Feelin' Good Again

Legendary Texas troubadour Robert Earl Keen storms into Houston on farewell tour

Robert Earl Keen announced the end of the road earlier this year.

Photo by Melanie Maganias Nashan

The road, it seems, does not go on forever, and the party — at least the live one — is wrapping up for legendary Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen. In January 2022, the he announced his decision in January 2022 to retire at the top of his game, and the acclaimed musician is making the most of his final touring year with a romping, rowdy set of shows across his home state of Texas.

“I’ve been blessed with a lifetime of brilliant, talented, colorful, electrical, magical folks throughout my life,” Keen shared in a video on his social media channels. “This chorus of joy, this parade of passion, this bull rush of creativity, this colony of kindness and generosity are foremost in my thoughts today. It’s with a mysterious concoction of joy and sadness that I want to tell you that as of September 4, 2022, I will no longer tour or perform publicly.”

The final leg of his final tour will kick off in Corpus Christi on August 4 and run through September 4, making stops at several Texas institutions, including visits here at Galveston’s Grand 1894 Opera House and The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. He’ll also play ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin and Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth.

With a catalog of 21 albums, his band of stellar musicians, and many thousands of shows under his belt, Keen has earned living-legend status in the Americana music world. A Houston native, he grew up on classic rock and Willie Nelson records, teaching himself the guitar by the time he entered Texas A&M University. Keen co-wrote “The Front Porch Song” with fellow Texas legend and friend Lyle Lovett, which both artists recorded on their debut albums.

Keen followed in the footsteps of some of the Lone Star State’s most revered singer-songwriters, producing and financing his first album No Kinda Dancer before moving to Nashville. By the time he moved back to Texas, he had a publishing deal, a new label, and a national booking agent. He released The Live Album and West Textures, the seminal album which debuted what remains his all-time fan favorite, "The Road Goes on Forever."

Since then, two more albums, A Bigger Piece of Sky and Gringo Honeymoon, produced instant classics like "Corpus Christi Bay," "Gringo Honeymoon," "Dreadful Selfish Crime," and "Merry Christmas from the Family.” Keen’s acclaim as a writer has earned him membership in the Texas Heritage Songwriter Hall of Fame, The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Texas Institute of Letters.

While Keen will continue to write music, host his popular podcast, support young artists, and follow his artistic muse wherever it takes him, his already-sold-out final public concert will be September 4 at John T. Floores Country Store in Helotes, Texas, followed by a fan appreciation party at the same venue on September 5.

Below is the complete list of dates and venues for his World Tour of Texas. Local presale tickets will go on sale on Thursday, May 26, from 10 am-10 pm. All tickets will be on sale Friday, May 27, at 10 am.

August 4 — Concrete Street Amphitheater, Corpus Christi
August 5 — Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, San Antonio
August 6 — KOKE Fest, Hutto
August 12 — Starlight Ranch, Amarillo
August 17-18 — Gruene Hall, New Braunfels
August 19 — The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston
August 20 — Texas Uprising, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston
August 21 — Julie Rogers Theater, Beaumont
August 24 — The Factory Deep Ellum, Dallas
August 25 — Billy Bob’s Texas, Fort Worth
August 26 — Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center, Midland
August 28-29 — ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Austin
September 1 — Floore’s Country Store, Helotes (sold out)
September 2 — TBA, College Station
September 3-4 — Floore’s Country Store, Helotes (sold out)

Movie Review

Anne Hathaway's busy 2026 continues with meta-thriller Verity

Photo by Alisha Wetherill

Anne Hathaway in Verity.

Anne Hathaway has been inescapable for movie fans in 2026, starring in no fewer than five different movies across multiple genres, including Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, and The End of Oak Street. The actor (who’s pregnant and about to take a well-earned break) is wrapping up her supremely busy year with the psychological thriller, Verity.

Hathaway plays the title character, Verity Crawford, a hugely successful author who writes beach read thrillers, often from the perspective of the villain. An unpublicized car accident renders her immobile and mute, and her husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and agents make the decision to recruit someone to ghostwrite her next book in order to continue her legacy.

The person hired for the job is Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), an aspiring author whose books mostly get ignored. She’s eager to take on the project, but the reality of Verity’s situation throws her for a loop. When she discovers a secret file that seems to be Verity admitting to some very bad things, Lowen starts to spin even more, imagining situations that may not actually be happening.

Directed by Michael Showalter and adapted by Nick Antosca from the book by Colleen Hoover, the film initially has a nice rhythm to it, setting up the three main characters well and building up tension. Though current day Verity can’t speak or move, the film gets to the heart of her through old interviews Lowen watches to get to know her mind better. Using that footage and other small moments at the house, a type of rivalry develops between the two characters.

Strangely, though, Showalter and Antosca fail to capitalize on the early momentum. The story stagnates about halfway through the movie and never delivers on what it seems to be promising. Whether they’re too true to Hoover’s original story or change things too much is difficult to tell for those who haven’t read the book, but either way, the result is a big tease with not much in the way of a payoff.

What’s most disappointing about the film is its inability to decide on a tone. There are some points where it feels like over-the-top, campy fun, and others where it seems like the filmmakers are going for a straight-up horror vibe. The down-the-middle approach that they land on serves neither the story nor the characters well. Moments that should be full of suspense or could get laughs often fall flat because of the indecisiveness of the filmmakers.

Due to her character’s affliction, Hathaway is reduced to a supporting role in the film, but she gets by on presence alone and still has a few scenes where she demonstrates her star power. Johnson delivers a good performance despite her typical lack of emotion. Like many of her roles, it’s her body that seems to get more attention than her acting. Hartnett is on a roll thanks to recent roles in Oppenheimer and Trap, and he puts in solid work here, as well.

Verity has the bones of a tense thriller, but it’s filled in with a bunch of questionable story beats that don’t prove as satisfying as the premise. The meta-plot of the authors of thrillers becoming involved in a thriller themselves should have been juicy and full of great twists, but ultimately it’s as catatonic as Verity herself.

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Verity is now playing in theaters.

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