Weekend event planner

Here are the top 9 things to do in Houston this weekend

If you're used to a hectic work week, the weekend is your time to squeeze in some fun. From a bake sale with mind-blowingly good pastries and kolaches to a luncheon with special guest, Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, here are the top nine things to do in Houston this weekend.

For more options, check out the full CultureMap Events Calendar.

Music at MATCH
Thursday, April 27-Saturday, April 29
Look no further than Da Camera’s latest concert series for an innovative mix of jazz, classical, and contemporary sounds. Artists, including the James Francies Trio, Bach in Brooklyn, and Red Baraat Dance Party, headline different nights of the event, held at Midtown venue, MATCH. (Various times; tickets: Start at $20 per person for a single concert and go up to $120 per person for an all access pass)
3400 Main St.; 713-521-4533

Latin nights
Thursday, April 27-Sunday, April 30
The 12th edition of Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents 10 films reflecting the vibrant Latin America cinema scene. Special guests are Yanillys Pérez, director of Jeffrey, Iván Gaona, writer and director of Guilty Men, and Carlos Lechuga, writer and director of Santa & Andrés. (Various times; tickets: $8 per person for museum members, $10 per person for non-members)
1001 Bissonnet St.; 713-639-7300

Shop for a cause
Friday, April 28-Sunday, May 7
Purchase a Shop With Heart Card and score a 20 percent discount, good over a 10-day period, at 450 participating merchants including retailers like Kuhl-Linscomb and The Container Store. You also get a complimentary appetizer or dessert with purchase of an entrée at restaurants from upscale Greenway Plaza-area eatery Tony’s to casual hotspot Bowl & Barrel at CityCentre. All proceeds benefit the American Heart Association, an organization whose mission is to promote healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. (Cost: minimum $50 donation)

Bizarre Foods for charity luncheon
Friday, April 28
Nonprofit, The Council on Recovery welcomes keynote speaker Andrew Zimmern, award-winning chef and host of Travel Channel series Bizarre Foods, to its 34th annual spring luncheon at the Hilton Americas – Houston. Presented by the Wayne Duddlesten Foundation, the fundraiser traditionally showcases guest speakers who share their personal stories related to alcoholism, addiction, recovery, health, and wellness. (11:15 am-1:30 pm; tickets: $150-$500 per person. Tables start at $1,500)
1600 Lamar St.; 281-200-9336

Hook ‘em fun run
Saturday, April 29
Fun for the whole family, the Texas Exes Houston chapter hosts its 39th annual Lone Star stampede, featuring 10K and 5K runs for adults, and a 1K children’s fun run. Presented by University Co-op and Memorial City, the event benefits the Texas Exes Houston Scholarship Fund, which raises money to provide college scholarships to Houston area high school seniors. (8 am; tickets: $17-$40 per person)
303 Memorial City; 469-233-8681

It’s good to be king
Saturday, April 29
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion as part of their 40th Anniversary tour, touted by many as their last. The band was on the forefront of the heartland rock movement, alongside artists from Bruce Springsteen to Bob Seger, which arose in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. The rocker’s hit singles include, "American Girl," "Breakdown," "The Waiting," "Learning to Fly," "Refugee," and "Mary Jane's Last Dance." Singer-songwriter Joe Walsh of Eagles band fame will also perform. (7:30 pm; tickets: platinum seats remain, including in the pit area directly in front of the stage, priced at $750 per person)
2005 Lake Robbins Dr., The Woodlands; 281-363-3300

Sunday sweets
Sunday, April 30
Don’t miss the "sweet liberty" brunch sale at Oxheart restaurant, where you can get delicious pastries and kolaches by baker Karen Man (Oxheart) and pastry chefs Jillian Bartolome (Common Bond) and Kelly Helgesen (Chicago’s Lula Cafe). All proceeds go to the Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees. (11 am-3 pm or until they run out; tickets: free to enter)
1302 Nance St.; 832-830-8592

Crawfish and beer
Sunday, April 30
Expect mudbug heaven and beer nirvana, and tunes by hip hop artist Mannie Fresh, psychedelic rock band The Bright Light Social Hour, and more, at 8th Wonder Brewery’s 4th annual crawfish and brews event. (12-6 pm; tickets: $15-$40 per person)
2202 Dallas St.; 713-229-0868

The block is hot
Sunday, April 30
As part of his Kloser 2 U tour, Lil Wayne takes to the stage at downtown’s Revention Music Center. Hit songs by the hip hop recording artist include "Go D.J.," "Fireman," "Stuntin' Like My Daddy,” and “Lollipop.” (8 pm; tickets: $65 per person)
520 Texas Ave.; 713-230-1600

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion as part of their 40th Anniversary tour.

Houston, the top 9 things to do in Houston this weekend, April 26 2017, Tom Petty

Photo courtesy of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers/Facebook

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion as part of their 40th Anniversary tour.

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super duper

Quirky Houston DJ drops genre-blending mix CD inspired by video games

Photo by Dustee Torres

DJ Squincy Jones

If you’re the type of person who has dubstep, Southern hip-hop, and Koji Kondo’s iconic “Ground Theme” from Super Mario Bros. in your streaming-music library, then Squincy Jones has created the perfect playlist for you..

Photo by Dustee Torres

DJ Squincy Jones

Super Nintendub is the name of the mix where the Houston-born-and-bred DJ mashes up all those aforementioned music genres. A capella bars from Houston heavyweights (Megan Thee Stallion, Paul Wall) and other Dirty South MCs (Three 6 Mafia, 8Ball & MJG) gets laid over grooves from underground dubstep artists (Numa Crew, Blay Vision, Hamdi). But we also get music from various Nintendo (Castlevania III, Ninja Gaiden) and Super Nintendo (Super Mario World, Final Fantasy VI) games. Jones also throws in audio samples from commercials and gaming-heavy movies like WarGames, The Wizard, and the Adam Sandler-produced Grandma’s Boy.

Needless to say, Jones has always been a gamer. He’s had his run of game systems: NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, even the old-school Atari 2600. He recalls his days blowing the dust out of such cartridges as Contra, Double Dragon, and Duck Hunt. In the past, Jones has released a series of mashup mixes – titled Blend Pack – with cover art that resembles/salutes classic video games.

“I'm a huge fan of all the eight-bit and 16-bit stuff,” says Jones (government name: Shane Rector), 41. “I play a lot of the new games, or I have played a lot of the new games, but not as much anymore. You know, being a parent and having a full-time job – you don't really have time for video games anymore.”

Super Nintendub is a sequel to Nintendub, a dubstep mix he played during a party way back in 2008. “I added some a capellas, [like] a Bun B a capella,” he recalls. “I had some other Dirty South tunes from the time. I layered them because they're at the same tempo as dubstep. Another friend that does music gave me a folder of Nintendo songs. So, I just randomly layered it on top and kinda slowed down the Nintendo music, and it sounded cool as hell to me.”

The mix picked up fans overseas when he dropped it online. “I've always wanted to make a follow-up to it because I got so much good feedback,” he remembers. “People from all over were writing about it."

Jones decided to release Super on compact disc, sold in rectangular keep cases – packaging that’s very familiar to gamers – with double-sided artwork also by Jones. (A digital link is available upon request to those who buy the CD.) While the limited-edition disc is available for purchase on Jones’s Bandcamp page, the CD mix shouldn’t be confused with the Super mix that’s currently playing on the page.

“I wanted to have them in the mix as well,” he says. “But I'm not entirely, you know, confident with my production skills. So, I just kinda had it on the side to go along with the release of this mix.”

Since releasing Super in September, Jones says he’s gotten good feedback from those who’ve bought a copy. “Because it looks like a video game,” he says, “a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, cool! Is it an actual game or an actual DVD or whatnot?’ But it's always hit or miss because some people are like, ‘Oh, man, I don't have a CD player’ or "Wow, you actually printed a CD,’ because everything's, you know, digital.”

He’s looking into playing a big-screen version of Super, where videos of the rap songs are spliced in with video-game footage and other retro clips, somewhere around here. “I was thinking like either a movie theater or somebody mentioned Aurora Picture Show, or maybe Wonky Power, to do like a viewing or showing or whatever – kind of have a party for it.”

Even though Jones enjoys merging gaming and music – his dual obsessions – he still prefers to be known as more than a video-game DJ. A veteran of the Houston DJ scene for a quarter of a century, he continues to do gigs like his upcoming monthly residency at Eight Row Flint.

“I do open-format DJing,” he says. “I've done raves and dubstep parties. I've played on the radio. I've played at Mid Main, where it’s a mainstream crowd. In this day and age, everybody has their branding or whatnot. I just love video games, so I just kind of take that as my branding, I guess.”

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