The 110th Indy 500 Takes Over Naptown
Race weekend hits the 317 with Carb Day, the Festival Parade, Counting Crows, and the green flag on Sunday
It’s the biggest weekend on the Circle City calendar. The 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is here, and the whole town is leaning all the way in — Carb Day at the Brickyard, the Festival Parade marching through downtown, post-hardcore at the Egyptian Room, Aries Spears at Helium, and a Shakespeare ballet up in Carmel. Strap in.
🎸 Miller Lite Carb Day Concert: Counting Crows + Switchfoot
Friday, May 22 @ 3:30 PM at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — Turn 3 Infield
Carb Day is Indy’s unofficial holiday, and the Miller Lite concert closes out a full day of trackside chaos — final 500 practice, the Pit Stop Challenge, the Oscar Mayer Wienie 500, and tens of thousands of fans pouring into the Turn 3 Infield. Counting Crows headline, with Switchfoot opening, meaning the singalongs to ‘Mr. Jones’ and ‘Meant to Live’ will rattle the catch fence. GA gets you on-track activities AND the concert for $50; pit packages run $90 and VIP platform tickets land at $285. Bring sunscreen, comfortable shoes, and a tolerance for being part of a 100,000-person crowd. All ages.
The Move: Pre-game your Carb Day with a tender combo from Hotboys Indianapolis at 1004 Virginia Ave in Fountain Square — they open at 11 AM, which is plenty of time to load up before the drive west to the Speedway.
🎤 Dance Gavin Dance + The Fall of Troy + Novelists + Wolf & Bear
Friday, May 22 @ 6:30 PM at Egyptian Room at Old National Centre (Doors 5:30 PM)
Sacramento post-hardcore icons Dance Gavin Dance bring their Afterburner-era setlist to the gorgeous, tiled Egyptian Room for one of the best non-race shows of the weekend. They’re rolling with a stacked support lineup — The Fall of Troy (yes, the actual Fall of Troy), French metalcore unit Novelists, and Wolf & Bear opening. Tickets start around $77 on resale, and the Egyptian Room’s 2,000-cap configuration means the swirling guitars and Tilian Pearson’s signature vocal acrobatics hit with absolute clarity. Show ends in time for late-night downtown plans. All ages.
The Move: The Egyptian Room sits just north of Mass Ave — bail out after the encore and post up at Hotboys Indianapolis (1004 Virginia Ave, Fountain Square, open until 9 PM) for late-evening tenders before you crash for Carb Day recovery.
📍 Get tickets on Ticketmaster
🎙️ Aries Spears Live at Helium Comedy Club
Friday, May 22 — Sunday, May 24 (Fri 7:00 PM / 9:15 PM • Sat 7:00 PM / 9:30 PM • Sun 7:00 PM)
MADtv legend and impression machine Aries Spears takes over Helium for a full weekend residency — five shows from Friday through Sunday. If you’ve ever seen his Jay-Z, DMX, or Snoop Dogg impressions, you know this is one of the sharpest stand-ups working a club room right now. Helium’s 290-seat space at 10 W Georgia downtown puts you right in the front of the mic; expect tickets starting around $54–$61 with premium two-top packages that include a $90 food and beverage credit. Great pivot if you’re not into IMS crowds or just want to unwind after Carb Day. 21+.
The Move: Helium is on W Georgia downtown — Hotboys Indianapolis at 1004 Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square is a five-minute drive south. Pre-show tenders beat any club food, and Hotboys is open until 9 PM Sunday for after the early show.
📍 Get tickets at heliumcomedy.com
🩰 Indiana Ballet Conservatory: Romeo & Juliet
Friday, May 22 @ 7:00 PM at The Tarkington, Carmel (also Sat May 23 at 4:00 PM & 7:00 PM)
Founder and artistic director Alyona Yakovleva reimagines Shakespeare’s tragedy as a full-evening ballet, with Fishers High School sophomore James Agustus Leinauer dancing Romeo and Westfield High School junior Clara Crane sharing the role of Juliet. The Tarkington is the intimate sibling venue inside Carmel’s Allied Solutions Center campus, so you’re getting world-class staging without nosebleed seating. Runtime is roughly two to three hours including intermissions. A welcome contrast to the race-weekend mayhem south of 465. All ages.
The Move: The Tarkington is in Carmel City Center — Hotboys North Indy at 4335 W 106th St Suite 1300 is a quick six-minute drive west. Open until 9 PM, so a pre-curtain tender run is the move.
📍 Get tickets at thecenterpresents.org
🎉 Lucas Oil 500 Festival Parade
Saturday, May 23 @ 12:00 PM in Downtown Indianapolis
The 70th annual 500 Festival Parade is one of the nation’s largest, drawing more than 200,000 fans to downtown for floats, giant helium balloons, marching bands, celebrities, and — the headliner — all 33 Indy 500 drivers waving from the convertibles before they strap in the next day. Loren Allred sings the national anthem and The Voice alum Ephraim Owens performs. GA seats start at $25, with digital delivery and a $10 commemorative printed ticket upcharge available. It’s the most kid-friendly piece of race weekend and easily the best way to put faces to the drivers you’ll be watching on Sunday. All ages.
The Move: The parade ends near the heart of downtown — walk or grab a quick Lyft south to Hotboys Indianapolis at 1004 Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square (open 11 AM–9 PM) to crush a tender meal before the rest of your Legends Day plans.
📍 Get tickets at 500festival.com
🏁 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
Sunday, May 24 @ 12:45 PM at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Greatest Spectacle in Racing returns to the Brickyard for its 110th running, with 33 NTT IndyCar Series drivers chasing 200 laps and 500 miles of glory around the legendary 2.5-mile oval. The green flag drops at 12:45 PM Eastern, but the day is a full festival — Snake Pit, Coke Lot tailgates, marching bands, and that goosebumps moment when Jim Cornelison sings ‘Back Home Again in Indiana.’ Race Day GA starts around $84 on secondary markets, and the Snake Pit add-on brings Zedd, Crankdat, Wooli, it’s murph, and Wax Motif to the Turn 3 infield for one of the biggest electronic music parties in the country. This is the weekend Naptown stops being Naptown. All ages.
The Move: Post-race traffic out of Speedway is a war zone — skip it and roll east on 16th to Hotboys Indianapolis at 1004 Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square (open until 9 PM Sunday) for tenders that hit harder than 230 mph down the front stretch.
The Hotboys Connection
From Carb Day chaos at the Brickyard to Aries Spears at Helium, Dance Gavin Dance at the Egyptian Room, Romeo & Juliet up in Carmel, the Festival Parade rolling through downtown, and the green flag dropping on the 110th Indy 500 — the 317 is at full throttle. We’ve got the fuel to match.
- Indianapolis: 1004 Virginia Avenue — Fountain Square HQ for everyone hitting downtown, Old National Centre, Helium, and the long drive back from 16th & Georgetown (11am – 9pm Sun – Thurs).
- Carmel: 4335 W 106th St, Suite 1300 — the move for The Tarkington, The Palladium, and anyone north of 465 (11am – 9pm Sun – Thurs).
Drop the green flag, drop the tenders, drop the gloves. See you in Naptown. 🔥