21 Things To Do in Dallas This Week

Thursday

Don’t be alarmed by earth-shaking incidents in the Fair Park area. It’s Ochre House and Dallas Flamenco Festival’s presentation of La Muerte de Don Quixote, written and directed by the theater’s founder and creative dynamo Matthew Posey. The performance at 825 Exposition Ave., runs through June 29 and features Dallas-based flamenco dancers Antonio and Delilah Buitron Arrebola and Juan Paredes. Music is by Alex Conde, Jose Cortes Fernandez and Alfonso Cid. The play imagines the last day of Don Quixote and explores the human condition through the themes of love, loss, success and failure. As Quixote says, “The world is a cruel place, and who shall stand up for broken families, the weak, the defenseless, and the voiceless, if not myself.” These annual productions blending prose, music and the pounding force of flamenco are always caliente. For tickets, $25, call 214-826-6273 or visit ochrehousetheater.org. Reba Liner

Local singer-songwriter Garrett Owen spent many years away from his native home of Texas before ending up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. When he landed back home, he began playing open mic nights like the one on Tuesdays at Opening Bell Coffee Shop. It is there that he met Steve Jackson, the host of the open mic, who recommended he record an album with producer Taylor Tatsch. In 2017, he was nominated in several categories in the Dallas Observer Music Awards including Best Folk Act, Best New Act and Best Song for his tune “Sad Eyed Son.” On Thursday, he’ll be back in the familiar space surrounded by familiar faces. The show takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday at Opening Bell Coffee, 1409 S. Lamar St.. Tickets are $11 at openingbellcoffee.com. Jacob Vaughn

If you've got an NPR listener, a young Disney Channel fan or just a fan of comedy in general in your household, the chances are good that you've seen comedian Maz Jobrani in action. He's a seasoned stand-up comedian who’s performed all over the world including a memorable performance in the Middle East where the King of Jordan was sitting in the crowd (not in the crowd literally, since he's a prince, but you get the idea).You can catch him live Thursday through Saturday, June 20-22 in five shows at the Addison Improv located at 4980 Belt Line Road. Jobrani's shows start at 8 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $30 for Thursday and $35 for Friday and Saturday. Special VIP seating and meet and greet tickets are also available for $75. Both can be purchased at the box office or online at improvaddison.com. Danny Gallagher

After 25 years, Son Volt, the Illinois alternative-country band, has released its ninth studio album Union, which is chock-full of political commentary by founder and singer Jay Farrar. The band has grown into a harder sound, which is in stark contrast with their folky debut album Trace. They will be playing with newgrass-Americana band Old Salt Union, which is gearing up to release its latest album Where Dogs Don’t Bite. The opening band is scheduled to hop onstage with Son Volt only a handful of times in the coming months as they tour the U.S., making this lineup a somewhat exclusive audience experience. The show, which is sold out, takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday, at The Kessler Theater, 1213 W. Davis St. Jacob Vaughn

Boasting a weekend filled with performances by more than 20 artists, The Last Chance Records Summer Hangout returns to Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton. The three-day music mini-fest is hosted by Last Chance Records, an indie record label based in Little Rock, specializing in Americana and indie rock. The event is promoted and run 100 percent by volunteers, with all proceeds benefiting Denton Music and Arts Collaborative, a nonprofit that subsidizes healthcare for area musicians and artists. The full schedule of performances and day and evening events is posted on Prekindle, but Friday evening’s Spooky Folk reunion is sure to pack the house. Saturday’s attendees can catch local favorites Slobberbone, Kim Nall, RTB2, Isaac Hoskins and Glass Mountain Orchestra, as well as San Antonio’s Garrett T. Capps and Houston punk band Mydolls. And Sunday’s performances include Static Diary (Scott Danbom has played keyboards for Centro-matic, Sarah Jaffe and Drive-By Truckers), Todd May, The Red Death, Ian Moore, Brent Best and Baptist Generals. It starts at 6 p.m. and runs Friday-Sunday, June 21-23, at Dan’s Silverleaf, 103 Industrial St. Tickets are $75 at prekindle.com. Daniel Rodrigue


Friday


The Dallas Arts District is plenty proud of the vast and varied population of LGBTQIA makers, doers, artists, performers, designers and lovers of all things art. So, in collaboration with Dallas Museum of Art Late Nights and ‘Til Midnight at the Nasher Sculpture Center, it’s bringing back the second annual Dallas Arts District Pride Block Party from 6 p.m. to midnight on Flora Street (between Olive and Harwood) and Harwood Street (between Ross Avenue and Woodall Rodgers Freeway). Attendees of all ages can enjoy pride-themed tours, performances, drag shows, runway shows, movies, story times and more. Maps, parking guides and a complete schedule for all venues and outdoor areas are available at dallasartsdistrict.org/pride-block-party. Merritt Martin

Erykah Badu and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra are both pillars of the city’s music community in their own ways. As such, their one-night-only pairing is more than welcome news. Unlike Badu’s appropriately bombastic annual birthday bash, her performance at the Meyerson will likely be a much more formal affair. But don’t let that fool you into thinking this night will be any less boundary-breaking than Badu herself. Dallas’ neo-soul icon made a name for herself after her 1997 debut album Baduizm went on to win two Grammy Awards and sell over 3 million copies. Since then she's cultivated a loyal mass of fans in her hometown and well across the globe. It’s almost surprising that Badu hasn’t already performed with the DSO. That oversight, however, will soon be rectified when one of Dallas’ most outspoken voices rings throughout one of the city’s most prestigious venues. Let’s just hope she doesn’t bring R. Kelly up again. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. Tickets are $60 at mydso.com. Nicholas Bostick

If you're a poorly informed fan of the long-running CW series Supernatural, you might want to take a seat and brace yourself for some bad news. The show's next season will be its last. It'll be OK. The good news is that you'll all have a place to celebrate the good times when the Official Supernatural Convention rolls into town Friday-Sunday, June 21-23. The three-day celebration will feature live appearances by many of the show's cast members, including Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. The convention will also have live concerts and parties, costume contests, trivia showdowns, chances to get photographs and autographs with your favorite stars from the show and much more. General admission single-day tickets are $50 for Friday, $110 for Saturday and $125 for Sunday. Preferred admission single-day tickets are $110 for Friday, $130 for Saturday and $170 for Sunday. General admission weekend passes are $265. VIP experiences and other special packages are also available on a limited basis and can be purchased online at creationent.com. Danny Gallagher

KTCK 1310 AM and 96.7 FM The Ticket continues the station’s silver anniversary celebration of on-air bits, E Brakes, in-jokes and the occasional thoughtful sports discussion with its annual Summer Bash, an occasion to enjoy beer, Ticket Chicks, games and bonding with your fellow P1s by quoting your favorite Norman Adolph Hitzges meltdown or reciting Danny “Dingu” Balis’ “Get your ass hung up on now, you idiot!” or the Sturminator’s “moron dog” tirades from memory. The 2019 Ticket Summer Bash is noon to 10 p.m. Friday at a new location, Legacy Hall, 7800 Windrose Ave., Plano. Following live broadcasts of BaD Radio and the Hardline are two hours of on-air Ticket Roundtables and an off-air live performance by the Ticket Timewasters at 8. Admission is free. Visit theticket.com/summerbash for more details and the full schedule. Jesse Hughey

Saturday

Sarah Jaffe started out playing smaller venues in Denton and Dallas before becoming a nationally recognized singer-songwriter. You could say she found her voice in the process of playing those smaller shows, really connecting with listeners on a cathartic level, and people who have been watching her over the years can see she's come out of her shell when performing onstage. Her tracks have been featured on NPR, late night television, as well as half a dozen appearances on movie or TV soundtracks. But not to be confined to one genre, she paired with Grammy Award-winning producer S1, forming the collaborative The Dividends, to write hip-hop hooks, leading Eminem to pick up one of the tracks a few months later. Catch Jaffe in her hometown at Andy's Bar in Denton on Saturday night. Starts at 8 p.m. at Andy’s Bar, 122 N. Locust St., Denton. Tickets are $15-$20 at eventbrite.com. Diamond Rodrigue

Watching a herd of elephants travel across the Serengeti or a school of fish navigate the Great Barrier Reef can capture your attention in ways that few other things can. The journey would also be more inspiring if it wasn't so hard and expensive. That's why publications like National Geographic travel to different corners of the world to capture images of awe-inspiring nature. Now you'll be able to witness the splendor of the natural world, accompanied by the dulcet and moving sounds of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The DSO will hold a live orchestral performance of National Geographic: Symphony for Our World, featuring footage of the magazine's most majestic films and photos matched by a live orchestra led by conductor Kelly Corcoran as part of a partnership with the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The DSO will hold two performances, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2391 Flora St. Tickets are  $30-$137 and can be purchased online at mydso.com. Danny Gallagher

Let’s face it: your kids talked about nothing but summer vacation for pretty much the entire month of May and now that it’s here, they’re bored. You’re gonna need to schedule in some entertainment to keep things sane as you count down the entire two months left before school revs back up. Dallas Children’s Theater Diary of a Worm, a Spider & a Fly will help you check off at least one afternoon on that interminable calendar: the touring production based on Joan Cushing’s books takes the stage on Saturdays and Sundays through July 7. The musical takes a rock 'n' roll-themed dive into a bug’s life, as the titular characters deal with homework, siblings and all the anxiety that comes along with growing up. Kids from ages 3 and up will groove in their seats while you recharge and plot the next summer adventure: see it at 4:30 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 p.m. Sunday; 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29; 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday, June 30; or at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 6 and Sunday, July 7. Tickets are $17 to $25 at dct.org. Jennifer Davis-Lamm

The grass is indeed greener at the Reunion Lawn Party, which offers our favorite kind of flora: a beer garden. Lie in the shade formed by the phallic Dallas landmark and sample through an assortment of beer and wine, revisit your hula-hooping skills, or throw Frisbees and Nerf balls around since they’ll be available. The event will have food trucks, live music and, of course, plenty of lawn games. The evening has something for every family member except for the hairy one. No, not our aunt, but your dog, as they’re sadly not allowed for safety reasons. The free event starts at 6.30 p.m., at 300 Reunion Blvd. For more information, visit reunionlawnparty.com. Eva Raggio

On their latest album, The Seduction of Kansas, Washington, D.C., post-punk outfit Priests have taken to using the Jayhawk state as their muse. Pundits, statesmen and economists have long turned their attention toward this Middle American state in times of political upheaval and social unrest. And in these unstable times, the band has dug deep into meditations of the various machinations that have led us to this place. Comprised of vocalist Katie Alice Greer, guitarist G.L. Jaguar and drummer Daniele Daniele, Priests bring thunderous and high-wire liveliness to their songs, thus rendering tales of suburban Applebee's lunches and dust bowl Hollywood stereotypes with gnarly trips to the front rows of punk nirvana. For a local perspective, it's interesting to note that the band recorded much of the latest album here in Dallas, with John Congleton working his production prowess. Starts at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at Club Dada, 2720 Elm St. Tickets are $12 at eventbrite.com. Jeff Strowe

Sunday

The effects of alcohol just got even more magical. Wine & Magic, with magician Trigg Watson, will have you seeing two rabbits come out of the hat. Watson is a nearly-certifiable wizard who has made many TV appearances through the years, including on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, and the CW’s Masters of Illusion. His tricks make a clever use of modern technology, and you’ll never be at ease around an iPad again. Sunday's performance is 6 p.m. The show is for ages 12 and up, and takes place at Checkered Past Winery, 1409 S. Lamar St. Tickets are $45 at triggmagic.com. Eva Raggio

This Sunday, a bunch of North Texas bands are ganging together at Three Links for REN EX FEST!, a six-hour-long benefit show to raise money to help Matt Renicks, a friend of the local punk scene who was recently diagnosed with colon, liver and lung cancer. Renicks has played in many bands from Dallas to London, where he now lives. The show will feature local grindcore powerhouse Akkolyte, punk bands Blood Letters and The Scandals, and many more. The show starts at 4 p.m. Sunday at Three Links, 2704 Elm St. Tickets are $10 at seetickets.us. Jacob Vaughn

Monday

It’s a shame that Jennifer Lopez never set out to cure cancer, because everything she attempts begets tremendous success. Lopez ascended to stardom through three parallel careers, first as a dancer on the comedy sketch show In Living Color, later as a film actress, and then as the pop star better known as J.Lo. The singer’s It’s My Party Tour brings Jenny to our block, ahead of her 50th birthday. Celebrate her existence at American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave. Tickets start at $55.50 at ticketmaster.com. Eva Raggio

Tuesday

Starting on June 21, North Texans will get the chance to see Keith Haring: Against All Odds, which showcases the works of pop art master Keith Haring through an exhibition featuring more than 50 pieces of original works. After coming up in New York City as a graffiti artist in the 1980s, Haring amassed a significant output of social commentary spoken through bold paintings. The exhibition runs until Sept. 15, at the Arlington Museum of Art, 201 W. Main St. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students. Entrance is free for children under 12. For more information, visit arlingtonmuseum.org. Eva Raggio

Wednesday

This may sound like a mandatory crash course demanded of certain government officials, but it’s actually a Broadway show written by and starring actor and comedian John Leguizamo. With the acclaimed Latin History for Morons, Leguizamo guides the audience with his signature wit through a history of Latin culture, from the Mayans to Pitbull. The show is at 8 p.m. at the Winspear Opera House. Tickets are $40 and up at attpac.org. Eva Raggio

Cody Lynn Boyd looks like he was pulled straight out of the '60s. Besides The Late Recordings, a collection of demo home recordings, Boyd has yet to release a full studio album. But this hasn’t kept him from earning notoriety in North Texas. His singles' haunting sound, heard on “I’ll Go” and “Lovely Little Lady,” coupled with his resemblance to Rolling Stone Brian Jones, have captured the attention of local media. Boyd will share the stage with a tough act to follow, The Bralettes. The all-female punk trio released its debut album Cheers earlier this year. Each song packs a punch with powerfully driven rhythms, catchy melodies and nasty guitar solos. If you’re broke, but still want to catch a killer show on a Wednesday night, you’ll want to head to the free show at Ruins, 2653 Commerce St. at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 26. Jacob Vaughn