Prep for the plastic bubble crowd surf

The five acts you absolutely cannot miss at Summer Fest

How about a plastic bubble crowd surf?
Summer Fest is two days of summer heat and music parties.
Slim Thug isn't getting his usual opening act.

Music festival season is upon us and Houston finally has a first-rate event to call our own. Granted, Free Press Summer Fest doesn't measure up to the grand scale of Austin City Limits or Bonnaroo, but its affordability, accessibility, and focus on out-of-the mainstream regional acts along with a few indie stalwarts makes it a notable addition to the growing summer festival circuit.

It's also a winner in terms of the diversity of performers, with artists representing everything from thrash metal (Cro-Mags) and hip-hop (Slim Thug) to indie pop (Stars) and worldbeat (D.R.U.M.).

Sure, it'll be hotter than Hades this weekend at Eleanor Tinsley Park (especially with up to 30,000 people there last year), but for any discerning music fan it's a no-brainer. Here are five acts worth braving the heat and crowds to catch:

Listen Listen

Adobe Flash Required for flash player."Safe Home, Safe in Port"

Proudly flying the freak-folk flag, this ragtag bunch from Houston play an assortment of instruments, ranging from piano to banjo and everything in between. With a spirit that conjures images of deep, dark woods from a bygone era, Listen Listen’s sound is communal, often featuring a chorus of chanting voices bolstered by gently plucked guitars, swelling horns, and swirling strings.

The band’s debut full-length album, Hymns From Rhodesia, bristles with a tasty combination of Neutral Milk Hotel’s Balkan bent and Incredible String Band’s Renaissance ramblings. It’s an adventurous set that reveals added surprises with each listen.

Detroit Cobras

Adobe Flash Required for flash player."Hey Sailor"

One of the earliest of the Detroit garage revival bands that sprung up like weeds in late '90s, the Cobras have been churning out consistently thrilling batches of updated vintage R&B and primitive rock & roll sides for the better part of the last decade. With impeccable taste and a sexy swagger, the Detroit Cobras attack the golden nuggets of yesteryear with wild abandon.

The tagline emblazoned on their first record reads, "NOW for the uninhibited broad-minded swinging set!!" Indeed, this band will have the throngs in Eleanor Tinsley Park swinging to their crackling new versions of old soul classics.

Stars

Adobe Flash Required for flash player."The Night Starts Here"

Boasting members of the indie-supergroup Broken Social Scene, Stars specialize in lushly orchestrated pop music with thoughtful lyrics that will appeal to fans of Belle & Sebastian and Sufjan Stevens. With giant hooks and sunny melodies, I can envision a day when Stars is a household name featured on a slew of TV and movie soundtracks.

It'll be interesting to hear the sugary songs while surrounded by hoards of Slim Thug fans arriving early to get a prime spot for the local hip-hop legend who is slated follows the Stars' set. I guess that's what makes an event like Summer Fest so unpredictable and intriguing.

Medeski, Martin & Wood

Adobe Flash Required for flash player."Rolling Son"

Don't let their "jam band" pedigree turn you off as the trio is comprised of stellar downtown NYC jazz experimentalists who defy easy categorization. MM&W's music is a joyful mashup of dense electronic funk, avant-garde freakouts, soul grooves and straight ahead jazz trio explorations.

As good as they are on record, the band really shines on stage so make sure you grab a prime spot for MM&W's mid-afternoon set on Saturday.

The Flaming Lips

Adobe Flash Required for flash player."Money"

There are few bands as entertaining as the Flaming Lips. Part carnival, part circus, and part fiesta, the Lips' show is a vibrant display of whimsy, showmanship and playful psychedelia.

Don't be surprised if you witness dancers clad in full animal costumes, confetti cannons, or frontman Wayne Coyne crowd-surfing in a giant plastic ball. At a Lips show, anything's possible. This weekend the band will be performing their own twisted take on the legendary Pink Floyd classic "Dark Side of the Moon," a happening that alone is worth the price of a two-day ticket.

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King George dethroned

Judge rules Texas Renaissance Festival owner must sell his kingdom

Amid scandals covered by multiple documentaries, the nation's largest Renaissance festival opens for its golden season.

Photo courtesy of the Texas Renaissance Festival

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A Grimes County judge ruled on Wednesday, May 7 that Texas Renaissance Festival owner George Coulam must honor an agreement he made in 2023 to sell the fair. The judgement and sale, if upheld, are not expected to affect the fair's operations in the fall.

"Our commitment remains unchanged: to deliver a safe, vibrant, and memorable experience for the hundreds of thousands of guests who visit each year," spokesperson Tyler Moyer tells CultureMap in a written statement. "Festival operations are moving forward as planned for the 2025 season."

The case stems from business dealings depicted in the HBO docuseries Ren Faire. Over the show's three episodes, Coulam is shown engaging in negotiations with a party referred to as "The Greeks," but the deal falls through. Those parties, a group that includes RW Lands, Texas Stargate, and Royal Campgrounds, sued Coulam to compel him to honor the contract.

Judge Gary W. Chaney sided with the plaintiffs in a brief judgment against Coulam. Not only is he ordered to abide by the original contract to sell the festival grounds and adjacent properties for $60 million, he has to pay $22 million in damages as well as $1 million in attorney fees. Coulam has not commented publicly about the ruling, and it is not known at this time whether he plans to appeal the decision.

King George's History

For more than half a century, George Coulam has reigned as king of the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission. Not only is it the largest and one of the earliest incarnations of such festivals, it codified the concept to such a degree that its model is replicated all over the world. There is no doubt that Coulam has been the Walt Disney of renaissance events.

However, that long reign has come with accusations of bad business dealings and sexual harassment. Multiple former employees have sued Coulam for hostile work environment related to his conduct. In addition to depicting the sale negotiations, Ren Faire exposed the backstage politics surrounding Coulam's business practices. The show dealt with the possibility of Coulam finally selling the festival to retire, while also highlighting his desire to remain "king," with all the privileges that entails.

Former performer reacts

As Coulam's management of the festival grew increasingly capricious, many longtime employees and visitors stopped associating with the fair. Niki Korontona was an employee until 2019 when she decided to leave, partially because of her health and partially because of the toxic environment. She says that if Coulam is truly out, she could see returning.

"If the sale goes through as it says it's going to, I'll go back," she said in a Facebook message. "While my time with the performance company was its own b----, if the new owners are who I've heard, it will be going into... I don't know... less toxic hands?"

Few renaissance festivals survive a change of ownership, but it's not unheard of. In fact, Coulam was a part of one of the bigger ones. Before starting the Texas Renaissance Festival in 1974, he founded the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in 1971. The investor of that enterprise, lawyer Jules Smith Sr., then sold his shares and opened a new festival in Maryland in 1977. These days, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is one of Texas's main rivals.

That was long before the institutions were cemented into their current forms, worth tens of millions of dollars. Still, Korontana says that a change in management that doesn't mess with what works should succeed.

"[It's] an ironclad business." she said. "Even recessions didn't break it. It's so commercial that it doesn't matter who owns it as long as tickets aren't too expensive and turkey legs exist."