In Memoriam

Groundbreaking Houston graffiti legend dies as a mystery: Taggers remember abadass rebel

NEKST's work is found throughout Houston, where the artist cut his teeth in thelatter half of the '90s. (Crawford and Elgin, northwest corner)
Photo by Tyler Rudick
Graffiti artists from across the country are contributing to NEKST memoriallocated at a soon-to-be-revealed site in Houston.
Work on the dedication started this past weekend. The memorial site will beannounced shortly.
Commuters on 59 will recognize NEKST's work on a warehouse across the freewayfrom Minute Maid Park.
Photo by Tyler Rudick

The graffiti world lost a giant with the death of NEKST — the prolific street tagger who got his start in Houston during the mid 1990s before making his way to the New York big leagues with the notorious Mad Society Kings crew.

As one might expect, there's not much in the way of biographical information about an artist whose career requires him to spend much of the time dodging police. And information about his death is equally sketchy with local artists saying they don't want to get into the cause.

"You know you're badass when half of your peers want to write with you and the other half wants to fight you."

Glasstire listed his name simply as "Sean" in a recent obituary while the Houston Press, which gave him its 2003 award for best graffiti artist, noted only that he began working in 1996 under the moniker "Next" and that he served a short but artistically-busy prison sentence in Dallas.

After that, details of NEKST's life and untimely death remain a mystery to those outside the tightly-knit graffiti community. Luckily, the rest of us are left with countless monumental works the artist plastered across the globe from EaDo to London.

"These days, it's all about using the Internet to get you name out to the world," Houston graffiti writer GONZO247 tells CultureMap. "But for NEKST, he decided to just write his name on the world."

GONZO, who'd known the artist for nearly two decades, recalls some of NEKST's early tags — one of which can still be seen covering a warehouse fire escape across from Minute Maid Park just east of the 59 freeway.

"He used to write in this crazy silver and black wildstyle before moving onto these bigger and bigger projects," Gonzo says. "Through the years, he inspired a lot of people and gained the respect of a lot of graffiti artists.

"You know you're badass when half of your peers want to write with you and the other half wants to fight you."

NEKST was known not only for his large and intricate murals, but for his ability to create them in the most challenging of terrain. "He wouldn't just climb a billboard and tag it, he'd cover the whole thing," GONZO says. "It's that kind of work that made him so well-known among graffiti artists."

This past weekend, as a tribute to the artist, graffiti writers gathered at a memorial site in Houston to re-create their own versions of a NEKST piece. The location of the dedication project will be announced in the near future.

Click here for a 100-photo NEKST memorial from alt-art magazine Juxtapoz.

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Concert News

Goo Goo Dolls slide into Houston on 2025 tour with Dashboard Confessional

Photo courtesy of Goo Goo Dolls

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The rock band Goo Goo Dolls will hit the road in 2025 with their Summer Anthem Tour, a 41-date trek that will include a stop at Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land on Thursday, July 16.

The Houston-area date and one in Fort Worth on July 16 will be the second and third concerts on the tour after it kicks off in Phoenix, Arizona on July 13. The massive North American tour will continue through September 12.

The band, led by John Rzeznik and Robby Takac, will perform a career-encompassing set that will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough 1995 album, A Boy Named Goo, and feature multiple songs from their 2022 album, Chaos in Bloom.

They'll be joined on all dates by special guest Dashboard Confessional.

Although generally considered a '90s band, Goo Goo Dolls actually released their first album in 1987. They waited eight years and five albums before their first major hit, "Name," which led the way toward songs like "Iris" and "Slide" becoming '90s anthems.

The band has released 14 studio albums in their career, and according to statement by Rzeznik, they are putting together a 15th release that may also be showcased during the tour.

A local pre-sale will be on Thursday, November 21 from 10 am to 10 pm before the public on-sale starts on Friday, November 22 at 10 am. Tickets can be purchased at googoodolls.com/tour.

Goo Goo Dolls will be partnering with Joe Torre Safe At Home for the tour, a nonprofit founded in 2002 by Ali and Joe Torre to provide healing and education services to youth who have been traumatized by exposure to violence including domestic violence, child abuse, teen dating abuse and sexual assault to help break the cycle of violence.

GOO GOO DOLLS LIVE

Saturday, July 13, 2025 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
Thursday, July 17, 2025 - Sugar Land, TX - Smart Financial Centre
Saturday, July 19, 2025 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
Sunday, July 20, 2025 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - St Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Friday, July 25, 2025 - Charlotte, NC - Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
Saturday, July 26, 2025 - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater
Sunday, July 27, 2025 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap - Filene Center
Tuesday, July 29, 2025 - Boston, MA - LeaderBank Pavilion
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Broadview Stage at SPAC
Friday, August 1, 2025 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
Saturday, August 2, 2025 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Sunday, August 3, 2025 - Philadelphia, PA - The Mann Center
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 - Bangor, ME - Maine Savings Amphitheater
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 - Gilford, NH - BankNH Pavilion
Friday, August 8, 2025 - Bridgeport, CT - Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Saturday, August 9, 2025 - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center
Saturday, August 10, 2025 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
Wednesday, August 13, 2025 - Chicago, IL - Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Friday, August 15, 2025 - Indianapolis, IN - Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
Saturday, August 16, 2025 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
Monday, August 18, 2025 - Waite Park, MN - The Ledge Amphitheater
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 - La Vista, NE - The Astro
Thursday, August 21, 2025 - St. Louis, MO - Saint Louis Music Park
Friday, August 22, 2025 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
Sunday, August 24, 2025 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Tuesday, August 26, 2025 - West Valley City, UT - Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Thursday, August 28, 2025 - Airway Heights, WA - Northern Quest Resort & Casino
Friday, August 29, 2025 - Bend, OR - Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Sunday, August 31, 2025 - Seattle, WA - Venue TBD
Monday, September 1, 2025 - Seattle, WA - Venue TBD
Thursday, September 4, 2025 - Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
Saturday, September 6, 2025 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
Sunday, September 7, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
Thursday, September 11, 2025 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Zoo Amphitheatre
Friday, September 12, 2025 - Camdenton, MO - Ozark Amphitheater

concerts music goo goo dolls