Tue 05/16
Who says you have to be a sports-hating snob to appreciate good art? There’s no rule that says you have to roll your eyes every time you flip past ESPN or Fox Sports as you make your way to the Sundance Channel to be a lover of fine artistic expression. The sporting world has its own unique moments of drama, anguish, tragedy, triumph and beauty that can be captured on canvas. The PDNB Gallery is showing an exhibition of these very moments in a special collection of photographs called Sports & Leisure through July 29. This unique gallery experience will feature images from acclaimed sports photographers such as Jesse Alexander, Al Satterwhite and John Albok and leisure photographer Bill Owen. PDNB Gallery, 154 Glass St., Suite 104, 5-8 p.m., free, pdnbgallery.com. – Danny Gallagher
There’s nothing quite like strolling through aisles of antique decor, knickknacks and trinkets to set you at ease. The opportunity to get lost in the dusty curiosities of any vintage shop is something everyone who lives in a world of sterile department stores needs from time to time. And Lula B’s Oak Cliff, 1982 Fort Worth Ave., knows this to be true. That’s why, along with just being one of the coolest antique malls in North Texas, they’re hosting a spring party from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, with food, wine, live music and the chance to find anything from a one-of-a-kind conversation piece for your living room to old film camera equipment to a vintage cocktail dress. The party is free to attend but you’ll want to bring a little spending money to really enjoy yourself. Lula B's, 1982 Fort Worth Ave., 5-9 p.m., free, see Facebook. – Diamond Victoria
Wed 05/17
Paint, canvas, watercolors, paper, multi-media collage – these are all familiar components in making art. Michelle Mackey’s joint compound, however, is a bit of a surprise to the uninitiated. Holly Johnson Gallery, 1845 Levee St., No. 100, hosts Mackey’s second show in the venue, Michelle Mackey: Double Take. The exhibition is one of “new paintings,” and yes, those paintings are created with build-ups of that joint compound on wood, sanding and shellacking and vinyl paint. Mackey tackles time and memory with relation to space and setting. The result is ethereal and a bit overwhelming, in the most beautiful way possible. Double Take continues through August 12. Holly Johnson Gallery is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and by appointment. Holly Johnson Gallery, 1845 Levee St., No. 100, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., free, hollyjohnsongallery.com. – Merritt Martin
The question of how we all ended up on this big blue ball we call home, and how long we’ve been on it, is as old as time – however old you think time is, anyway. Creationism and evolution are certainly hot topics even today. But in 1925 when a public school teacher decided to spread the gospel of Charles Darwin instead of God, he broke the law, leading to The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. The then-media spectacle would ultimately become the inspiration of the 1955 fictional play Inherit the Wind, written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. At the time, the play was a means to discuss the McCarthy trials, and in 1960, Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly starred in its motion picture debut. But you can check out all the drama first hand during Dallas Theater Center’s production of the still-timely play through June 18 at Kalita Humphrey’s Theater. Tuesday’s show starts at 7:30 p.m., with other performances at 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and weekend matinees at 2 p.m. Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd., 7:30 p.m., $20 and up, dallastheatercenter.org. – Diamond Victoria
Pottery is more than just clay spun into shape to house soil and plants. It’s an art form that takes many designs and sizes and is composed of various materials. Likely no one in Dallas knows the ins and outs of creating beautiful ceramic pieces using wood, precious metals, oil paint, special glazes and even diamond dust quite like Lucrecia Waggoner. Born in Mexico City, the Dallas-based artist is a leading figure and expert in ceramics who teaches at the Zhen Music and Arts Institute. She is showcasing her latest collection, Stardust, at Laura Rathe Fine Art, 1130 Dragon St., through June 17. And at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, alongside the exhibit, you can hear Waggoner lecture on ceramics and observe a demonstration of how she creates her art. The free event, which has limited seating, is the second installment of the gallery’s Create, Curate, Collect lecture series. RSVP to [email protected]. Laura Rathe Fine Art, 1130 Dragon St. 6:30 p.m., free, laurarathe.com. – Diamond Victoria
Thu 05/18
In many ways, The Damned are the quintessential punk band. They released the first ever U.K. punk single, “New Rose,” and the first such album, ‘77s Damned Damned Damned, and were the first punk act to tour the United States. Driving, hardline structures, crashing drums and an infectious energy have been fueling the band for going on 40 years now. While their critical success has endured a noticeable bell curve, a relentless backbone and sheer force have kept The Damned true through even the worst of times. Live and in person – well, there’s just few bands that give as much as The Damned. They lay it out there every time. Punk’s heyday might be behind us (hell, The Damned’s heyday is certainly back there, too), but in the midsection of the band’s upcoming Dallas set – as the history of punk music unfurls before you in all its sparking glory – you won’t give a damn that the band’s over the hill. Because for that moment, for that night, they won’t be. House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., 7 p.m., $15, houseofblues.com/dallas. – Jonathan Patrick
Metis Atash doesn’t sculpt traditional Buddha sculptures like one typically meets in temples, gardens and meditation rooms the world over. Instead, Atash’s stoic “Punk Buddha” sculptures sit cloaked in vibrant, even flamboyant, colorful robes, which sparkle with upwards of 20,000 Swarovski crystals. Under the gallery lights, each one-of-a-kind Buddha seem to twinkle with life as light waves reflect off each tiny crystal. And the names of the Buddha also reflect Atash’s colorful designs on the robes of her sculptures, including work inspired by iconic artists ranging from Piet Mondrian and Andy Warhol to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Banksy, as well as fashion houses such as Chanel, Hermes and Balmain. Samuel Lynne Galleries, 1105 Dragon St., presents a showcase of the Miami-based sculptor's “Punk Buddha” series with the exhibition Buddha Goes Punk. The exhibition runs through June 24. Samuel Lynne Galleries, 1105 Dragon St., 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free, samuellynne.com. – Daniel Rodrigue
Trying to explain Dead White Zombies is no easy task. The local avant garde theater troupe isn’t just avant garde. They’re wild. They aren’t just a “theater” troupe – they exist in site-specific installations. And, well, they aren’t strictly about acting, either. They perform, they create, they move, they make music and they challenge everything you think you know about the arts. That said, expect anything and everything to happen in a performance of Holy Bone at Tacos Mariachi, 602 Singleton Blvd: you won’t be warming any chairs, as audiences of six people admitted every 10 minutes will be put through a series of tests, conversations, and experiences for the hour and a half show. Performances start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through May 27. Tacos Mariachi, 602 Singleton Blvd., 7:30 p.m., $20, deadwhitezombies.com. – Jennifer Davis-Lamm
Fri 05/19
Used to be, Addison was the weird stepsibling to Dallas, the neighborhood everyone commuted out of at precisely 5:30 p.m. Not so much anymore, and we think Taste Addison might’ve helped turn that beat around. See, Addison isn’t huge, but if the restaurant roster for the culinary festival Friday through Sunday in Addison Circle Park is any indication, it’s got a big mouth. With its approximately 24 restaurants flaunting cuisine ranging from Cuban to Japanese to Indian to Greek to Tex-Mex and most flavors in between, attendees will be hard pressed to leave hungry. Plus, each day offers two stages of live music and entertainment, along with a wine garden and craft beer hall. If you’ve ever thought, “Wow, this Friday I’d love to nosh on some gourmet vittles while watching Painting with a Twist followed by Vanilla Ice.” This is your chance. Come back and peep the flair bartending on Saturday. Tickets are $20 at the gate, or $30 for a weekend pass, but Sunday is free for all ages. Event hours are 6 p.m.-midnight Friday, noon-midnight Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Addison Circle Park, 4970 Addison Circle, Friday-Sunday, free-$30, tasteaddisontexas.com. – Merritt Martin
Most stand-up comedians hone their craft so they can get themselves a network TV show or possibly a movie that will lead to other movie deals. Paula Poundstone has always done comedy because she wanted to be a comedian. She’s spent so many years on stage telling jokes and testing material that she’s become one of American comedy’s most foremost humorists, one who still attracts massive crowds to her shows like the one she’s doing Friday, May 19, at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. The comedian, author, mother of three and frequent panelist on the NPR comedy news quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! will perform live on stage starting at 8 p.m. Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., 8 p.m., $30-$45, attpac.org. – Danny Gallagher
Texas Theatre ends their tribute to cinematographer Michael Ballhaus with a 35mm-film screening of Martin Scorsese’s lesser-known masterwork, After Hours. While Scorsese and Ballhaus worked together on six films, including the Oscar-winning drama The Departed, as well as The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas and Gangs of New York, After Hours stands out for its camerawork. For those who love the look of Manhattan after dark, several scenes of After Hours serve as a documentary of sorts on the city’s streets in the early 1980s. And the gorgeously shot black comedy initially received a perfect four-out-of-four-stars rating from Roger Ebert, who later included the film on his "Great Movies" list. The film features Griffin Dunne as Paul Hackett surrounded by an ensemble cast featuring Rosanna Arquette, Teri Garr, John Heard and Catherine O'Hara, and the film follows Hackett, an ordinary word processor, as he experiences a series of unlucky misadventures after meeting a young woman at a coffee shop while making his way home from New York City's SoHo district. Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., 7 p.m., $10.75, thetexastheatre.com. – Daniel Rodrigue
We’ve all got items on our bucket list that we want to knock out before we shuffle off this mortal coil. Some of us want to see as many concerts as we can. Others want to muster the courage they need to overcame the pain of getting their first tattoo. But who’s got that kind of time? That’s why we’ve got things like the Elm Street Music and Tattoo Festival at Trees, 2709 Elm St., a three-day gathering of music and the skin-drawing arts from Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 21. This three-day event will feature live musical performances by groups such as Metalachi, the Vandoliers, the Old Heavy Hands, Brother Hawk and the House Harkonnen as well as some weird, twisted entertainment by the circus sideshow revue Hellzapoppin. Tattoo artists will also be on hand to help you get some of that sweet ink. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $30 for a full weekend pass. Trees, 2709 Elm St., Friday-Sunday, $15-$30, treesdallas.com. – Danny Gallagher
2017 is the 25th anniversary of Richardson’s Wildflower Fest, a quarter century that’s seen the music and arts festival bloom into one of the area’s signature spring events. It’s a local institution, drawing families and music-lovers into Galatyn Park, 2351 Performance Drive, thanks to its strategic calendar positioning, which puts it in that prime summer gateway where outside is still a place you want to be on purpose. It also has a knack for booking acts that play on nostalgic impulses but still sound great. This year’s lineup boasts ’80s new wavers Martha Davis and the Motels, beloved Georgia rockers The B-52s, and ’90s/early-aught mainstays Guster. Bowling for Soup, Shooter Jennings and All-American Rejects make appearances, too; other acts scheduled for the jam-packed three-day festival,which runs between Friday, May 19 and Sunday, May 21, include X Ambassadors, Almost Queen and local party band extraordinaire, Graceland Ninjaz. If you need to step away from the stages for a bit, you’ll find bites throughout the festival grounds plus a marketplace stocked with art, home décor, clothing, and other goods. Tickets for the 2017 Wildflower Fest are $30 for one-day general admission or $65 for a three-day pass. Galatyn Park, 2351 Performance Drive, Friday-Sunday, $30-$65, wildflowerfestival.com. – Jennifer Davis-Lamm
Sat 05/20
In the search for meaning in form, making sense of this political climate and representing unique perspectives of special locations, The Conduit Gallery, 1626 Hi Line Drive, is maxing out its gallery space with emotive and thought-provoking exhibitions from three artists through July 1. It begins with a reception for the artists 6-8 p.m. Saturday. In the front room, small-scale doesn’t mean low-impact. The works of the Denton artist in Robert Jessup: Paintings 2016-2017 may be small, but each piece showcases a fundamental harmony in form and paint. Meanwhile, Susan Barnett: Current and Alternate Realities approaches current events, “political chaos” and childhood memories with abstract geometric paintings. Conduit also presents the first solo exhibition of Soomin Jung. Using colored pencils and graphite, Jung takes on imaginative representations of iconic locations ranging from the Matterhorn to the Lake of Heaven on the border between North Korea and China. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Conduit Gallery, 1626 Hi Line Drive, 6-8 p.m., free, conduitgallery.com. – Merritt Martin
For just over a decade, the ladies and gentlemen of Ruby Revue have bedazzled fans at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., with their variety shows of dancing, magic and tons of tassels. The award-winning troupe is also the longest-running show the Dallas venue has housed. And there’s no secret to the show’s success. A throwback to a time when more was actually less, Ruby Revue has a playful approach to striptease and obsession with all things glamorous – a nod to the pinups and cabaret shows of the early 20th century with singing, dancing, comedy and plenty of striptease. Two shows, which takes place at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 20, in the venue’s Foundation Room, are certainly sights to see, but only for those 21 and up. Tickets range from $31.75 to $43.37 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, or at the House of Blues box office the day of the show. House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., 7 and 9:30 p.m., $31.75-$43.37, ticketmaster.com. – Diamond Victoria
We’ve come to expect that anything under the banner of the Soluna Festival will be pretty extraordinary. The annual fest anchored by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra aims to interject an edgy diversity and international flair into the Dallas arts legacy. Dallas Theater Center’s production of Electra really gets the Soluna party started. This ain’t your momma’s Sophoclean tragedy. The Dallas Theater Center presents an explosive adaptation in the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Annette Strauss Square (2403 Flora St.), which puts its audience members in a mobile theatrical experience outdoors and sets a pair of headphones atop their noggins for special insight into the interplay between lust, betrayal and vengeance. The production, which is meant for audiences aged 11 and up, will run through Sunday, May 21, with performances at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, as well as 2 p.m. matinees on some weekends. Annette Strauss Square, 2403 Flora St., 8:30 p.m., $20-$90, attpac.org. – Jennifer Davis-Lamm
Sun 05/21
As part of the SOLUNA Music & Arts Festival and in honor of the Dallas Museum of Art’s México 1900–1950 exhibition, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents an intimate chamber music experience: Sueños y Musica de México – or Dreams and Music From Mexico. Earthy, vivid, and informed by the unique cultural and geographical characteristics of our southern neighbors, Mexican modern art captures the experimental spirit of the avant garde without sacrificing the emotional intelligence of more traditional art forms. Showcasing some of the most prized paintings, sculptures, photography and film of Mexican modernism over the last 50 years, this exhibit is an ideal setting for a musical celebration of the daunting originality of the Mexican people. This will be the only U.S. stop for this forceful exhibit. Works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Ángel Zárraga and more, alongside many lesser known geniuses, will be on display. This concert takes place at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at The DMA’s Horchow Auditorium. DMA, 1717 N. Harwood St., 3 p.m., free, dma.org. – Jonathan Patrick
Paul Slavens is ubiquitous in the DFW music scene, a man whose name has been bouncing around since the 1990s when he was one of Denton’s most visible and prolific musicians. That era was legendary for its music scene, and Slavens’ band Ten Hand is hardwired into the memory of anyone who was part of it. Once they wound down, Slavens really took off, applying his multiple musical talents to compositions, improvisational works, performance art and also hosting a radio show and performing comedy improv. So, when he appears during An Afternoon with Paul Slavens at Opening Bell Coffee, 1409 S. Lamar St., from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, the audience will be treated to a true variety show featuring jazz with Slavens’ signature off-the-cuff twists. Pop/jazz duo The Brehms will also perform during the set. Opening Bell Coffee, 1409 S. Lamar St., 3-5 p.m., $10, eventbrite.com. – Jennifer Davis-Lamm
Do you take your bloody mary with Worcestershire, horseradish and celery stalks, or do you add Tabasco, lime and celery salt? Maybe you top your mary with a few shrimps, olives or a slider? Find out which concoction you prefer (without having to make any) at the Bloody Mary Festival from 1-4 p.m. Sunday at 2616 Commerce St. Sip “unlimited tastes” of bloody marys from 10 restaurants and bars including Taverna Rossa, Henry’s Majestic, Company Café & Bar and Top Knot. The pro tomato sludge judges are Shelley Buchanan and Susie O, but samplers’ votes count too in the People’s Choice Award for Best Bloody Mary. Listen to live music by the Free Loaders while mixing in food and drink samples from Scardello Artisan Cheese, Nate’s Raw Harvest, Topo Chico and more. Admission is 21 and up. 2616 Commerce St., 1-4 p.m., $45, eventbrite.com. – Merritt Martin
Mon 05/22
Austin-based author Deb Olin Unferth’s first collection of stand-alone fiction, Wait Till You See Me Dance, reveals the rage, despair and profound mournfulness at the heart of the American dream, according to the author’s statement. The series of short stories is drenched in dark humor, violence and plenty of imagination, and places her in the same ring of literati such as George Saunders, Donald Barthelme and Lorrie Moore. But Unferth has etched out her own unique style along the way with several stories published in magazines such as Harper’s Magazine, McSweeney’s, NOON and The Paris Review over the past decade. And at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 22, at The Wild Detectives, 314 W. 8th St., literary enthusiasts can check out firsthand what makes Unferth’s new book hard to put down when she reads excerpts from Wait Till You See Me Dance, followed by a conversation with Dallas-based author Ben Fountain. Fountain wrote Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, which recently made its major motion picture debut. The event is free to attend, and Unferth’s book will be available for purchase and signing. Wild Detectives, 314 W. 8th St., 7:30 p.m., free, thewilddetectives.com. – Diamond Victoria
With a multitude of Oscars, Grammys and Golden Globes, plus a high profile marriage to model Chrissy Teigen, it's sometimes difficult to remember that at his core, John Legend is a piano player. He's also a versatile singer and songwriter who incorporates varied traits of R&B, pop, hip-hop and jazz into a uniquely personal style that has made him one of the world’s most popular performers. Over the course of his nearly 20-year career, Legend has also been a fierce agent of change, holding countless benefit concerts and serving on the executive boards of various charities and non-profits. Also a new dad to daughter Luna, Legend is making this tour a family affair and bringing her and Teigen along for the duration on a custom-made, infant-ready tour bus. How he manages it all is nothing short of amazing. Take some time to see the Renaissance Man in action on Monday as the Legend entourage sets up shop at the Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie for a night that's sure to be memorable. Verizon Theatre, 1001 Performance Place, Grand Prairie, 7:30 p.m., $62.50 and up, verizontheatre.com. – Jeff Strowe