Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

It's another big music weekend around Dallas, with no fewer than seven concerts featured in this week's event roundup. Other choices include a short film festival, a unique dance event, a new local theater production, a visit from all-star drag queens, a great comedian, the final days of an art exhibition, and a Broadway star getting personal.

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.

Thursday, August 22

Photo courtesy of Future

Future will join forces with Metro Boomin for a concert at American Airlines Center on August 24.

Sammy Hagar in concert
Rocker Sammy Hagar has been a big part of the genre for over 50 years, both as a solo artist with hits like "I Can't Drive 55" and with a variety of different bands, most notably his on-again, off-again time with Van Halen. At this concert, part of The Best of All Worlds tour, he'll be joined by rock heavyweights Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham, and Joe Satriani, as well as special guest Loverboy. They'll all perform at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Friday, August 23

DIFF Shorts Film Festival
The inaugural DIFF Shorts Film Festival aims to elevate short films and celebrate shorts filmmakers. The festival will feature 14 film blocks with more than 80 films, industry panels, daily red carpets, and filmmaker receptions. Awards will be given for Best Short Film, Best Texas Film, Best Music Video, Best Student Film, Best Documentary Film, and Best First-Time Filmmaker. The event takes place at Angelika Film Center through Sunday.

Stone Temple Pilots and Live in concert
Rock bands Stone Temple Pilots and Live scored No. 1 albums in the mid-'90s - Stone Temple Pilots with Purple featuring "Vasoline" and "Interstate Love Song, Live with Throwing Copper featuring "I Alone" and "Lightning Crashes." They'll sing their hits and more at Dos Equis Pavilion as part of the co-headlining Jubilee Tour, joined by fellow '90s bands Soul Asylum and Our Lady Peace.

B. Moore Dance presents The Heart and Soul of Donny Hathaway
The Heart and Soul of Donny Hathaway is a dance and music concert that celebrates the legacy of the legendary musician with a modern interpretation of his music, blending various genres to create an immersive experience. The concert features Booker T. Washington HSPVA Principal Gary Williams, vocalist Mirek.e.l, poet Brandon Goodluv, and keyboardist Kwinton Gray. There will be three performances through Saturday at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

The Core Theatre presents 12 Angry Jurors
12 Angry Jurors is a play that contemplates the huge responsibility of 12 ordinary people as they consider the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of murder. The 12 jurors bring their own histories, prejudices, and biases to the jury room as they work through this life or death decision. The production runs through September 8 at The Core Theatre in Richardson.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Live
Fan favorites Angeria, Jorgeous, Plastique Tiara, Roxxxy Andrews, Shannel, and Vanessa Vanjie from RuPaul's Drag Race will return in this show-within-a-show highlighting the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent it takes for a Queen to be an All Star. The performance will take place at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Classic Albums Live
Two of the most popular albums of all time will be revived at two separate events at Winspear Opera House this weekend. Presented by Classic Albums Live, which takes the greatest albums and recreates them live on stage – note for note, cut for cut, using the best musicians - Friday will bring a performance of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, followed by Led Zeppelin II on Saturday.

Majestic Theatre presents Luenell
Luenell is a force of nature best known for her role as the “hooker with the heart of gold” in Borat. She's also appeared in feature films like I Hate You Dad with Adam Sandler and Leighton Meester and Think Like a Man with Arielle Kebell and Meagan Good, as well as TV shows like The Middle and Always Sunny In Philadelphia. She'll perform for one night only at Majestic Theatre.

Saturday, August 24

Joss Stone in concert
R&B/soul singer Joss Stone came out of the gates swinging with her 2003 debut album, The Soul Sessions, featuring mostly cover versions of soul songs from the '60s and '70s. She's gone back and forth between original songs and covers throughout her career, with her distinctive voice always at the forefront. Although she's put out a couple of recent non-album singles, her last new album came in 2022 with Never Forget My Love. She'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Future and Metro Boomin in concert
Future is one of the most popular rappers of the last 10 years, with each of his last seven solo albums coming in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, R&B/Hip Hop, and Rap charts. Metro Boomin accomplished the same feat with his two solo albums, and wouldn't you know it, the same thing happened when he and Future collaborated on two albums - We Don't Trust You and We Still Don't Trust You - earlier this year. The two rappers will show off their skills at this concert at American Airlines Center.

Sunday, August 25

Nasher Sculpture Center presents The Haas Brothers: "Moonlight" closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view "Moonlight," an exhibition by Austin-native, Los Angeles-based artists Nikolai and Simon Haas, at Nasher Sculpture Center. Their other-worldly sculptures are installed in the museum and garden and outside on Flora Street, greeting museum visitors and passersby alike from, conjuring the magic of moonlight through the summer months.

Garland Summer Musicals presents An Afternoon with Kelly and Miguel Cervantes
Hamilton: An American Musical star Miguel Cervantes will headline this intimate event with stories and songs from his over 2,000 performances as the Ten Dollar Founding Father in Chicago and on Broadway. He will be joined by his wife, USA Today bestselling author, Kelly, who shares her grief journey: going from their daughter’s primary caregiver to being forced into retirement from the most fulfilling job she will ever know. The event takes place at Plaza Theater in Garland.

Ice Spice in concert
Ice Spice is not a long-lost member of the Spice Girls, but instead a rising rapper who released her debut album, Y2K!, last month. Her profile has been raised in the last couple of years thanks to collaborations with PinkPantheress and Nicki Minaj, most notably on "Barbie World" from the Barbiesoundtrack. She'll perform at The Factory in Deep Ellum, joined by Cash Cobain and RiotUSA..

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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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