Downtown Dallas Arts & Music Festival Returns Free This Weekend

Main Street Garden Park goes live this weekend. The Downtown Dallas Arts & Music Festival — a three-day, free, open-air celebration of the city's local music and art scenes — kicks off Friday evening and runs through Sunday, taking over Main Street Garden Park and the SPACE venue at Adolphus Tower. More than 40 local musicians play across two stages, with live painting, interactive installations, and local food trucks filling the spaces between.

The festival's free admission has made it one of the quieter hits of the Dallas cultural calendar — it draws the crowd that prefers real local music and original art to the big touring acts at the AAC down the road. The Adolphus Tower SPACE venue hosts the more intimate acts after the outdoor stages close each night.

If you're going: DART light rail drops you at Akard Station, a two-block walk to Main Street Garden. The Bishop Arts District streetcar (D-Link) also connects the west side of downtown to the festival footprint. Bring cash for the food vendors.

Sources: Visit Dallas, CultureMap Dallas