Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

It's a relatively big weekend across Dallas, with six high-profile concerts leading the way, including a huge country event and a festival-style concert led by a renowned guitarist. Other choices include two comedy events, a local production of a historic play, and the opening of two new art exhibitions (and closing of another).

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

Friday, August 16

An Unfunny* Evening with Tim Minchin and his Piano
An Unfunny* Evening with Tim Minchin and his Piano comes with the strongly worded disclaimer that "this is not a comedy gig," although there are no guarantees about the absence of amusement. Minchin will perform songs drawn from his 2020 studio album, Apart Together, his musicals, Matilda and Groundhog Day, his TV and film writing, and his early song-writing days around the turn of the century. The event takes place at Majestic Theatre.

Uptown Players presents The Boys in the Band
Set in New York City, The Boys in the Band takes place in the apartment of Michael, a witty and sharp-tongued host who throws a birthday party for his friend Harold. As the evening unfolds, a group of diverse gay friends gathers, and the celebrations quickly become a rollercoaster of emotions, revealing hidden desires, unresolved conflicts, and the complexities of their individual journeys. Uptown Players will the groundbreaking play through August 25 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Hyena's presents Tim Meadows
Tim Meadows is an actor, comedian, and writer who was one of the longest-running cast members on Saturday Night Live, where he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. Meadows has appeared in a number of movies over the years, most recently the musical version of Mean Girls. He'll perform four times through Saturday at Hyena's Comedy Nightclub.

Saturday, August 17

Arlington Museum of Art presents "She Said, She Said: Contemporary Artists from the Rubell Museum" opening day
Arlington Museum of Art continue its ongoing collaboration with Miami's Rubell Museum through the presentation of "She Said, She Said," a new exhibition of work by women artists curated from the Rubell Museum’s expansive contemporary art collection. Curated by the Rubell Museum’s Alexandra Perez, the exhibition features over 50 works spanning painting, photography, sculpture, video, and installation by more than 30 artists of different generations, cultures, and disciplines. It will remain on display through November 3.

Slash presents S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival
Iconic guitarist Slash will host the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, an acronym that stands for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance. Slash will perform alongside his Blues band, and the festival will feature an all-star Blues lineup, including Warren Haynes Band, Keb’ Mo', Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Robert Randolph, Samantha Fish, Eric Gales, ZZ Ward, Jackie Venson, and Larkin Poe. The festival will be at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Zach Bryan in concert
In five short years, Zach Bryan has become one of the biggest stars in country music. After self-releasing his first two albums, Bryan broke out in 2022 with his major label debut, American Heartbreak, and he hasn't looked back since. That album and the following two, including the new The Great American Bar Scene, each went to No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart. The fervor around him has gotten so big that only one venue, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, is appropriate for this concert. He'll be joined by Matt Mason and Levi Turner.

PJ Morton in concert
PJ Morton comes to Dallas as part of his Cape Town to Cairo tour in support of the album of the same name. The soul singer, songwriter, performer, and producer, who's had a long tenure as Maroon 5's keyboardist, will perform music inspired by his cross-country journey through Africa. He'll perform at Winspear Opera House, joined by special guest Kenyon Dixon.

The Roots in concert
Hip hop band The Roots have been releasing music for over 30 years, and even though they gained much acclaim in the first half of their career, they're now arguably best known as the house band for Jimmy Fallon, both when he hosted Late Night and now at The Tonight Show. They'll play at The Pavilion At Toyota Music Factory in Irving as part of their Hip-Hop Is The LOML Tour, joined by Digable Planets.

Sunday, August 18

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Frida: Beyond the Myth"
"Frida: Beyond the Myth" brings together approximately 60 works by Frida Kahlo and her contemporaries to explore the life of one of the most revered artists of the 20th century. Lifting the veil of myth that obscures the understanding of the artist as an individual, the exhibition delves deeper into the defining moments of Kahlo’s life as depicted through her self-portraits, still life pieces, key biographical drawings, and captured in photographs by the friends and fellow artists who knew her best. The exhibition will remain on display through November 17.

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Sarah Sze closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view a solo exhibition by Sarah Sze at Nasher Sculpture Center, showing new works created specifically for the Nasher’s Renzo Piano-designed building by one of the most celebrated artists of recent years. Sze’s installation at the Nasher integrates painting, sculpture, images, sound, and video engaging with the surrounding architecture to create intimate systems that reference the rapidly changing world.

Jane's Addiction and Love and Rockets in concert
For a band that's only released four studio albums in its career, Jane's Addiction is considered one of the most influential alternative rock groups, inspiring everyone from Tool to Smashing Pumpkins to Incubus to System of a Down. Jane's Addiction was itself influenced by English band Love and Rockets, who released seven albums between 1985 and 1998. The two bands will lead fans through a variety of their notable songs at this concert at The Pavilion At Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Christopher Cross in concert
2024 marks the 45th anniversary of Christopher Cross' 1979 debut self-titled album, which yielded two of his best known songs, "Ride Like the Wind" and "Sailing." His first two albums, plus his contribution of "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" to the 1981 film Arthur, would prove to be the high point of his career, although he went on to release another 13 albums, most recently Take Me As I Am in 2017. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Frida: Beyond the Myth" starting on August 18.

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig searches for elusive new bond in audacious film Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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