Weekend Event Planner

These are the 15 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

There is a lot happening in and around Dallas this weekend, with multiple events jockeying for "biggest of the week." They include seven concerts, featuring a top country singer, rapper, K-Pop band, and classic rocker. There will also be five local theater productions, a famous drag performer, a dance production, a huge soccer match, and the closing of a long-running art 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.

Thursday, July 27

Yellowcard in concert
Rock band Yellowcard will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 2003 breakthrough album, Ocean Avenue, as part of their North American tour. The band has released 10 albums in their career, most recently 2016's self-titled album. Their most recent release is their new EP, Childhood Eyes. They'll play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

North Texas Performing Arts productions
Theater company North Texas Performing Arts will present two new productions this weekend at Willow Bend Center for the Arts in Plano. From their College Pursuits program comes Parade, a Tony Award-winning play about Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-raised Jew living in Georgia, who is put on trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ (five performances through Sunday). On the mainstage will be Pippin, a circus-inspired saga in which the young prince Pippin is in search of the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh, and the intrigues of political power. It runs July 28-August 6.

Friday, July 28

Eric Church in concert
It didn't take long for country singer Eric Church to get to the top of the mountain in the genre. His 2006 debut album, Sinners Like Me, made the top 10 on the Country charts, and he's been at No. 1 or in the top 5 with his six subsequent albums, including his most recent release, the 2021 triple album Heart & Soul. He'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion with special guests Midland and Ray Wylie Hubbard.

Sara Evans in concert
UPDATE 7-27-2023: This concert has been canceled due to illness of the artist, DSO announced. Ticket holders will be contacted for a refund; for more information, email customerservice@dalsym.com.
Sara Evans ranks as one of the most-played female artists in country radio over the past two decades thanks to No. 1 songs like “No Place That Far,” “Suds In The Bucket, “A Real Fine Place To Start,” “Born to Fly,” and “A Little Bit Stronger.” She's released 10 albums in her career, most recently 2020's Copy That. She'll play an acoustic set with her band at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Sundown Collaborative Theatre presents Body Stories (a working title)
Body Stories is the second in Sundown’s Stories (a working title) series, in which they collect stories submitted by the community and come together to devise something completely original. The cast takes the submissions, along with many of their own stories, and weaves them into a devised piece about the highs and lows of life in a variety of diverse bodies. The production runs through August 6 at Aura Coffee in Denton.

Uptown Players presents Chicken & Biscuits
Uptown Players closes its 21st season with the regional premiere of Chicken & Biscuits, which follows rivaling sisters, Baneatta and Beverly, as they try to bury their father without killing each other. Baneatta’s husband tries to mediate the family drama, Baneatta’s son intentionally brings his neurotic white Jewish boyfriend along, and Beverly’s nosy daughter keeps asking questions no one wants to answer. The production runs through August 13 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Jinkx Monsoon: Everything at Stake
Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner and Broadway breakout star Jinkx Monsoon and her musical main squeeze Major Scales come to Dallas with the show Everything at Stake, featuring a full rock band. Known for her electric and eclectic performance style, Jinkx weaves together tales from her enigmatic life in a show where music, comedy, witchy magic, and camp-fantasy collide. She'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Theatre Frisco presents Pippin
There will be dueling Pippins in Collin County this week as Theatre Frisco presents its own version a few miles north of North Texas Performing Arts. The musical that made director/choreographer Bob Fosse a famous name long before Cabaret and All That Jazz uses the medieval legend of Charlemagne's son, Pippin, heir apparent to the Holy Roman Empire, to tell a parable about a young man's search for meaning and truth. It will run through August 13 at Frisco Discovery Center.

The DASH Ensemble presents The Power of Collision
As part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project series, The DASH Ensemble presents The Power of Collision, a familiar story that expresses how fragile life can be, how heavy things can get, and how exciting life can become when one weathers the storm of both. The plot unfolds over the course of three acts, each one displaying a distinct use of contemporary movement and illusionism as innovative tools for storytelling. There will be three performances through Sunday at Wyly Theatre.

Saturday, July 29

Soccer Champions Tour: FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
~~Football~~ Soccer clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are two of the most successful teams in European history. FC Barcelona has won 27 La Liga titles, five Champions League titles, and three FIFA Club World Cup titles. Real Madrid has been even better, with 35 La Liga titles, 14 Champions League titles, and five FIFA Club World Cup titles. They'll face off in a "friendly" match at AT&T Stadium as part of the Soccer Champions Tour.

Lil Baby in concert
Rapper Lil Baby has had a big impact on the hip hop world since releasing his debut album in 2018. Building on a series of well-received mixtapes, his first album went to No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and his next two albums, including 2022's It's Only Me, both went to No. 1. Having done collaborations with Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Kirk Franklin, and more, Lil Baby looks to be a power in the genre for a long time. He'll lead a huge concert at American Airlines Center, featuring special guests The Kid LAROI, GloRilla, GLOSS UP, Rylo Rodriguez, and Hunxho.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Queens of Cool"
The Queens of Cool - Denise Lee, Deon Q, and Angie McWhirter - will perform the music from the era of the Kings of Cool (Frank, Dean & Sammy), some of the best music ever made. Norman Williams will serve as Music Director for this concert, taking place at Meyerson Symphony Center.

KARD in concert
Unlike seemingly every other K-Pop group that's made their way from South Korea to the United States, KARD is a co-ed group comprised of two men and two women - J.Seph, BM, Somin, and Jiwoo. Since debuting in 2017, the band has released a series of mini-albums, including the recently-released Icky. They'll perform at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Sunday, July 30

Photo courtesy of Lil Baby

Lil Baby will perform at American Airlines Center on July 29.

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Movement: The Legacy of Kineticism" closing day
After 11 months, Sunday will be moving day for "Movement: The Legacy of Kineticism" at the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibition features 80 works drawn from the Museum’s collection that showcase the work of artists from three historical eras who utilize optical effects or mechanical or manipulable parts to engage the viewer physically or perceptually.

Steve Miller Band in concert
The legendary Steve Miller Band, known for songs like "The Joker," "Livin' in the USA," "Take the Money and Run," "Rock'n Me," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Jet Airliner," "Jungle Love," and "Abracadabra," comes to Dos Equis Pavilion for a retrospective of their long and distinguished career. They'll be joined by special guests Cheap Trick.

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Movie Review

The life of an actor is far from rosy in dramedy Misty Green

Photo courtesy of A24

Rosalind Eleazar in Misty Green.

For every well-known/successful actor in Hollywood, there are thousands of others whose lives are more tenuous as they struggle to find work. The new film Misty Green is about one such actor who, after a period in the limelight, now finds herself on the outskirts of the industry, just hoping to find her way back in.

Misty (Rosalind Eleazar) won an Emmy for a 2000s-era TV show that still gets her recognition, but not much work. Still living in the apartment of a recently-deceased man with whom she was having an affair, Misty spends her days sleeping in and her nights getting blitzed on alcohol and drugs. She seems to be heading nowhere fast until a few things coincide to break up her routine.

The man’s wife (Amy Landecker) shows up and tells her she has seven days to vacate the apartment; Misty’s brother, Jay (Daniel Kaluuya) — who is bipolar — arrives after being kicked out of his facility for non-payment; and Jordan (Chris Rock), a former colleague with whom she had a falling-out, reappears in her life, offering a possible chance to rehabilitate her image.

Written and directed by Rock (his first feature since 2014’s Top Five), the film is a funny and excruciating look at how the entertainment industry might actually work. Misty is her own worst enemy thanks to late nights fraternizing with unsavory characters like Zach (Adam Driver), who deals in drugs and women in equal measure, but her frustration proves warranted when her agent, Randy (Topher Grace), and casting directors like Rhonda (Tracie Thoms) hardly give her the time of day.

Misty tries her best to stay positive, but when jobs like singing in a bar are the best she can do, the mountain seems insurmountable. Rock does an effective job of demonstrating the elements that are within and without Misty’s control that affect her ability to regain her position in the industry. The chip on her shoulder is almost as big as the bias some have against her, and other negative circumstances don’t help matters much.

There are many small touches that Rock and his crew put in the film to give it an air of authenticity. Filming in Los Angeles (a rarity these days), Rock uses both subtle and overt shots of homeless people in the city, suggesting that the line between the haves and have-nots is a fine one, especially with Misty on the verge of not having a place to live. He also has cameos from a few of his funny friends, including a bit of meta-casting of Anthony Anderson (who has faded a bit after starring in Black-ish) in a bit part as a cop.

Eleazar, a British actor best known for appearing on the Apple TV show Slow Horses, is a magnetic presence as Misty. The character herself is somewhat cringey in her decision-making, and Eleazar sells every bit of her righteous indignation and self-defeating actions. The supporting cast is great across the board, including Rock, Driver, Kaluuya, Thoms, Grace, Anna Kendrick, and Rich Sommer.

Misty Green makes you rage against the Hollywood machine, laugh at the various ways different people deal with its maddening quirks, and hide behind your fingers as Misty chooses options that don’t help, either voluntarily or because her back is against the wall. It’s a powerhouse of acting that gives a unique angle on the inner workings of Hollywood, one that ironically might be competing for awards at year’s end.

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Misty Green is now playing in theaters.

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