
Jamie Kennedy, a multitalented comedian-actor-writer-producer, is a true hyphenate. He may be seen acting in a film one minute and on stage doing stand up the next. Kennedy skyrocketed to fame with scene-stealing rants in Wes Craven's Scream and Scream 2. He has gone on to work with some of Hollywood's biggest names, including George Clooney, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, and Will Smith. He'll perform at Improv Addison through Saturday.
Dallas Comedy Club presents Ralph Barbosa
Ralph Barbosa was named the Funniest Comic in Texas in 2019, was the winner of the New York Latino Film Festival Stand Up Comedy competition in 2021, and recently made his HBO debut on the HA Festival Comedy Special. Barbosa has also worked with comedians such as Dave Attell, JR De Guzman, Mark Normand, Adam Ferrara, Dusty Slay, Jesus Trejo, and Anjelah Johnson. He'll perform at Dallas Comedy Club through Saturday.
Pegasus Theatre presents The Dimension of Death
Pegasus Theatre will present the world premiere of the 22nd Harry Hunsacker adventure, The Dimension of Death. The year is 1955. Harry, Nigel, and Foster have been dispatched to a top secret Air Force base in Nevada where a matter of the highest level of national security awaits them. They’d heard rumors about Paradise Ranch, but the reality of what they saw exceeded their imagination. In no time, however, the bodies start piling up and our trio finds themselves trapped in The Dimension of Death. The production runs through January 22 at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.
Theatre Three presents I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
As an homage to one of Theatre Too’s most popular productions, Theatre Three will present the return of Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Robert’s I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change to headline the grand opening of the intimate downstairs space that has been closed since 2020. The comedy takes on the truths and myths behind what it means to love, date, or lose someone. The production runs through February 18.
Friday, December 30
Gary Owen's DFW NYE Takeover VI
Gary Owen's DFW NYE Takeover VI will be two nights of comedy, featuring performances by Mike Epps, Luenell, DC Young Fly, and J.J. Williams on Friday, and Lil Duval, Earthquake, and Ryan Davis on Saturday. Both events will take place at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.
Home Free in concert
Country a cappella group Home Free - featuring Texas Hill, Brooke Eden, Abby Anderson, Ernie Halter, and Caroline Jones - first came to prominence as the winners of the fourth season of The Sing-Off in 2013. They'll perform at Majestic Theatre on both Friday and Saturday as part of their Family Christmas tour, which comes soon after the release of their latest album, So Long Dixie.
Saturday, December 31
George W. Bush Presidential Center presents "Liberty & Laughter: The Lighter Side of the White House" closing day
Saturday will be the final day to view the special exhibit "Liberty and Laughter" at George W. Bush Presidential Center, which glimpses behind-the-scenes into the lighter side of life in the White House. Entertaining first family anecdotes, interactive multimedia, and amusing artifacts unveil presidential pranks, inside jokes, and more. Revealing how humor has evolved from our Founding Fathers to the present day makes one thing readily apparent – laughter remains vital to a thriving democracy.
Joshua Ray Walker and Grady Spencer in concert
Texas’ Joshua Ray Walker and Grady Spencer & The Work will ring in the new year by co-headlining this special New Year’s Eve concert at The Echo Lounge & Music Hall. Walker's most recent album was 2021's See You Next Time, while Spencer and his band, The Work, released Wait at the beginning of 2022.
Hyena's presents Joe Machi
Since taking 4th place on Last Comic Standing’s 8th season, Joe Machi has been busy touring the United States as a headlining stand-up comedian. He has performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and has become a regular on Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld on Fox News. He'll perform twice on Saturday at Hyena's Dallas.
Faizon Love will perform at Improv Arlington through December 31.
