Music venues, public art, theaters, and galleries abound in McKinney. Catch a community theater performance, a singer-songwriter showcase, or a gallery show, to name a few. Experience stages, screens, and songs, most of it within a few blocks of the courthouse.
Must-Visit Venues for Music & Theater
The McKinney Performing Arts Center offers entertainment from local and national performing and visual artists. The Comedy Arena stages sketch, stand-up, and improv, regularly welcoming nationally-known comics, and teaches students to take the stage themselves. The McKinney Repertory Theatre, the city's official community theater since 2003, holds open-audition productions several times a year, including the annual A Christmas Carol, and is parent to the Young Actors Guild. Ovation Academy provides professional training for young performing artists.
A Texas Music Friendly Community
McKinney earned the Texas Music Friendly Community designation from the Texas Music Office in 2020, and Visit McKinney partners with an independent advisory board of local music professionals to support the scene. Singer-songwriters, cover bands, and emerging artists perform at downtown restaurants, wineries, and venues most weekends. The Guitar Sanctuary, Sanctuary McKinney Venue, the McKinney Community Band, and the McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra are just a few things to check out.
Each year the Texas Music Revolution festival celebrates that culture across multiple downtown stages and local businesses, growing larger every year. And VENU's Sunset Amphitheater is on the way, opening in 2027.
A Proud Texas Film Friendly Community
McKinney's official Texas Film Friendly Community designation was announced by the Governor in February 2019 but crews found the city long before that. From ball fields to historic homes, tree-lined streets to warehouses, McKinney offers a variety of film locations and welcomes new projects through the city's film permit process.
The most famous credit is still Benji: the classic family film shot in McKinney in 1973 and 1974 on a $500,000 budget that went on to earn $45 million, appears on the Texas Film Commission's Texas Classic Film Trail, and people still come to see the Benji House on S. Tennessee Street. Visit McKinney celebrated the film's 50th anniversary in 2024 with a downtown walking tour of filming locations, a lookalike contest, and a free screening at the McKinney Performing Arts Center.
See What's On Stage This Week
Check out performances, showcases, and festivals on the events calendar.