you can't park there, Freddie

Art Cars honoring two legendary musicians roll into Houston airports

Houston is famous for its art cars, and now travelers will have the opportunity to see some of them on display at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU).

“Art has the power to transform spaces and create memorable experiences,” said Alton DuLaney, curator of public arts for Houston Airports, in a statement. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the Orange Show to showcase an Art Car at our airports, providing passengers with a delightful visual journey that captures the spirit of Houston's eclectic artistic community.”

Art cars have been a Houston institution since 1986 when the first art car parade was held with just 11 vehicles. Now, it has grown to be the largest art car parade in the world, featuring hundreds of entries.

Thanks to a partnership with the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, a few art cars are always on display at the Art Car Museum. However, the small space can only accommodate a few pieces at a time on a rotating basis. A chance to catch more examples of this unique art form at another venue is more than welcome.

At Bush, visitors can find the art car in the Terminal A Ticketing Lobby. The car is a tribute to Freddie Mercury, the legendary lead singer of the rock band Queen. Mercury died of bronchial pneumonia in 1991.

The car features a statue of Mercury on the roof wearing his famous yellow jacket and branding a British flag. It was created by Rebecca Bass and the students of the Art Car Club at Reagan High School (now known as Heights High School). Mercury is a Houston icon thanks to a stop at The Summit in 1980 when he sang “We Will Rock You” sitting on the shoulders of a man dressed as Darth Vader from Star Wars.

Hobby will sport another car dedicated to a music legend. This one features a statue of Texas guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Another Bass creation, it debuted at the 2019 parade to great acclaim. Vaughan is a slightly odd choice to showcase in an airport considering he died in a helicopter crash in 1990, but he is undoubtedly a piece of Texas history ready to welcome travelers from all over the world. His car can be found in the Ticking Lobby near TSA Security.

The Houston Airport System is renowned for its art, winning the inaugural World's Best Art in the Airport from Airport by Skytrax in 2023. Both Bush and Hobby were highlighted in the award for having exceptional art displays that celebrated Texas culture.

Courtesy of Houston Airports

SRV is near Hobby's TSA checkpoint.

The 37th annual Art Car Parade will take to the streets of downtown Houston on April 13.

Summer swelter

Texas charges up as No. 2 state most at risk for summer power outages

Getty Images

Texas led the list of states with the most hours of summertime power outages.

Warning: Houston could be in for an especially uncomfortable summer. A new study puts Texas at No. 2 among the states most at risk for power outages this summer. Michigan tops the list.

Solar energy company Wolf River Electric analyzed the number of large-scale outages that left more than 5,000 utility customers, including homes, stores and schools, without summertime electricity from 2019 to 2023. During that period, Texas experienced 7,164 summertime power outages.

Despite Michigan being hit with more summertime outages, Texas led the list of states with the most hours of summertime power outages — an annual average of 35,440. That works out to 1,477 days.

“This means power cuts in Texas tend to last longer, making summer especially tough for residents and businesses,” the study says.

This news comes on the heels of another study that said Houston is among nine major U.S. cities that now experience at least 50 more days per year with above-normal summer temperatures than they did in 1970. The average summer temperature in Houston rose by 4.6 degrees from 1970 to 2024, according to Climate Central.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the electric grid serving 90 percent of the state, predicts its system will set a monthly record for peak demand this August — 85,759 megawatts. That would exceed the current record of 85,508 megawatts, dating back to August 2023.

In 2025, natural gas will account for 37.7 percent of ERCOT’s summertime power-generating capacity, followed by wind (22.9 percent) and solar (19 percent), according to an ERCOT fact sheet.

This year, ERCOT expects four months to surpass peak demand of 80,000 megawatts:

June 2025 — 82,243 megawatts
July 2025 — 84,103 megawatts
August 2025 — 85,759 megawatts
September 2025 — 80,773 megawatts

One megawatt is enough power to serve about 250 residential customers amid peak demand, according to ERCOT. Using that figure, the projected peak of 85,759 megawatts in August would supply enough power to serve more than 21.4 million residential customers in Texas.

Data centers, artificial intelligence, and population growth are driving up power demand in Texas, straining the ERCOT grid. In January, ERCOT laid out a nearly $33 billion plan to boost power transmission capabilities in its service area.

---

This story originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.

ercot summer texas reports