weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Toast National Margarita Day on Friday.

This weekend will see people celebrating either Valentine's Day or Presidents Day, but we're also looking forward to National Margarita Day on Friday. In fact, The Rustic, The General Public, and Fajita Pete's will be offering up margarita specials the whole day.

Here are other things that are worth checking out this weekend:

Thursday, February 14

Bootycandy at the Catastrophic Theatre
African-American playwright Robert O'Hara has written several intriguing things that have sadly not seen the light of day, like screenplays for biopics on Richard Pryor and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux that were to be directed by Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee, respectively. But he has managed to bring his works to the stage, like this autobiographical, certain-to-be-outrageous comedy about a gay, black man who goes on a journey through his life and times. It runs through March 10th. 7:30 pm.

Friday, February 15

Vox Culture Presents Beer Summit
The third annual, Vox Beer Summit will have the Mental Health America of Greater Houston, Comcare and the Houston Grand Opera will present information pertaining to their work, the current mental health challenges and stigmas Houstonians face, what more needs to be done to give proper support and creative methods to raise awareness. 6 pm.

Blazing Saddles Movie Party at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
There are many movies staffers around these parts hold very dearly to our hearts. (The Big Lebowski comes up in casual conversation way too often.) And Mel Brooks's classic, 1974 Western parody is one of them. Written by Brooks and several other funny guys (including Richard Pryor), this tale of a black railroad worker who becomes the sheriff of a lily-white town is raunchy, vulgar, offensive — and, by gum — one of the most subversive, influential, and still-hilarious movies ever made. 7:30 pm.

The Original Harlem Globetrotters at University of Houston
A couple of weeks ago, two Harlem globetrotters — a man and a woman — showed up at our offices, took photos and wowed the staff with the b-ball tricks that have made them the most entertaining, exhibition basketball team of all time. The whole crew will be in town this weekend, as part of their "Fan Powered World Tour." There will also be the "Flying Gobies," an acrobatic trampoline dunk team that'll keep the audience hyped with their exciting in-air stunts. 7:30 pm (7 pm Saturday and 3 pm Sunday).

Saturday, February 16

Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story at 14 Pews
Back in the day, Paul Butterfield was one hell of a harmonica player. Coming out of the blues mecca of Chicago and learning from such greats as Muddy Waters, Butterfield was the frontman for The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, a group that played once-in-a-lifetime sets at the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock. Unfortunately, like many '60s music legends, he eventually died of a drug overdose. But if you want to see what kind of a blues-rock powerhouse, check out this documentary. 4:15 and 6:45 pm.

Comedy Festival Weekend at Horseshoe Bay Resort
The Horseshoe Bay Resort is officially getting into some funny business with the debut of its Comedy Festival Weekend. The festival basically consists of two headlining comedians. First up on Saturday is veteran weirdo Harland Williams, who you might have seen in movies like Half-Baked. And, on Sunday, Heather McDonald, best known as a former regular on Chelsea Lately, will be doing a show and also sticking around for a meet-and-greet. 7:30 pm.

Charlie Wilson & Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds at Smart Financial Centre
Yeah, Valentine's Day is on Thursday, but that doesn't mean that ladies can't get seductively serenaded by a pair of iconic, soul singers two days later. Charlie Wilson, former frontman for the '80s funk trio The Gap Band, and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter who has penned tunes for Madonna, Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton and so many others, will be here to perform their biggest songs. 8 pm.

Sunday, February 17

Cochon555 2019 Tour at Four Seasons Hotel
Wine and pork — it might seem weird, but they can work together perfectly. And those two things will definitely be flowing at this epic culinary celebration. This feast will feature a hundred-plus prominent chefs, farmers, sommeliers, distillers, brewers, and barkeeps all working in concert to create luxurious moments that educate the palate. This is also a fundraiser for Piggy Bank, a start-up farm in Missouri that serves as a kickstarter for new family farms and a safety net for those in the wake of a disaster. 5 pm.

event-planner

lizzo concert review

Lizzo makes Houston feel 'Good as Hell' at sold-out Rodeo concert

Courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Lizzo entered the rodeo in a tricked out SLAB.

Much like Mayor of Trill Town Bun B’s past rodeo shows, Lizzo’s sold-out Friday night show, closing out Black Heritage Day, was a rapturous celebration of Houston pride with a live jukebox.

The best rodeo shows are when no one sits down, even if their boots make their dogs holler, and when the show ends, everyone spills out of the stadium barefoot, or the menfolk carry the heels. No other city would allow you to eat chicken fried lobster, drink award-winning wine by the bottle, watch teenagers wrestle calves for cash, see kindergartens hold on to a sheep with a death grip, and stomp your Ariats to “Still Tippin’” with 70,000 other people within the span of six hours.

Along with Go Tejano Day, Black Heritage Day (which became a part of the RodeoHouston DNA in 1993) showcases the diversity found on the concrete and the hay off Kirby Drive every year. It’s a whole day of celebration on the grounds, including field trips, art installations, traveling museum exhibits, and an unofficial HBCU reunion event. As cowpokes in cowboy hats battled various beasts before the show, the big screen highlighted roving bands of women dressed in their finest rodeo attire. The sidewalks around NRG Stadium were a Friday night fashion show. Friday was also the kickoff of spring break for most Houston-area school districts, meaning the grounds will be insanely busy over the next week.

Proud Alief Elsik High School alum and University of Houston product Lizzo was supposed to have made her triumphant hometown rodeo debut back in 2020, but Covid-19 scuttled the second half of that season, including her appearance. Just a few weeks ago, she gushed on Late Night with Seth Meyers about how important the show would be to her, mentioning seeing John Mayer and Beyoncé during her teen years in town.

At 9:15 pm, just next door to the 8th Wonder of the World the “9th Wonder of the World” — Texas Southern University’s Ocean of Soul Marching Band — made its way onto the show floor to massive applause as a hype video of Houston landmarks played on the show screens. If RodeoHouston needs a house band — founded in 1969 — this is it. In fact, it should be legally mandated that they appear every year.

Before Lizzo even appeared, the show felt like a Super Bowl halftime show, with three SLABs driving out into the dirt, with the woman herself kicking off “About Damn Time” from the back seat of a fourth SLAB, clad in a black leather studded duster, surrounded by TSU dancers. This is the kind of big-budget spectacle that the rodeo salivates for. Backed by a mostly-female band onstage, the Ocean of Soul provided a constant brassy, bassy undercurrent.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RODEOHOUSTON (@rodeohouston)

“This is the city that raised me,” Lizzo said, taking in the 69,362 souls in her midst.

She was met with a hurricane-force wall of screams as she launched into “Cuz I Love You,” ditching her black leather duster for a white tank top.

Houston’s own gospel pop quartet The Walls Group appeared just then for the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice And Sing.” Lizzo and the Walls siblings then wove “Special” into “Total Praise.” We’d all buy a Lizzo gospel album, and you know it.

Her collaboration with Cardi B “Rumors” — flaunting rodeo lyrical standards — gave way to her own rendition 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up,” giving Linda Perry’s grunge pop classic a torch song glow-up.

Lizzo got back into her custom SLAB for her own “Yitty On Yo Tittys” from last summer’s My Face Hurts From Smiling album, complete with a human-sized dancing Labubu. The Ocean of Soul got its own interlude while keen eyes could see Lizzo side stage, tuning up her famous flute with a familiar line.

Wait, is that? Yes, by God, that’s Houston’s national anthem.

Soon Slim Thug, Mike Jones, and Paul Wall sauntered out for “Still Tippin’” as city pride began to sweat from the stadium walls, all while the Ocean of Soul kept strutting along. The professor emeritus’ of Houston's 2000s rap explosion, you look up from your phone and realize all these Houston rap standards are all over 20 years old now. Paul is a silver fox, Slim is a real estate magnate, and even people in Japan know Jones’ personal phone number.

“At the end of the day, I just want Houston to feel good as hell,” Lizzo said, tapping directly into “Good As Hell.” Was that a pregnant lady in a cowboy hat dancing on the big screen? How much more Houston can a fetus be?

The only truly Houston things left to do tonight were to sweat through your Wranglers in the parking lot, gaze at the Astrodome, sit in standstill traffic, and join the drive-thru parade at the closest Whataburger.

Setlist

With Texas Southern University’s Ocean Of Soul

About Damn Time
Juice
2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)
Soulmate
Cuz I Love You

With The Walls Group

Lift Every Voice And Sing
Special > Total Praise
Rumors > What’s Up

Tempo > Wobble
Boys (with Ocean Of Soul)
Mo City Don (Z-Ro Cover)
Yitty On Yo Tittys
Screwed (with Ocean Of Soul)
Still Tippin’ (with Slim Thug, Mike Jones, and Paul Wall)
Truth Hurts
Good As Hell (with Ocean Of Soul)

rodeohouston concert review lizzo