HERE COME THE BRIDESMAIDS: Contemporary Theatre of Dallas was wise to tap into the cultural zeitgeist with its current show, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. Moviegoers have been infatuated with Bridsmaids to the tune of $146 million since it came out in May. And Five Women mines similar territory as it follows a quintet of reluctant attendants. “It has its chick-flicky moments and they’re certainly not engaging in a conversation about nuclear fission—they are bridesmaids at a wedding, after all—but like these particular dresses and the feelings about them, it’s not that black-and-white,” Mark Lowry writes on theaterjones.com. “This play comes off as a highly amusing, sometimes poignant, thought-provoking production. Each woman cast is an exceptional actor in her own right,” is how Alexandra Bonifield sums it up on criticalrant.com. Catch it through July 10.

FIRST LISTEN: The Grand Theatre Vol. 2, the upcoming release from the Old 97’s, doesn’t hit the shelves until July 5. But that doesn’t mean you have to wait until then to listen to it. Our good buddies over at KXT 91.7 are streaming all 13 tracks. Take a listen and let us know which songs are jumping out to you.

THE YEAR SO FAR: Paste magazine, the influential music website, has come up with its list of the 20 best albums of 2011 (so far). And checking in way up the list at No. 4 is This is Where We Are by Denton’s Seryn. Two other albums making the list – the self-titled release by Middle Brother and Nothing is Wrong by Dawes – are records we sniffed out pretty early in the year, too. Need proof? Check out our On the Road videos with Middle Brother and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith.