• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    RodeoHouston 2020

    Midland brings honky tonk charm to opening night of RodeoHouston 2020

    Johnston Farrow
    Johnston Farrow
    Mar 3, 2020 | 11:39 pm

    Country trio Midland rode into NRG Stadium and set the tone for RodeoHouston 2020 in front of a respectable 56,188 ticket holders, harking back to seasons of yesteryear when country music ruled the old Astrodome just next door.

    The last two years at RodeoHouston, the city’s biggest annual music event, were an embarrassment of riches with Garth Brooks and George Strait playing respective years, a combined 250 million album sales and record setting attendance figures between them. So when the RodeoHouston 2020 lineup was first announced, it was not hard to feel a bit of a letdown.

    The thing is, the RodeoHouston entertainment talent booking team rarely misses, and the Dripping Springs, Texas band completely makes sense as this year’s opener. The trio, comprised of old friends, Cameron Duddy, Jess Carson, and Mark Wystrach, play songs that could easily fit next to RodeoHouston performers from 20 to 30 years ago.

    Their two full-length albums, 2017’s On the Rocks and 2019’s Let It Roll, recall the best of old school Country Music Television with a welcome dose of vibrant Eagles harmonies — which makes sense with the band’s time living in California before they decided to give country music a go.

    Midland songs are rich with country music history and all the clichés that go with it, as if they were meant to be played on AM C&W radio stations in that Permian Basin town. But the trio does those clichés very well and their biggest hits feature songwriting topics that make the genre great: hard living, too much boozing, broken hearts, and carousing on a hot southern Saturday night. Throw in some modern day hipster cowboy threads and semi-ironic mustaches, and the old sound is new again, a fresh respite from all the commercial country pop tunes that have saturated the market since Garth Brooks donned a cowboy hat.

    Set opener “Playboys” had the former actor Wystrach channeling the smoldering good looks of a young Billy Ray Cyrus. The band came out with the requisite rodeo gear — brightly colored sequined jackets, shirts optional of course, bringing a retro pastiche to their upbeat honky tonk. On the Rocks highlight “Burn Out” slowed things down to a waltz, a song that wouldn’t be out of place on George Strait’s Pure Country soundtrack.

    “We’re a 21st century honky tonk American band,” Wystrach said before the song of the same name. A little trebly on the vocals, he redeemed himself on an ascending vocal bridge breakdown. “Cheatin’ Songs” brought on those Dwight Yoakum comparisons with an easy vocal flow, sharp Texas twang, and layered melodies. Of course, the message of infidelity which runs through decades of country tunes brought it home. Follow up, “Mr. Lonely,” was a lost CMT classic from 1992 featuring some nice on-stage chemistry between the three of players.

    “Fast Hearts in Slow Towns” recalled peak ’70s Don Henley songwriting with some gorgeous harmonies. Dedicated to “all the families out there,” “Electric Rodeo” brought up the best ghosts of Glen Campbell’s slow burning torch songs. “Make a Little,” easily one of the band’s best songs, was played with a sightly faster tempo, morphing it into a Garth Brooks swing. It was a highlight of the night.

    Much like another geographically named country act, Alabama, “Eastbound and Down” rollicked, and made fine use of two points on the center stage star with players rising into the air for some decent guitar solos. “Roll Away” featured a fine vocal turn from electric rhythm guitarist Jess Carson. “Drinkin’ Problem,” the band’s biggest hit, flashed us back to the ’80s, Wystrach hamming it up with a wink and a nod to the camera and a slightly awkward shimmy that fit the theme of the song.

    “We are just three friends that starting playing in stanky little bars that you would never let your kids into," Wystrach told the crowd, alluding to how far the 2018 ACM New Vocal Group of the Year had come before kicking into a cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” with bassist Cameron Duddy taking a turn on vocals and drums.

    The night ended with the quiet “14 Gears” under the glow of beautiful lighting design by the ever professional LD Systems crew in charge of the RodeoHouston audio and visual spectacle. For some reason, the band rolled out on a pickup to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” as the stadium had filed out, but by then, Midland had delivered the goods.

    If there was any criticism to be had, something many young bands and first time RodeoHouston acts struggle with, is that the players could have made use of the full stage and interacted with the stage more. It felt as if they weren’t quite sure how to consistently use the space throughout the entirety of the show. Seeing as this was likely one of the biggest shows Midland played in their career up to this point, it’s something they’ll definitely grow into as their audience grows.

    Overall, the performance reminded us that the increasingly diverse RodeoHouston's go-to bread and butter will always be big sounding country acts that can bring the hits and provide a solid hour-plus set to cap off a fun evening at NRG Stadium.

    Setlist
    “Playboys”
    “Burn Out”
    “21st Century”
    “Cheatin’ Songs”
    “Mr. Lonely”
    “Fast Hearts in Slow Towns”
    “Out of Sight”
    “Electric Rodeo”
    “Make a Little”
    “Eastbound and Down”
    “Roll Away”
    “Drinkin’ Problem”
    “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” (Tom Petty cover and the Heartbreakers cover)
    “14 Gears”

    Bassist Cameron Duddy jumped in on vocals.

    Midland RodeoHouston 2020
      
    Photo courtesy of RodeoHouston
    Bassist Cameron Duddy jumped in on vocals.
    musicrodeonightlifeconcerts
    news/entertainment
    series/rodeo-houston-2020

    most read posts

    Houston loses top-10 rank in 2025 list of America's best cities

    Houston fave Frank Billingsley's house hits the market for $1.5 million

    2 Houston universities declared among world's best and more top stories

    Movie Review

    New horror film M3GAN 2.0 turns up the campy fun of the original

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 27, 2025 | 1:01 pm
    M3GAN in M3GAN 2.0
    Photo by Geoffrey Short/Universal Pictures
    M3GAN in M3GAN 2.0.

    When a studio releases a movie in January (aka Dumpuary), the general rule of thumb is that they’re trying to get rid of a movie that isn’t very good. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, as M3GAN was in 2023, which rode the comedy of a killer AI robot who likes to dance to over $180 million worldwide.

    A sequel was a given, and now with a built-in fanbase, M3GAN 2.0is a prime summer release. After running into trouble with her robot invention, Gemma (Allison Williams) has seemingly seen the error of her ways, now focused on creating things like a mechanical exoskeleton that can benefit society. Little does she know that the code she used to create M3GAN (aka Model 3 Generative Android) has been co-opted to create AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), a new robot which is being used for nefarious purposes.

    Naturally, the only thing to do is to bring M3GAN (played by Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis) back from the “dead,” which is easy to do because — surprise! — she has been lurking inside the smart house in which Gemma and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) now live. The inevitable showdown between the two robots is alternately helped and hindered by people like billionaire Alton Appleton (Jemaine Clement), fellow tech entrepreneur Christian (Aristotle Athari), co-worker Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez), and others.

    Written and directed by Gerard Johnstone, who also directed the first film, M3GAN 2.0 doesn’t stray from the original formula, delivering way more laughs than scares. Because there’s a familiarity with the character, Johnstone leans into the campy side of things, essentially winking at the audience for much of the film. Whether it’s temporarily imprisoning M3GAN in an innocuous desktop robot or a number of one-liners, there is a lot of comedy to be found.

    The film is a type of horror, though, and it delivers in the mild, PG-13 way that won’t offend non-horror fans. AMELIA (aka Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android) gives off Terminator vibes, and she lays waste to virtually all challengers. M3GAN doesn’t get to show off her skills as much as she did last time, which might be a tad frustrating for some, but she gets in enough punches and kicks for the experience to be worth it.

    The story itself starts off strong before devolving into an overly complicated mess. The arc of AMELIA is particularly strange, as the strength of her powers and the level of her autonomy seem to change at will in the second half of the film. Gemma develops a rivalry with another character that might have worked better if it had been hinted at early in the film instead of being dropped in as a surprise.

    Davis’ voice performance as M3GAN is once again fantastic, as she delivers sarcasm and menace equally well. Sakhno isn’t asked to do much but look terrifying, and she accomplishes that job. Williams is up and down in her role, stronger in the moments when she’s not being asked to prove her tech bona fides. Clement is his usual over-the-top self, which suits his character.

    As with the first film, if you go into M3GAN 2.0 not expecting anything more than some goofy violent robot action, you’ll walk away satisfied. The unlikely breakout hit for Blumhouse Productions may not be able to support a good story, but it entertains in the way it’s supposed to do.

    ---

    M3GAN 2.0 is now playing in theaters.

    moviesfilm
    news/entertainment
    series/rodeo-houston-2020
    Loading...