Best Things To Do in Dallas This Weekend

Friday, March 2

At a recent show in his Oklahoma hometown, concertgoers noticed the star of the evening, Blake Shelton, repeatedly nodding and crooning toward one particular spot in the audience. Shelton wasn't the only star in the small town of Tishomingo that night. Gwen Stefani, Shelton’s girlfriend and co-host on The Voice, was sitting a couple of rows back, enthusiastically singing along and making eyes at her beau throughout the concert. As Shelton's tour continues to roll across the country this spring, there's no telling if Stefani will tag along, but the possibility will have attendees at Friday’s show at American Airlines Center scouring the back alleys and side stage areas for glimpses of the celebrity couple. Since beginning his relationship with the former No Doubt singer and becoming somewhat of a prime-time television star, some of the attention has shifted from Shelton’s country music roots. As his live shows unfold, though, fans are quickly reminded of how prolific he's been over the course of his two-decade career. Once things begin cranking up onstage, you'll be pleasantly reminded of the country music grit and songcraft that made Shelton a star. 7 p.m. Friday, March 2, American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave., ticketmaster.com, $112 and up. Jeff Strowe

Its time you step away from the home and garden television programs and step into an actual garden. You know, stop watching home-makeover shows and start transforming your home to your liking. With spring around the corner, there’s no better time to at on your desires and attend the 39th annual Dallas-Texas Home and Garden Show. You’ll be able to visit with vendors and learn more about home and garden trends. This year’s show will feature author Kristina Leigh Wiggins and Robert E. “Buddy” Lee, the inventor of the Encore azaleas. The show runs Friday through Sunday at Dallas Market Hall, 2200 Stemmons Freeway. Adult tickets are $10. For more information, visit texashomeandgarden.com. Paige Skinner

St. Pat’s is not for sober men. The green-tinted beer in all hands, wild on the street — those sick regurgitations — the mad throng, the trinket stalls, the staggering on one’s feet, beads, booze and ’cue, commend all the day long whatever is bedrunken, worn and falls. Better than senseless boozing, we insist, is the joy of North Texas’ Irish Fest. (Apologies to W.B. Yeats.) For a real celebration of Irish music, dance and culture — and whiskey – sail down Interstate 30 to Fair Park for three days of Celtic immersion. Acts include The Elders, Screaming Orphans, Mari Black and other national and local bands. There’ll be Irish dance, storytelling, food and art. And pipers, which is either a good thing or very bad thing for those with tin ears. The fest begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday and continues through Sunday. Admission is free for children 11 and younger and anyone who shows up before 7 p.m. Friday. Tickets range from $15 to $20, with discounts available at Tom Thumb and Albertsons stores. Or find them, plus a full schedule, at ntif.org. Patrick Williams

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Remix programs offer listeners chances to experience classical music in a not-so-classical, more casual setting. You can get tipsy with complimentary wine and beer. You can fill up on appetizers. But best of all, you can enjoy classical music the way it was meant to be enjoyed, in a buttoned-down, egalitarian environment, one where ties and tiny spectacles don’t define the culture. This installment takes aim at Rossini’s overtures to The Barber of Seville and William Tell, selections from Berio’s “Folksongs” and more. Ruth Reinhardt conducts. Catch performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Moody Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments, and guests can mingle with the musicians after the performance. Tickets start at $19. For more information, visit mydso.com. Jonathan Patrick

L.A.-based duo Coast Modern's roots lie in producing hip-hop and alternative music for other acts, which could explain the band's eclectic sound. Coleman Trapp and Luke Atlas have released seven singles as Coast Modern since its conception in 2015 but released its first full-length, an eponymous album, last July. Far from the members' time working behind the scenes, the duo's current wave of success has put them in the spotlight with a fan following of their own. 8:30 p.m., Friday, March 2, Trees, 2709 Elm St., 214-741-1122, treesdallas.com, $18. Diamond Victoria

Post-hardcore band Senses Fail joined the scene in the early 2000s with Let It Enfold You, an album catchy enough and edgy enough to earn plenty of praise in the post-hardcore world. These days, only one original member remains, lead singer Buddy Nielse, but Senses Fail easily draws in crowds nonetheless. The band just released its seventh full-length studio album, If There Is A Light, It Will Find You, a couple of weeks ago, so be sure to get a first listen at Friday's show. 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill, 10261 Technology Blvd. E., gasmonkeybarngrill.com, $16-$150. Diamond Victoria

Saturday, March 3

You can run a half-marathon or shorter races along the Trinity River levees. Do bike drag races on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Bike along the river trails. Practice yoga on the bridge. Attend an open-air market. Learn salsa dancing. Yep, you can do almost any sort of physical activity at the All Out Trinity celebration from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday — as long as it doesn’t involve fishing or making contact with the water, because ick. Prices for the various events range from $10 to $75. For more information or to register, visit allouttrinity.com. Patrick Williams

We all have minds, but we understand so little about them. Why do we get depressed? Why do we make dumb decisions? No one has all the answers, but maybe the truth can be found together as human consciousness on a single plane of existence. Explore some of the more important questions about humanity, society, and things going in on our minds and our world with renowned neuroscientist, philosopher and author Sam Harris as he records a live episode of his Waking Up podcast at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Tickets, $39 to $95, can be purchased at ticketmaster.com. Danny Gallagher

Downtown Carrollton, 1106 S. Broadway St., is the site of TexFest, a free festival celebrating Texas Independence Day from 3-9 p.m. Saturday. Grant Gilbert and country and Southern rock group The Jimmy Lee Jordan band will open for the headliner, The Black Lillies (“Ruby,” “Mercy” and “Hard to Please”). Plan to sample street food, as well as wine from a local vineyard and beer from more than a dozen local breweries. Salute your independence from Mexico with a ride on a mechanical bull and take a selfie with a live longhorn steer. Call 972-466-3120 or visit cityofcarrollton.com for parking options and volunteer opportunities. Reba Liner

Emo Nite is a touring version of emo night parties with surprise musical guests. It's a nostalgia party, celebrating when emo went mainstream in the last decade. It's about Fall Out Boy, All American Rejects and My Chemical Romance instead of Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker and the Promise Ring. This has nothing to do with local versions in major cities, like the Forever Emo DJ night at Backyard Bell in Denton. The surprise element is the draw, but if you're expecting songs from rare 7-inches by Hoover or Texas is the Reason, you won’t hear them here. 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3, RBC, 2617 Commerce St., ticketfly.com, $10-$15. Eric Grubbs

California chillwave band Tycho has been been compared to acts such as Boards of Canada, DJ Shadow and Ulrich Schnauss. The band uses a vintage, lo-fi production approach paired with more progressive compositions to create something that sounds both familiar and new. It's sixth and most recent album, Awake, came out in 2016. 10 p.m. Saturday, March 3, Stereo Live, 2711 Storey Lane, 214-358-6511, stereolivedallas.com, $20. Diamond Victoria

Sunday, March 4

As the last wet, gray bits of winter careen headlong into spring, North Texans should start seeing a little more color in their day-to-day life. If that little bit of green poking up on your lawn here and there isn’t quite the vibrant jump-start you need, take things up a few notches at the DFW Hindu Temple Society’s annual Grand Holi and Anand Bazaar. From noon until 4 p.m. Sunday, the DFW Hindu Temple, 1605 N. Britain Road, will celebrate Holi with a free-for-all of bright color. The annual festival is a Hindu tradition that revels in the triumph of good over evil with food, dancing and brightly colored powders (that are environmentally and skin-friendly) for spraying, throwing and otherwise delighting in. Admission to this brilliantly hued spring fete is free. Learn more at dfwhindutemple.org. Jennifer Davis-Lamm

Now that the nominations are out and the tickets have been bought for all the movies yet unseen, it’s time to plan the festivities for the big night of the golden statue. The Oak Cliff Film Festival presents the 2018 Movie Awards Watch Party at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. Doors open at 5 p.m. Red-carpet coverage begins at 5:30. Dress black-tie best or couch chic, but walking the red runway is not an option — it’s the price of admission. Award pool winners (because of course there’s a pool) can receive OCFF passes and Texas Theatre gift packs, and ballots are $3. Bring those Jimmy Kimmel impersonations and the glam in the free photo booth. Share the event with friends (or compare ballots in advance) via Facebook. Bring cash to tip the bar staff and ride-share apps to channel the responsible celeb experience. Merritt Martin