Weekend Event Planner

State Fair of Texas tops the 19 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Each weekend in September has seen an avalanche of new events in and around Dallas, and this weekend will be no different. Headlined by the start of the State Fair of Texas, choices also include five concerts in multiple genres, a visit from famous YouTubers, three different types of festivals, an opera, a different kind of baseball, the opening of haunted houses, two theater events, a TV/politics rally, a special screening of a classic film, a fundraiser for a local arts group, and a well-known comedian's performance.

Big Tex and State Fair of Texas at sunset

Photo courtesy of the State Fair of Texas

The State Fair of Texas starts its 24-day run at Fair Park on September 25.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. For more options, check out our calendar for an even longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, September 24

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Scheherazade & Pablo Sáinz-Villegas"
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will journey to the fairy-tale world of The Arabian Nights in Rimsky-Korsakov’s cinematic Scheherazade. The concert will also feature Arturo Márquez's Místico y Profano (Mystical and Profane), featuring guitarist Pablo Sainz-Villegas, and Ginastera’s Four Dances from Estancia. The concerts, conducted by Music Director Fabio Luisi, take place on Thursday and Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Dan and Phil: Hard Launch World Tour
YouTubers Dan and Phil will present an explosive new stage show featuring outrageous oversharing, scream-laughing, and celebrating that we’re all still here and we made it. This show is for everyone — from casual male-podcast listeners, to friends and fam who lost bets, and the people that have been fans since the beginning. The show will be at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Friday, September 25

State Fair of Texas
After weeks of build-up introducing discounts, new food, music, entertainment, patriotic activities, and more, the State Fair of Texas has finally arrived. Over the next three weeks, visitors can enjoy everything the annual event has to offer, from the butter sculptures to the rides to the oodles of fried food. There's also the midway, an auto show, strolling entertainers, and daily concerts from artists including Clint Black, Queensrÿche, Deep Blue Something, Tripping Daisy, Toadies, and more. The State Fair continues through October 18 at Fair Park.

McKinney Oktoberfest
At McKinney Oktoberfest, visitors can experience an immersive German-themed celebration featuring authentic German music, traditional costumes, dancing, and cuisine. The event will also feature rides, children's activities, and more. The festival takes place through Sunday in Historic Downtown McKinney.

Opera Arlington presents The Magic Flute
Opera Arlington presents Mozart’s classic The Magic Flute as you’ve never seen it before: transported to the land of Oz, where a yellow-brick road leads into a technicolor realm of witches, wizards, and magic beyond the edge of the known world. As Mozart’s beloved characters venture beyond the familiar, their journey carries them from the shadowy forests of Oz to the glittering gates of the Emerald City. There will be performances on Friday and Saturday at Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington.

Savannah Bananas vs. Texas Tailgaters
The Savannah Bananas, a professional baseball team that has become a worldwide sensation for their entertaining style of play, make their Globe Life Field debut in a three-game series against the Texas Tailgaters. The teams play a fan-involved and fast-paced style of baseball called “Banana Ball,” which features unique rules such as no bunting or walks, fans catching foul balls for outs, and a two-hour time limit. There will be three games through Sunday.

Haunted house openings
Halloween season finally kicks into high gear with the opening of the remaining haunted attractions in the Dallas area. Among the places looking to elicit screams from visitors are J&F House of Terror in Garland, Scarborough's Hollow: A Fall Fantasy Festival in Waxahachie, and Haunted Shadows Lake Trail in Lewisville. Each of the attractions will be open on select days through at least October 31.

Grand Prairie Arts Council presents Jekyll & Hyde
Set against the gaslit streets of Victorian London, Jekyll & Hyde is a musical that tells the story of a brilliant man driven to unlock the secrets of the human soul … and the darkness that’s unleashed when science and morality collide. The production, which opened last weekend, will have four final performances through Sunday at Uptown Theater in Grand Prairie.

Saturday, September 26

MS NOW Live: Together in Texas
MS NOW will present its annual viewer-focused event, Together in Texas: We the People 2026, uniting the network's journalists and audience in the home of one of the nation's most hotly contested Senate races. Attendees will experience conversations with top newsmakers; insights from MS NOW hosts such as Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, and more along with opportunities to interact and connect with the MS NOW community. The event takes place at College Park Center in Arlington.

Carrollton Culture Fest
The annual Carrollton Culture Fest features international food, drinks, cultural performances, artisans, family activities, and interactive experiences. Guests can sample global cuisine, enjoy Bevvy Blvd, an international drink garden by 3 Nations Brewing Co., and browse an artisan marketplace. Activities include traditional street games, a children's craft by the Korean American Youth Artists of Texas, a sensory-friendly area, and a photo booth. The one-day event takes place at Trinity Mills.

Cara Mía Theatre presents 7th Annual Latinidades Festival
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Cara Mía Theatre will launch its season with Dallas’ largest international Latino theatre festival, the 7th Annual Latinidades Festival & Symposium. The two-week event will feature four different productions featuring performing arts like theater, dance, music, visual art, and spoken word poetry. The event takes place on select days through October 11 at Latino Cultural Center.

Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth presents Otsukimi Moon Viewing Festival
At the Otsukimi Moon Viewing Festival, visitors can enjoy an evening of Japanese culture, including taiko drum performances, sumo wrestling demonstrations, live music and traditional dance, martial arts demonstrations, hands-on cultural activities and workshop, Japanese anime and pop culture experiences, children's games and family activities, a food pavilion featuring authentic Japanese and Asian cuisine, and more. The event takes place at Haggard Park in Plano.

Paul Slavens presents Charlie Chaplin's The Kid with Live Score
Charlie Chaplin's first feature film, The Kid, will screen for both its 105th anniversary and the 105th anniversary of The Majestic Theatre. The special 2K restoration of the director's cut of the film will be screened with live piano accompaniment by Paul Slavens. Guests can arrive early to see 100 Years of Majestic, a short documentary celebrating the Majestic's Centennial, produced by Aviation Cinemas.

Turtle Creek Chorale presents Rhapsody at Turtle Manor
Rhapsody at Turtle Manor is an immersive black-tie fundraising experience for Turtle Creek Chorale. Guests will receive a "House Key" and journey through themed rooms featuring jazz, classical, soul, barbershop, drag, karaoke, and Turtle Creek Chorale history before the evening culminates in a full Chorale finale and live giving moment. The event takes place at the Arts District Mansion.

Rod Wave in concert
Rapper Rod Wave has quickly ascended to the level of hip hop to be on par with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and Jay Z. He has dominated the charts for the past six years, with each of his last six albums, including the new Don't Look Down, going to No. 1 on the Billboard Rap chart and either No. 1 or 2 on the overall Billboard 200. He'll perform at American Airlines Center on both Saturday and Sunday.

Jonathan Van Ness: Hot & Healed
Jonathan Van Ness is an Emmy-nominated television personality, two-time New York Times best-selling author, podcaster, and comedian best known for his role on Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning reboot series Queer Eye, where he served as the hair guru and self-care advocate. He'll perform at Texas Theatre.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Gala Concert with Idina Menzel
Broadway royalty Idina Menzel will be the headliner for Dallas Symphony Orchestra's annual Gala Concert. One of the most celebrated stage actresses of her generation, the multi-platinum-selling singer/songwriter and Tony Award-winning performer has electrified the stage and the screen with her performances in Rent, Wicked, and Frozen, among many others. The event takes place at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Sunday, September 27

The Dallas Opera presents Fiesta de la Ópera
Fiesta de la Ópera celebrates Latin heritage through the greatest hits of the opera, Latin, and salsa music repertoires, featuring music in various languages and supertitles in English and Spanish. The concert will feature Anthony León and other guest singers. They will be accompanied by The Dallas Opera Orchestra and a six-piece Latin band. The concert takes place at Winspear Opera House.

Indigo Girls in concert
The folk rock music duo Indigo Girls have been around for almost 40 years, having released their debut album in 1987. Although they're best known for early songs like "Closer to Fine" (featured in 2023's Barbie) and "Galileo," they reached their peak of popularity in the mid-1990s with top 10 albums like Swamp Ophelia and Shaming of the Sun. They'll play at Majestic Theatre.

music concerts symphony comedy state fair of texas fairs-festivals opera sports baseball halloween politics television theater movies fundraisers event-planner

Chart topper

How Ella Langley's Choosin' Texas became a history-making No. 1 hit

Youtube.com

The "Choosin' Texas" music video was shot on location at Fort Worth's Stagecoach Ballroom.

Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” a simmering, midtempo, country-and-then-some heartbreak song released last October, is indisputably 2026’s biggest hit.

“Choosin' Texas” is also the longest-running No. 1 hit in the U.S., having spent 23 weeks at the top spot on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, it was announced Tuesday, September 22.

That means the track has surpassed various records set by Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and most impressively, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Her holiday classic held the previous record, with 22 weeks at No. 1.

The song’s laid-back sound, cross-genre appeal and heartache narrative are a few reasons why. It comes with a well-produced, star-studded music video that was shot on location at Fort Worth's Stagecoach Ballroom earlier this year.

But its dominance still comes as a surprise.

Here’s how huge it's become
Luminate, the industry data and analytics company, found that “Choosin’ Texas” brought in 911 million on-demand streams in the U.S. and 1.26 billion globally as of mid-August. Considering that Langley started 2023, around the time she made her Grand Ole Opry debut, with under 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify — and now boasts of over 32 million — her rise has been meteoric.

Historically, country listenership has centered on radio play. That has changed somewhat as the genre grows in popularity, solidifying around what Luminate’s Jaime Marconette describes as a “younger, streaming-forward listener.” He says it is a “multiyear narrative accelerated” by hits like “Choosin’ Texas.”

Claire Heinichen, a senior editor at Spotify, says the song’s growth has been both explosive and consistent. “Choosin’ Texas” “started big,” she says, moving from the platform’s leading country playlist, ‘Hot Country,’ to its larger, generic offerings because it works across audiences.

“It made its way into ‘Today’s Top Hits,’ which is our biggest global flagship playlist, but it’s also showing up in ‘Mood’ and ‘Moments’ playlists because it fits so well in ‘driving’ or ‘chill’ or ‘cookout,’” Heinichen says. “It really can work everywhere.”

It’s not just country music fans who are connecting with “Choosin’ Texas.”

“The song’s success on a playlist like ‘Today’s Top Hits’ is an indication that this is working for audiences who are not seeking out one specific genre,” Heinichen says. “It’s definitely growing in every direction.”

Ella Langley's voice has something to do with the song's success. Photo courtesy of Ella Langley

The specific sound
Go straight to Langley’s voice for another explanation for the song’s success. It’s “like syrup,” says Nate Sloan, a musicologist, assistant professor at the University of Southern California and co-host of the podcast Switched On Pop.

She sings in long phrases that lull the listener into the song’s rhythm, from its opening guitar line to its coda. “It’s almost like a trance,” Sloan says.

It also pulls from other genres; a cross-pollination found in much modern country. Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” features shimmery disco grooves, not unlike Kacey Musgraves.

“It’s a little more rock or even kind of soul-inflected,” Sloan says. “Part of the reason songs like ‘Choosin’ Texas’ are able to resonate with such a wide audience is because, musically, they’re bringing in a lot of diverse influences.”

Charles L. Hughes, a Rhodes College professor and author of Country Soul, says the song sounds like many different eras of country music and, simultaneously, contemporary.

To his ears, “Choosin’ Texas” pulls from a late 1970s, early ’80s era of country musicians who pulled R&B and pop into their sound — think Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell and Charlie Rich — but it isn’t stuck in that period. Those sounds are filtered through a post-Musgraves, post-Miranda Lambert songwriting style, with Langley’s idiosyncratic charms. (Lambert and Langley are two of the song’s four cowriters.)

“The best country music has one foot in the past and one foot into the present, if not the future,” Hughes says. “And that’s what she’s doing.”

Even for its light, bright musicality, “Choosin’ Texas” is an unusual hit, because it doesn’t possess the features that historically make up a No. 1 smash. It’s super specific — with its detailed descriptions of characters and geography in the lyrics — which is “antithetical to what you usually expect from a big, hit pop song that’s supposed to appeal to everyone,” says Sloan. It’s also “chill,” Sloan says. “It’s not bombastic or anthemic.”

“It has no big moments,” says Hughes. But it has both a subtle dance pulse and steel guitar, so “it sounds country, but it doesn’t automatically turn off people who are allergic to certain kinds of country sounds.”

There’s a sparkle that transgresses genre lines, but it does so while sounding mellow — the kind of track that inspires repeat listens.

Appeal of the lyrics
“Choosin’ Texas” continues a great tradition of “songs that country women do about what men do in bars,” says Hughes.

It’s straightforward: She’s losing her lover to someone else. She’s not going to fight for him — it’s a song of resignation that ends with her drinking alone as he chooses Texas (another woman) over her (and Tennessee). It’s a universal heartbreak theme with potential for cross-generational resonance: It works for both the insecurity of a first breakup and a long-term relationship ending over another woman, or a move.

“It’s got these great turns of phrase that give you a little bit of ironic distance as a narrator and as a listener,” says Sloan.

“It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see,” Langley acquiesces in the chorus, “A cowboy always finds a way to leave.”

The lyrics are also clever, standing out in contemporary country, says Hughes. (Compare it to Luke Bryan’s “Fish Hunt Golf Drink.”) And it’s detailed: Langley’s paramour loves George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning,” a pantheon Texas track; she’s drinking Tennessee whiskey as a result.

“There is the phenomenon of what some critics have called 'the sad banger' within the world of pop music,” says Sloan. In country, it’s even more common to take something sad and transform it into something funny or deadpan. “And that’s what she’s really good at, at this song.”

What it says about 2026 music
The fact that regular chart-toppers like Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, and Bad Bunny haven’t released new albums this year could’ve cleared a path for the dominance of “Choosin’ Texas,” but Sloan sees its rise as indicative of something else.

“We’re in this environment where you can measure a song’s success in a numerical way,” he says. “But then in terms of its actual cultural impact, that might be more fragmented than you think.”

Essentially: “Choosin’ Texas” is on top. But how many people know Langley’s name, the way they knew Houston’s and Carey’s when those hits were released?

“It doesn’t feel like a centerpiece of a monoculture, but it is absolutely a key part of like radio culture, streaming playlists, TikTok,” Hughes adds. “But it’s hitting these various audiences in a way that combines to create something huge.”

But what does it forecast for Langley? She’s no one-hit wonder: Her award-winning 2024 collaboration with Riley Green, “You Look Like You Love Me” is evidence of that.

“It’s always hard to prognosticate with artists when they have an unexpected smash,” says Sloan. “Her ability to write songs with a lot of integrity that both reach back into country tradition and incorporate sounds of the 21st century? That’s a pretty good formula to have a successful and long career in the music world.”

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Chart topper

How Ella Langley's Choosin' Texas became a history-making No. 1 hit