Simmering September Shows

11 coolest concerts to catch in Houston this September

When concerts returned in force it felt like we all had turned a corner. Unfortunately, like the the many memes circulating online, the Delta Variant had other plans for us this summer, leaving venues and artists scrambling to deal with the new, infectious reality.

Some major concert promoters, such as AEG, announced they would require proof of vaccinations or a negative test within 72 hours starting October 1. At first, Live Nation said they’d leave it up to the artists or venues, but thought better of it and followed AEG’s lead, requiring the same protocols starting October 4.

Some artists decided to pull out of scheduled tours all together, including indie-rock legends Dinosaur Jr. who were set to play White Oak Music Hall this month.

In other words, be sure to check your venue listings for the latest show information before you head out. For those ready to rock, September tees up the strongest line-up yet for national and internationally touring acts in 2021. Here are the biggest, best, and most notable, including a few faves.

City and Colour with Nuevo
Thursday, September 9
House of Blues, 1204 Caroline St.

The award-winning, Canadian chart-topping, folk-punk troubadour, City and Colour (aka Dallas Green), first made his name in hardcore emo act Alexisonfire but began a new phase of his career by replacing his electric guitar for an acoustic one.

The second act made an even larger impact than with his original band, mostly due to his poignant lyrics and heartfelt intensity. He’s back on the road to finally tour his 2019 album, A Pill for Loneliness.

Tickets start at $36 plus fees. Doors open at 7 pm.

Pitbull with Iggy Azalea
Friday, September 10
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands

The man responsible for the sale of millions of bottles of Bud Light and a favorite of wedding DJs everywhere, Latin superstar Pitbull has carved out a major career serving as the toastmaster to a audiences of a certain age that are looking for non-descript, middle-of-the-road fun.

He’s touring behind his latest collection of Latin-inspired party jams, Libertad 548. He’ll be joined by much-maligned pop star Iggy Azalea, looking to win back some fans after a couple of hard years of controversies and music beefs.

Tickets start at $29.95 plus fees. Gates open at 7 p.m.

CultureMap Show of the Month: Harry Styles with Jenny Lewis
Monday, September 13
Toyota Center, 1510 Polk St.

One of the biggest pop stars in the world rolls through Houston when Harry Styles visits with his "Love On Tour" worldwide jaunt. Taking a page straight out of the Justin Timberlake playbook, Styles left his mega-selling hit boy band, One Direction, and set off on a career that deftly balanced music and movies.

Smartly, his solo work draws on the best from the history of British music, such as Elton John, Queen, and the Beatles with a healthy dose of pop melody that didn't lose any fans.

By the the time the Fine Line single "Watermelon Sugar" hit No. 1 during the height of the pandemic, Styles was seemingly everywhere - movie premieres, awards ceremonies, and on Saturday Night Live. Fantastic opener Jenny Lewis is an inspired choice and represents Styles' interest in indie and rock sounds.

Tickets start at $39.50 plus fees. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

CultureMap Local Band of the Month: Transviolet with Space Kiddettes and Lorelei Marcell
Wednesday, September 15
The Secret Group, 2101 Polk St.

Speaking of Harry Styles, alternative rock-pop act Transviolet is in town from San Diego, a group that earned an endorsement from pop singer. But the most exciting thing about this show is the return of Space City favorites, Space Kiddettes, to a Houston stage.

The fantastically colorful duo comprised of Trent Lira and Devon Will recently made an appearance on the massively popular reality show, America’s Got Talent, and they’ve been hard at work with a variety of projects, including new music which has been hinted for a release on the near horizon.

Tickets start at $15 plus fees. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Tinashe
Thursday, September 16
House of Blues, 1204 Caroline St.

Starting her career in the pop world, rising star Tinashe eventually went in a different direction, one that has been paying off on the hip-hop/R&B charts since the 2014 platinum, NSFW smash “2 On.”

Since then, she’s released a series of eclectic and critically acclaimed albums and singles, appearing alongside RZA, Iggy Azalea Offset, Ty Dolla $ign, Future, and more before signing a management deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. She’s touring behind the recent independent release, 333, which is drawing rave reviews.

Tickets start at $30 plus fees. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Kings of Leon with Cold War Kids
Saturday, September 18
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands

When Kings of Leon first burst onto the scene in the early-2000s, music press labeled the Followill brothers (and cousin) the Southern Strokes. Nearly 20 years later, that designation looked hasty at best, a huge miss at worst.

The band far surpassed the reach of the hip, rich-kid NYC band, selling six million copies of 2008’s Only by the Night on the strength of major radio singles, “Sex on Fire,” and “Use Somebody." The Nashville-based act returns to the Bayou City for the first time since playing to over 60,000 at RodeoHouston, touting their new album, When You See Yourself.

Tickets start at $36 plus fees. Gates open at 6 p.m.

Lucy Dacus
Saturday, September 18
White Oak Music Hall, 2915 N Main St.

One of the huge crop of extremely talented female singer-songwriters of the late-2010s, Lucy Dacus saw her star rise alongside other luminaries, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Waxahatchee, and Soccer Mommy, the former two of which she joined to form the one-off band, boygenius.

Her witty and insightful lyrics drew quick critical notice in indie circles, leading to tours with The Decemberists, Car Seat Headrest, and Sylvan Esso. Her new album, Home Video, is one of the year's best.

Tickets start at $18 plus fees. Show starts at 8 p.m.

CultureMap Recommends: Sylvan Esso
Sunday, September 19
Bayou Music Center, 520 Texas Ave.

Speaking of Sylvan Esso, few other bands could boast a pre-pandemic trajectory like the the North Carolina act with headline tours and major festival slots before the world shut down. The duo, comprised of Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, first burst onto the scene with the excellent 2014 self-titled debut that featured bouncy electro-indie tunes with heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics, including "H.S.K.T" and "Coffee."

They followed it up with a Grammy nomination for 2017's What Now, a collection that leaned into their electronic influences. They are back with two albums recorded during lockdown in 2020: the live set With, and Free Love, the latter which would make year-end best lists.

They'll be back to doing what they do best in front of their largest solo Houston show at Bayou Music Center this month.

Tickets start at $29.50 plus fees. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Darryl Hall & John Oates with Squeeze and KT Tunstall
Sunday, September 26
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins Dr, The Woodlands

Oh-oh-here they come... Two of the biggest hitmakers of the late-'70s and early-'80s, Darryl Hall & John Oates produced some of the most recognizable hits for their time, including the aforementioned "Maneater," "Rich Girl," the low-key underrated "I Can't Go for That," "Private Eyes" and more.

They'll make up for a rescheduled show from way back in June 2020, so the anticipation should be amped for this one. They'll round out a killer line-up with British act, Squeeze ("Tempted," "Cool For Cats"), as well as Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall.

Tickets start at $29.50 plus fees. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Maroon 5 with Blackbear
Tuesday, September 28
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands

Quick: name another member of Maroon 5 outside of lead singer-guitarist Adam Levine. It's hard, right?

The ubiquitous Levine may be better known among the masses for his time on the popular NBC show, The Voice, but he got there with a penchant for writing songs made for the radio: 15 top ten Billboard hits and four No. 1s, including "Girls Like You," "Moves Like Jagger," "One More Night," and "Makes Me Wonder."

Nothing screams Girls Night Out more than this show, but dudes who love sugary, schmaltzy adult pop songs are more than welcome too.

Tickets start at $40 plus fees. Gates open at 6 p.m.

Willow
Thursday, September 30
White Oak Music Hall, 2915 N Main St.

Willow, the daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith has what one might consider an outside-the-box career. She became the youngest artist to score a double-platinum song with 2010's "Whip My Hair," whose accompanying viral dance video spread across schoolyards around the globe.

Much like the fashion she's drawn praises for, she's rarely stuck to one taste or genre, mixing up R&B, pop, hip-hop, and more.

Her latest trick is transforming herself into a pop-punk hero, with her latest single, "Transparent Soul" featuring Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, getting play on alternative and rock radio. She'll bring her colorful vision to White Oak Music Hall at the end of the month.

Tickets start at $35 plus fees. Show starts at 7 p.m.

Maroon 5 bring their moves like Jagger to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Tuesday, September 28.

Photo by Killy

Maroon 5 bring their moves like Jagger to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Tuesday, September 28.

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Weekend Event Planner

These are the top 15 things to do in Houston this weekend

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Water for Elephants.

Now that the arctic blast has finished with us, several events that were cancelled last weekend – Gallery Sonja Roesch’s 35th anniversary show, a dual opening at Foltz Fine Art, Asia Society Texas’s Kawaii Market – have been rescheduled for this weekend.

As for the scheduled events this weekend, there’s an “autoboative” show, a screening of a sci-fi classic with live musical accompaniment, an all-star show for autograph collectors, a fashion competition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the return of Houston's noisiest music festival.

Thursday, January 29

Houston Autoboative Show
It’s the 42nd Houston Auto Show at NRG Park this weekend, which is also combined (for its third year) with the Houston Boat Show. The event showcases a diverse array of vehicles, from electric cars to trucks and sedans. It also offers a fantastic opportunity to get up close and personal with the hottest models on the market and learn from brand experts about each vehicle/vessel without the pressure of being sold to. 11 am (10 am Saturday and Sunday).

Asia Society Texas presents Offside
Asia Society Texas will kick off the World Cup with Offside, a 2006 dramedy from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi. (It’s also part of this year’s Festival of Films from Iran.) Set during a World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, the film follows a group of young women who attempt to circumvent a ban on women attending sporting events by disguising themselves as men to enter the stadium and watch the game, leading to a series of increasingly absurd situations. 7 pm.

Performing Arts Houston presents Blade Runner Live
Ridley Scott’s stylish, 1982 noir classic Blade Runner (aka the 2007 Final Cut) will screen while Vangelis’ synthesizer-led cult score is performed live by The Avex Ensemble. In this futuristic hriller, detective Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) must continue as Replicant Hunter following the escape of four Replicants (including main baddie Rutger Hauer – RIP) from colonies who’ve returned to earth. His mission, however, is complicated when he falls for Rachel (Sean Young), a Replicant based at the Tyrell Corporation. 7:30 pm.

Friday, January 30

TRISTAR Houston Collectors Show
For three days, a lot of stars will be flocking to the NRG Arena in order to give Houstonians their signature. Along with lots of sports memorabilia for sale, the 40th Annual TRISTAR Houston Collectors Show will have tons of celebs signing autographs. Just on Saturday alone, we’ll get Karate Kid/Cobra Kai castmates Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, and Martin Kove; the cast of The Sandlot, Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Dennis Rodman, former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, former Rockets player Elvin Hayes, and Houston’s own Randy Quaid. 2 pm (10 am Saturday and Sunday).

The Hobby Center presents Houston Is Inspired - [Jk]creativ: Our Road Home
Multidisciplinary company [Jk]creativ gives us Our Road Home, an interactive rhythmic production created and directed by native Houston artist Jakari Sherman. Through layered rhythmic storytelling - spoken, rapped, preached, and sung - the work honors the communal labor and ingenuity that built spaces of freedom across time. Inspired by the legacy of Houston’s Freedmen’s Town, the work asks: Once freedom is gained, how do we live in it, preserve it, and pass it on when the pull of bondage lingers near?

MFAH and HCC present Fashion Fusion X
Frida Kahlo meets contemporary couture in Fashion Fusion, the 10th edition of the annual fashion competition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Open to aspiring designers in the Fashion Design program at Houston City College, Fusion challenges students to create original garments in response to art on display in the museum’s galleries. This year, the aspiring designers will showcase garments addressing the exhibition, "Frida: The Making of an Icon." 7 pm.

Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Water for Elephants
After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train, unsure of where the road will take him. He finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life - and love - beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age. 7:30 pm (2 and 7:30 pm Saturday; 1:30 and 7 pm Sunday).

Saturday, January 31

The List One Year Anniversary
East End creative space The List will be celebrating its first anniversary with a bevy of weekend events, with two going down on Saturday. The day starts off with the return of the Vinyl & Furniture Garden Market, curated by local DJ vet Malcolm Bravo, over at the List Cafe. Bravo and other DJs will be spinning tunes as stores and vendors will be open for business. Later that evening, DJ/TikToker Sheri Koko will be working the turntables, along with some special-guest pals, at Room808. 11 am and 9 pm.

Burger Bodega present For the Culture
Chef and restaurateur Abbas Dhanani is taking a break from burgers to pay homage to his Pakistani heritage by partnering with the PX Project for a one-day only pop-up. Working with his mother and his aunt, the four-item menu showcases some favorite childhood dishes, including Nihari, slow-braised, spiced beef stew with naan; Hina Khala's Chicken Biryani, fragrant basmati rice layered with boneless chicken; the Chicken Sixty-Five Po' Boy; and a mango lassi sundae with a cardamom snickerdoodle cookie.

$\u200bBroadway at the Hobby Center presents Water for Elephants$

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Water for Elephants.

Seven Sisters presents Ping Zheng: Soft Interference opening reception
Soft Interference presents a new series of oil-stick works on paper by Ping Zheng, following her 2024 exhibition Nature’s Canopy at Seven Sisters. In these works, Zheng continues her investigation of landscape as a site of perception and interiority. Through repeated mark-making and shifting chromatic fields, she constructs images that hover between observed nature and remembered experience. Through Saturday, February 28. 2 pm.

MGEntertainment presents The 5th Annual Harsh Noise Houston
Believe it or not, there’s a heavy experimental-music scene here in H-Town. This weekend, you have the opportunity to see a lot of the scene’s most valuable players over at Super Happy Fun Land, where the fifth annual Harsh Noise Houston fest will be going down. 13 acts, representing some of the best experimental music, performance art, and noise that Texas has to offer, will be performing, including HauntedPixel, Ether Research, Astrogenic Hallucinating, and Psychosomatic’s sister project Del Norte. 7 pm.

Rice Cinema presents American Sons
Film producer and Rice alum Elizabeth Avellán presents American Sons, a documentary using first-hand footage captured by fallen Marine Cpl. Jorge “JV” Villarreal, a native of San Antonio. The film focuses on a brotherhood of U.S. Marines a decade after their Afghanistan deployment, focusing on their struggle with combat trauma, PTSD, and reintegration, especially after losing their friend Villarreal. Avellan and director Andrew James Gonzales will be around for a post-screening Q&A. 7 pm.

Sunday, February 1

ReelAbilities Houston presents ReelArt For All
The ReelAbilities Houston Film & Arts Festival’s ReelArt For All program will feature art and interactive activities, brunchy bites, and more. Guests can see the world through the eyes of artists from Celebration Company, an entrepreneurial employment program for adults with disabilities, and explore the works of featured artist Emmett Kyoshi Wilson. A Chicago-based artist living with Down syndrome, Wilson has created over 150 works, exhibited in five galleries, and even painted the American Flag for the U.S. Embassy in Croatia. 10:30 am.

Shepherd School of Music presents Inside Look: Modern American Operas
The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University will present a deconstructed look at two full-length American comic operas: Karim Al-Zand’s 50th anniversary commission A Joint Interest and William Bolcom’s Lucrezia. Aleko Endowed Artist Paul Curran guides audiences through these mischievous and delightfully theatrical worlds. Shepherd School Chamber Players will accompany both contemporary operas from the pit, led by Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Bolcom's Lucrezia contains adult content and is not suitable for all audiences. 2 pm.

Cultural Center Our Texas presents Popovich Comedy Pet Theater
The World Famous Popovich Comedy Pet Theater is a family-oriented blend of the unique comedy and juggling skills of Gregory Popovich, and the talents of his furry costars. There are more than 30 pets (dogs, cats, horses, birds, etc.) in the show, and each one has been rescued from animal shelters and given a new leash on life. Bad pun aside, this show will be a joy for viewers of all ages. 4 pm.

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