Things To Do This Weekend.

Let Loose with Girl Talk at Index Festival.

Anyone who has lived in North Texas long enough knows that as crazy and unpredictable as the weather can get around here, there are two extremely short periods between winter/spring and summer/fall where the outdoors is undeniably gorgeous.

Fortunately for Dallasites — and the organizers of the half-a-dozen festivals going down this weekend — we're currently smack dab in the middle of one of these short-lived seasons.

Take it in. Embrace it for all it's worth.

Enjoy the multitude of goings-on around the Metroplex this weekend — before it's time to start the annual bundling up and hibernating routine.

Friday
Index Fest in Deep Ellum
Between their Untapped, Canned, Index and Fort Worth Music Festival responsibilities, local booking agency Spune Productions seems to have the local fest-booking game very much on lock these days. This weekend's two-day affair will take over seven stages at six Deep Ellum venues with another couple of outdoor stages thrown in for good measure. Among the acts playing on Day One include Andrew Bird, Devotchka, Real Estate, El-P, Run the Jewels, Lucero, The Cannabinoids, The Boxer Rebellion, and Kopecky Family Band. For the full lineup, head here.

Aurora in the Dallas Arts District
This now-annual affair is truly one of the Dallas' art scenes great gems. Rightly so: With dozens of artists taking over the 68-acre Dallas Arts District and installing various multimedia and light-oriented pieces throughout the open spaces of the area, Aurora is a true visual splendor and celebration of what the Arts District truly stands for. It's big. It's bright. And, better yet, it's free to attend. It's a no-brainer, really. — Pete Freedman

Circus Cats at Stage West Theatre
The writers of Portlandia thought they were being clever with their sketch about Cat Nap, the cat-led trio that “transcends music on literally every single level.” Thing is, there really is a band that features not one, but three real-life cat members playing real live instruments. OK, so maybe the group's arrhythmic, not-quite-in-sync compositions don't necessarily put them on par with The Beatles. But The Rock Cats' performance is just one of the acts whose undeniable talents will be on display this weekend at Circus Cats. — CG

Ultimate Frisbee National Championship in Frisco
After establishing itself for the past 17 years in Sarasota, Florida, the USA Ultimate National Championship has relocated to Frisco this year and signed a deal for coverage of its event somewhere on one of the many channels in ESPN's network. For four days, the best Frisbee football teams from all over North America will be playing in an elimination tournament at Frisco's Memorial and Toyota Stadiums. — CG

John Fogerty at Verizon Theatre
Tonight's appearance by John Fogerty in Grand Prairie is being billed as a special offering in which Mr. Fogerty “Plays the Albums of Credence Clearwater Revival.” It's an interesting tag — we just kind of assumed that's what he did at all of his shows. Whether or not he will, in fact, still play “Center Field” tonight is anyone's guess. — CG

Texas Guitar Show at Arlington Convention Center
It's maybe a little-known fact, but North Texas is home to a handful of the oldest, biggest and best guitar shows in the country. This weekend-long event dedicated to all things guitar claims to be all three of those. This show in particular, says its organizers, has been going on so long that guitar stands hadn't even come into fashion when they held their earliest shows. — CG

Lolaspalooza at Lola's Saloon
While Spune's busy throwing its two-day, nine-stage, 70-plus band event in Dallas, Ghostlight Concerts will be presenting a three-day, 40-plus band festival of its own — albeit within a single venue. Day One of the fourth annual Lolaspalooza will include performances from Burning Hotels, Ice Eater, Mobley, Lindby, AJ Vincent, Animal Spirit, The Breakfast Machine, Derek Larson, Nathan Brown, The Birds of Night and The Royal Savages. — CG

Christopher Reid at Hyena's Fort Worth
In the early '90s, there was really nobody you'd rather have crash your pad all Cat in the Hat-style and throw a dance-centric rager while your parents were away than Kid 'n Play. Christopher “Kid” Reid's best Funky Charleston days are perhaps behind him — and his hair's a fraction of its former height these days — but< far as we can tell, he's still maintained his sense of humor. -- CG

Disco Kids at It'll Do Club
Dallas has some trampoline parks, sure. And there are family-friendly live music events at the zoo, among other places. But, until Disco Kids' arrival, there hadn't been anywhere in town for kids to dance the night away. Alicia Duncan aims to change that. Every other week (and once a month during the school year) at Disco Kids, she hopes to keeps local kids dancing. Because, hey, kids just need to get crunk from time to time, too. — Zoe Mattioli

Ryan Hemsworth at SISU
Hemsworth has been making a name for himself slowly but surely these last couple years with the handful of synthy beats he's produced for popular rappers and the long list of remixes he's churned out. Now he's about to strike out on his own; his upcoming solo debut is streaming right now over at Pitchfork Advance. Fas as we can tell, contributions from Baths, Kitty and Haleek Maul should only help him reach an even wider audience. — CG

Silent Disco at the Green Elephant
By now, you surely know the Silent Disco concept: Once a month, a whole cast of DJs descends upon the Green Elephant, with three performing at a time as attendees, donning headphones that pick up frequencies from the DJ booths, switch as they please between the three channels of songs being offered up. It's a good time — and an even weirder spectacle to take in once you've removed your headphones. This week's DJs incluce Neo-Safari, Dubble A, Trailer Swift, Hunter Vaughan and eight others. — PF

John Witherspoon at Arlington Improv
It's Ice Cube's dad! Well, on the big screen at least. John Witherspoon's in Arlington all weekend. But how could you see him any day but Friday? — Stephen Young

Nevada Hill Benefit Show at The Crown and Harp
Bludded Head mastermind, visual artist and rock poster designer extraordinaire Nevada Hill was recently diagnosed with melanoma, but lacks the insurance to pay the medical costs necessary for treatment. So, to help alleviate a portion of the five-figure medical expenses Hill has already racked up, Hill's ex-Drug Mountain bandmate Britt Robisheaux began organizing a series of Drug Mountain reunion/benefit shows around the region. This Dallas one will also feature sets from Big Fiction, Strange Towers, Vulgar Fashion and Linear B. — CG

Mind Spiders, Radioactivity, Stymie and Varsity Cheerleader at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios
It's been a good week for Mark Ryan. As his band Mind Spiders continues to receive national press for its new, third LP, his even-newer Radioactivity project, which features his Marked Men bandmate Jeff Burke, received write-ups in outlets like Vice's Noisey blog ahead of its October 29 debut album release. This show serves as Mind Spiders' album release show, technically. But Radioactivity will perform, too. — CG

Christopher Titus at Addison Improv
That which doesn't kill us often makes us stronger. And, in the case of comedian Christopher Titus, a brutally dysfunctional childhood that saw him splitting his time between the care of an alcoholic father who remarried six times and a manic-depressive schizophrenic mother who forced him to live out in her garage also made him loads funnier. Instead of distancing from his turbulent past, Titus often mines it as one of his primary sources of humor. — CG

Black at the Assassination at Bishop Arts Theatre Center
Rather than throwing their hats into the overcrowded JFK memorial art exhibition ring, Camika Spencer and Kyndal Robertson have done something a little different here, penning an original (read: fictitious) play based on the actual events of that fateful day in Dallas and, in particular, looking at how they affected members of the area's black community. The play runs through the 27th. — CG

Saturday
Index Fest in Deep Ellum
Among the acts playing on Day Two include Girl Talk, Glassjaw, Warpaint, Sarah Jaffe, Jason Isbell, P.O.S., Titus Andronicus, Big Black Delta, Marnie Stern, J Roddy Walston & the Business, and The Baptist Generals. For the full lineup, head here.

An Evening With St. Vincent at First Unitarian Church of Dallas (Sold Out)
It's no wonder this intimate church-set solo offering from St. Vincent sold out so quickly; all of Ms. Clark's homecoming shows the past few years have made quite the stir. This performance, given the setting, should have an extra special feel. Take that, those back-to-back nights St. Vincent performed at the Kessler a few years back.– CG

Mayra Barraza: The Animal That Therefore I Am at Liliana Bloch Gallery (Opening)
Salvadorian artist Mayra Barraza's first Dallas exhibition is chock full of realistic animal paintings. If you're a crazy cat lady — or if you're dating one — you might want to make a weekend of it by oogling the cute kitten paintings here before heading out to the cat circus in Fort Worth. — CG

Lolaspalooza at Lola's Saloon
Day Two of this three-day, 40-plus band affair includes performances from Riverboat Gamblers, Perdition, Oil Boom, The Blind Pets, Dove Hunter, Son of Swan, The Me-Thinks, In Memory of Man, FTW, Merkin, Trollfinger, The Vatican Press, Panic Volcanic, Jessie Frye and Lannie Flowers. — CG

Dennis Miller, Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon at Allen Events Center
Hans, Franz and the most underrated Weekend Update anchor this side of Norm McDonald share a pretty solid SNL legacy bill here. This should make for quite the hilarious evening, especially considering that Ross Perot's Dallas residency will give Carvey an excuse to pull out that expired, old impersonation once more for old time's sake. And we imagine the current situation with Congress should give Miller plenty to rant about. — CG

Nasher XChange at Nasher Sculpture Center
When Raymond and Patsy Nasher began putting noteworthy pieces of fine art in the NorthPark Center nearly 50 years ago, their primary motivation was that art should be available to the masses — including those who couldn't afford to make trips to the area's museums (and/or football stadiums). Beginning today, they'll begin unveiling the first of a planned 10 pieces that will make up the country's first citywide public art exhibition. Check the museum's website for the exact locations, plus descriptions of the new public artworks. — CG

Steve Earle and the Dukes at Granada Theater
Earle didn't just provide the opening theme to the fifth season of The Wire, but he appeared in a handful of episodes throughout the series' run, playing the role of Bubbles' HIV-positive, recovering alcoholic Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, Walon. The longtime pal of Townes Van Zandt has also played a pretty heavy role in shaping the alt-country genre in its fledgling years. — CG

Boy George and Marc Vedo at It'll Do Club
Tonight, East Dallas gets a visit from music icon Boy George and rising star Marc Vedo. Featuring a dash of the old and a hefty helping of the new, this offering finds the two collaborators teaming up on something new to delight the world over after a European tour that already proved to be a smashing success — much to the pleasure of the twosome behind it. Speaking of pleasures: In advance of their upcoming It'll Do Club stop, we recently had the chance to speak with these musicians about their hopes for the North American leg of their journey. — Brian Knowles

Ranch Bash at Panther Island Pavilion
Of the half-a-dozen festivals going down this weekend, this radio-sponsored event at Fort Worth's constantly improving Panther Island Pavilion is by far the cheapest. To celebrate the radio station 95.9-FM The Ranch's 10th anniversary, they're hosting ten bands (read: Hayes Carll, Whiskey Myers, The Departed and more) for just $10 (as long as you nab your tickets by midnight Friday). — CG

World Class Big Game Trophy Mount Auction at Will Rogers Memorial Center
Ever wished the decor at your place look at little less like page 19 of the Ikea catalog and more like the interior of Greenville's Mudsmith coffee shop? At this auction, several estates are liquidating their private collections of — among other things — stuffed lions, tigers and bears. Oh my! — CG

The Bad Full Series Screening at Texas Theatre
You may remember back in April when we sat down with a couple of local filmmakers who had just launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the production of their hilarious web series The Bad, which chronicles the tale of the world's worst heavy metal garage band. Series creator Blair Rowan told us recently that, while the series has since been completed, it may take another several months before it finds its way online. Says Rowan, this may also be the only time the series is screened in its entirety in a movie theater. — CG

Lamar Street Festival at South Side on Lamar
Only in Dallas can a person catch Erykah Badu at two separate festivals on two separate days and only have spent $5. The organizers for the Lamar Street Festival have assembled a long list of art, multi-media, music and food offerings, all in the name of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the South Side at Lamar building. Badu will perform. So too with three of the region's most interesting and experimental electronic artists: Shuttle, Ynfynyt Scroll and Datahowller. — CG

Hazzard Homecoming at Galaxy Drive-In
Replicas of the General Lee? Please, those are so passe. I mean, sure, there'll be plenty of replicas of the General on hand at this first ever full Dukes of Hazzard cast reunion event, but so too will everything from replicas of Daisy's Dixie Jeep, Boss Hogg's white Cadillac, Cooter's tow truck and Roscoe's patrol cars. Two-day tickets to the fest are just $25, but make sure to bring some extra scratch if you plan on getting any autographs. — CG

Gold Medal Celebration at Community Beer Co.
At last weekend's Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Community's Public Ale took home a gold medal in the ESB category. They'll celebrate the accomplishment during their regular Saturday tour by serving up the last of the season's Public Ale. Don't worryl after that's all gone, they'll still have plenty of their other brews on hand, along with the music of Greg Reichl, plus local art for sale and a bike swap meet. — CG

Avenged Sevenfold and Deftones at American Airlines Center
A7X's current tour — the band's first in over two years — comes in support of its recently-released album Hail to the Kind, which marks the first album released by the band that doesn't feature any guitar work from member The Rev, who died of an overdose in 2009. Similarly, the Deftones are touring in support of its seventh studio album, which is only the second of that band's records not to feature original bassist Chi Cheng, who passed away earlier this year after spending the last four years in a coma. — CG

Goldthwaite Music Festival at Bootjack Ranch
Though not in DFW proper, this weekend's music festival out in the tiny town of Goldthwaite, Texas, is the perfect excuse for a weekend excursion: The weather is nice, Ben Kweller and a dozen of North Texas' finest acts will perform, and proceeds will benefit a worthy cause. — CG

Sunday
Mount Kimbie at Dada
While we're not all that sad to see dubstep's popularity waning, doesn't it seem a bit soon to be tossing around descriptors like “post-dubstep” all willy-nilly? In any case, those with their finger much more on the pulse of electro-dial have begun to proclaim this English duo one of the next big things. — CG

Johnny Lang at House of Blues
Lang picked up the guitar at age 12, started drawing comparisons to 40-year-old bluesmen at age 13, released his first album at age 14, and made his major label debut at 15. Now, at age 32, Lang's finally beginning to reach an age where he's maybe experienced some of the blues that he's been singing about these past couple of decades. — CG

Lolaspalooza at Lola's Saloon
Day Three of this three-day, 40-plus band affair includes performances from Zuma, Darth Vato, The O's, Rivercrest Yacht Club, We'rewolves, Mills & Co, Kevin Aldridge and the Appraisers, Foxtrot Uniform, Secret Ghost Champion, Un Chien, Oh Whitney, Patriot, We the Sea Lions, Sean Russell Band and a yet-to-be named surprise guest. — CG

Wil Wheaton vs Paul & Storm at Granada Theater
A night of music, comedy, musical comedy and improv featuring Star Trek: The Next Generation/Stand By Me star Wil Wheaton and his pals Paul & Storm? OK, sure. Wheaton's been a longtime champion of quote-unquote nerd culture, so feel free to wear your “Bazinga!” t-shirts tonight completely ridicule free. — CG

Texas Veggie Fair at Reverchon Park (Free)
Erykah Badu was recently announced as a keynote speaker for this years' Texas Veggie Fair, which will once again take place on October 20 at Reverchon Park. The revered Dallas musician will speak about her personal experiences as a vegan and spin a few records as festival DJ. The festival will also feature a number of live acts as well, including a performance by time-traveling songwriters Home By Hovercraft, and more vegan-friendly fair foods than you can shake a [vegetarian corndog] stick at. — Erika Lambreton

Nervous Curtains, Crystal Antlers at The Foundry (Free)
Of all the venues around town that local bookers Parade of Flesh are putting bands in these days, this family-friendly Oak Cliff night spot is quite possibly the most underrated. Where else can you enjoy quality touring acts like Longbeach psych-rockers Crystal Antlers on a stage made of shipping pallets while eating some of the best chicken in the city? On top of that, it's kind of unbelievable to us that there's still no cover for these things. — CG

J. Cole, Wale at Verizon Theatre
Earlier this summer when Kanye West announced the release date to his Yeezus album, J. Cole moved the release of his Born Sinner LP up a week in order to directly compete with Ye. “This is art, and I can't compete against the Kanye West celebrity and the status that he's earned just from being a genius,” Cole later told MTV. “But I can put my name in the hat and tell you that I think my album is great and [let] you decide.” And though the cult of Yeezy might have overshadowed Cole's release almost completely, it's a release that in no way deserves to be slept on. — CG

Sunday Drag Brunch at Hard Rock Cafe
Dallasites are quite well-known for their predilection for all things brunch. And, we admit, it's hard to deny the appeal of nursing one's hangover in public while enjoying socially acceptable morning cocktails and commiserating with fellow headache-laden breakfast companions. Plus, this one comes with the added bonus of a drag show. It's $20 for the all-inclusive breakfast and another $5 for the drag portion. — CG

Girl Talk cover photo by Andrew Strasser. To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.