Concerts & Events in Dallas, Texas

Downtown Dallas combines the financial district with the largest contiguous arts district in the country. American Airlines Center in Victory Park anchors the arena side — Mavericks, Stars, and the bulk of arena concert tours. A few blocks east, the AT&T Performing Arts Center campus runs the Winspear Opera House and the Wyly Theatre, with the Meyerson Symphony Center, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Dallas Museum of Art clustered along Flora Street. Klyde Warren Park sits on top of the Woodall Rodgers Freeway as a deck park between downtown and Uptown, with free concerts and food trucks most weekends. Hotels along Ross, Olive, and Field put you within walking distance of every major venue in the cluster.

Deep Ellum, east of downtown across the freeway, is the live music and street-art neighborhood of Dallas. The Factory in Deep Ellum (formerly The Bomb Factory) handles touring mid-size shows in a 4,300-cap room. Trees, the Curtain Club, Reno's Chop Shop, Three Links, and Dada cover the smaller venues across a few-block walking radius. Granada Theater is a short rideshare north on Lower Greenville. The bars along Elm, Main, and Commerce run late with their own band and DJ programming most nights of the week. Murals cover most building facades, the patios stay open into the night, and the food scene runs from Pecan Lodge barbecue to late-night taco stands. Rideshare in and out — parking and DART access are both limited late.

Bishop Arts, on the south side of the Trinity River in Oak Cliff, runs as a quieter, more neighborhood-oriented entertainment district. The Kessler Theater anchors the live music side with a small singer-songwriter and roots-music slate in a restored 1942 building. Cocktail bars line Bishop Avenue and Davis Street — Bishop Cidercade, Eno's Pizza Tavern, Hattie's, the Wild Detectives bookstore-and-bar, and Lockhart Smokehouse all sit within a few blocks. Independent boutiques, vintage shops, and design stores fill the daytime stretch. The vibe is closer to a walkable college town than a downtown core, and the food scene runs strong on patios and brunch. Park once and walk between four or five spots in a single night.

Uptown stretches north of downtown along McKinney Avenue from Cityplace down to Klyde Warren Park. House of Blues at Lamar and Houston handles touring acts in the 1,500-cap range with restaurant and patio space attached. The Drugstore Cowboy, the Standard Pour, the Rustic, and a string of rooftop lounges run the cocktail-and-DJ set later into the night. The McKinney Avenue Trolley — a free heritage trolley — runs the length of the strip and connects to the Arts District. Restaurants along the corridor lean upscale, with reservations recommended on weekend nights. Hotels in Uptown put you within a short rideshare or trolley ride of downtown, Klyde Warren, and the Arts District.

Lower Greenville Avenue, running south from Mockingbird Lane to Ross, is the bar and live music strip that surrounds Granada Theater. Granada itself is a 1946 art-deco former cinema turned 1,000-cap concert venue with one of the best indie and Americana booking calendars in the city. The surrounding blocks fill with neighborhood bars, taquerias, brunch spots, and patios that run from afternoon into the early hours. Mockingbird Station on the DART Red and Blue lines sits at the north end of the strip, so transit access from downtown and the Arts District is straightforward. The crowd skews late-twenties-to-thirties, the cover charges run lower than Deep Ellum, and you can usually walk between three or four spots in a single night.

Arlington sits halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth on I-30, and it carries the two biggest stadium-scale venues in the region. AT&T Stadium hosts the Cowboys from September through January and the biggest stadium concert tours in the off-season. Globe Life Field, the retractable-roof park next door, runs Texas Rangers home games from April through October. Texas Live, the entertainment district between the two stadiums, runs restaurants, bars, and event space that effectively becomes a third venue on game days. Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor sit a few blocks away. There is no rail access into Arlington — driving or rideshare is the only option, and Cowboys Sunday traffic on I-30 builds from late morning onward.

Cowboys playoff games at AT&T Stadium when the team makes the postseason. Mavericks and Stars are in full home stretch at American Airlines Center most nights. Dallas Symphony Orchestra runs its winter season at the Meyerson. Broadway Dallas continues at the Winspear. Restaurant Week extension programs prix-fixe menus across the metroplex. The Cotton Bowl Classic college football game runs at AT&T Stadium on New Year's Day or early January.

Mavericks and Stars continue heavy home schedules. The AT&T Byron Nelson PGA tournament moves toward its preseason buildout. Dallas Restaurant Week programs across the city. Broadway Dallas runs touring musicals at the Winspear. Major touring concerts pick up at American Airlines Center as the spring slate begins. Indoor venues carry the entire month as outdoor programming stays minimal.

Dallas Blooms at the Dallas Arboretum opens with the spring tulip and azalea displays. Mavericks and Stars push toward the end of the regular season. Spring Break in the second or third week brings family programming across museums, the Perot Museum, and the Dallas Zoo. Big 12 Basketball Tournament runs at American Airlines Center. The Dallas Symphony continues its winter season. Patios reopen across Henderson, Knox, and Bishop Arts as temperatures climb.

Texas Rangers open the home season at Globe Life Field in early April. Dallas International Film Festival runs late April with screenings and premieres across multiple venues. NHL and NBA playoffs typically begin in mid-April — when the Mavericks or Stars are in, downtown and Victory Park become a full-on viewing-party scene. Deep Ellum Arts Festival closes the streets the first weekend for live music, art vendors, and food. EarthX runs sustainability programming at Fair Park.

AT&T Byron Nelson PGA Tour event runs at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, drawing major tour pros and a sizable concert and party slate on the side. Dos Equis Pavilion opens its outdoor concert season at Fair Park. Texas Rangers home games run throughout the month at Globe Life Field. USA Film Festival programs indie and international screenings at the Angelika. Vitruvian Park in Addison runs its free spring concert series most weekends.

Dallas Pride Music Festival and parade run in early June at Fair Park. Texas Rangers continue their home schedule. Dos Equis Pavilion is in peak outdoor touring slate. FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium in Frisco runs its summer home stretch. Klyde Warren Park free concerts run most weekends. Indoor concerts and theater pull back slightly as outdoor programming takes over, with temperatures regularly clearing 90 by mid-month.

Fourth of July fireworks at Reunion Tower, Addison Kaboom Town, and Fair Park bring major draw. Texas Rangers continue heavy home schedule at Globe Life Field. Dos Equis Pavilion runs touring concerts most nights of the week. FC Dallas in mid-summer stretch. Daytime highs regularly clear 100 degrees — most outdoor programming concentrates on evening starts, and indoor venues pick up most touring slate.

Texas Rangers home schedule continues. Dos Equis Pavilion outdoor concerts run nightly. The Cowboys begin training camp in Oxnard before returning for late-August preseason games at AT&T Stadium. Outdoor programming is minimal due to heat — most festivals concentrate either side of summer. Klyde Warren Park keeps its evening programming. Theater season begins its preseason at the Wyly and the Winspear.

Cowboys home season opens at AT&T Stadium — eight to ten Sundays through January reshape the metroplex calendar. State Fair of Texas opens at Fair Park in the last weekend of September, running through mid-October with daily concerts at Dos Equis Pavilion and the Chevrolet Main Stage. The Texas-OU football game runs at the Cotton Bowl on the second Saturday of October during the fair. Stars and Mavericks training camps and preseason home games start at American Airlines Center late in the month.

State Fair of Texas runs through the second weekend, with the Texas-OU game in the middle. Cowboys home schedule continues at AT&T Stadium. Texas Rangers MLB playoffs at Globe Life Field when the team is in. NHL and NBA regular seasons start, putting the Stars and Mavericks back at American Airlines Center most nights. Dallas Children's Theater holiday programming begins. Halloween events run heavy across Deep Ellum, Lower Greenville, and Uptown the weekend closest to the 31st.

Galleria Dallas Christmas Tree Lighting on the day after Thanksgiving brings a 95-foot indoor tree and an outdoor ice show that runs through the holidays. Reunion Tower lighting kicks off the holiday season downtown. Cowboys Thanksgiving Day home game is the biggest single-day event on the calendar. Stars and Mavericks home schedules continue. The Nutcracker by Texas Ballet Theater begins late-month runs at the Winspear. Holiday at the Arboretum opens with light displays through January.

Holiday programming dominates — The Nutcracker at the Winspear, the Dallas Symphony Christmas Pops at the Meyerson, Holiday at the Arboretum, and Galleria Christmas displays all run through the third week. Cowboys home stretch toward playoff seeding. Stars and Mavericks continue heavy home schedules. New Year's Eve fireworks at Reunion Tower GeO-Deck bring tens of thousands to the downtown core, with watch parties at Klyde Warren Park, Victory Park, and rooftop bars across Uptown.