weekend event planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this weekend

Nick Cannon and crew get wild in Houston this weekend.

This weekend, we celebrate the historic Juneteenth and Dads and father figures everywhere. Look for two festivals — one toasts theater, another all things Brazilian, including music, dance, and food. Some major comics head to town, the Houston Symphony goes Disney and Zeppelin, and a dad party features beer, brisket, and a Lego walk (ouch).

Enjoy: here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, June 16

Alley All New Festival
This fest will feature new plays in development from some of the most exciting voices in contemporary theatre. The festival will feature workshop performances of Torera by Monet Hurst-Mendoza and Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium; readings of Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue by Kemp Powers, The World is Not Silent by Don X. Nguyen; and an early draft preview of a commission developed by Houston playwright ShaWanna Renee Rivon. Though Sunday, June 26. 7:30 pm (8 pm Friday; 2:30 pm Saturday; 7:30 pm Sunday).

Houston Symphony presents Disney's The Little Mermaid Live in Concert
As the 1989, animated Disney classic plays on three large screens, the Houston Symphony will perform the film’s Oscar and Grammy-winning score live to film. One of the most beloved films and soundtracks, The Little Mermaid features songs and score by Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman. So, just know you'll be taking part in a rousing sing-along of "Under the Sea" if you attend this show. 7:30 pm.

Donut Media Live
Donut Media is known all over the world for talking about cars and occasionally working on them, sometimes without breaking them. Six million YouTube subscribers still does not bring enough validation. So, they're piling in a bus and taking to the stage for a five-city tour across the southwestern United States. For the first time ever, fans can join James, Nolan, Zach, Jeremiah, and Justin for 90 minutes of insanity influenced by their YouTube content. 8 pm.

Friday, June 17

Houston Symphony presents The Music of Led Zeppelin
Guest conductor Brent Havens kicks off Summer Sounds at the Hobby Center with this two-night salute to Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and the blues-rock tunes that made them international rock icons. The Symphony, augmented by a full rock band, will cover a set list of Led Zeppelin’s greatest hits, including “The Immigrant Song,” “Whole Lotta Love,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and more. (We also better get "Kashmir!") 7:30 pm.

Improv Houston presents Godfrey
Even though comedian Godfrey has been making people laugh for over a quarter-century, it wasn't until he went viral a couple years ago for doing a dead-on impersonation of Steve Harvey on his podcast that he got people talking. Since then, the Chicago comedian has been making major moves, appearing on That Damn Michael Che (where he did his Steve Harvey impression again) and Nick Cannon's hip-hop improv fest Wild N' Out. 7:30 and 9:45 pm (7 and 9:30 pm Saturday; 7:30 pm Sunday).

Next Brazilian Productions presents Houston Brazilian Summer Carnaval
The Houston Brazilian Summer Carnaval will feature the upbeat rhythms of Monobloco, Brazil’s most exciting street band, known for their raucous parade performances during Carnaval. Opening DJ DEXX will spin some Brazilian music. Attendees can also enjoy Comida de Buteco (Brazilian appetizers) and sweets from Brazilian food vendors Brazeiro Catering, Vita Dolce 160, and Sacole Gourmet. 8 pm.

Theatre Southwest presents The Legend of Georgia McBride
After years of struggling at a small-time club in the Florida Panhandle, and after discovering his wife is pregnant, Casey realizes that it's now or never for his career as an Elvis impersonator. Enter Miss Tracy Mills, a self-proclaimed grand dame of drag who guarantees Casey's life is about to get "all shook up." This hip-shakin' heartwarming tale explores what happens when one man trades in his blue suede shoes for platform pumps and discovers he ain't nothing but a drag queen. 8 pm.

Saturday, June 18

Lawndale Art Center presents "The Big Show 2022" opening day
"The Big Show" is an ambitious, open-call juried competition of artists — practicing within a 100-mile radius of the Center — that reflects the Center's commitment to supporting local and regional artists at various stages in their career. For the 2022 exhibition, juror Daisy Nam selected 39 artists from over 500 submissions. Featured artists include Patrycja Adamowicz, Jen Bootwala, Rontaye Butler, Paula Córdoba, daniel coreas, Sophia Longoria, Quentin Pace, Jesus Trevino and others. Through Saturday, August 13. 11 am.

The Rose presents 33rd Annual Shrimp Boil
At the Rose’s annual Shrimp Boil, guests can enjoy in-person dining and curbside pickup while participating in live auctions, silent auctions with digital bidding and more. Participants can also order tribute signs to honor and remember the life of someone lost to breast cancer. The boil aims to raise $120,000 to support the life-saving work of The Rose, where patients receive screening and diagnostic breast health care regardless of their ability to pay. 4 pm.

National Sushi Day at Nobu
So, Saturday is National Sushi Day, and Nobu is hoping y'all will celebrate the day over at its establishment. From familiar, favorite sushi maki rolls such as spicy tuna and California rolls to more adventurous varieties including Japanese eel with cucumber and new style salmon, there is something for everyone. Or go off-script and explore the nigiri and sashimi options like Japanese red snapper, king crab, and salmon belly. 5 pm.

Nick Cannon presents Wild ‘N Out Live Tour
For those of you who are diehard fans of Nick Cannon's version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? for hip-hop heads, here's a live show that will bring the series to the road and mix up comedy, variety, and game show elements all in one. Cannon and the cast members (here's hoping this goofy lady will be around) will also invite members of the audience to join them for the show's most popular games. 8 pm.

Sunday, June 19

Father's Day at Typhoon Texas
This Father’s Day, dads can splash to their heart’s content with free admission to Typhoon Texas, where the entire family can enjoy a full day of waterpark fun. Simply purchase a full-priced day ticket for $49.99 in-person at the ticket window on Father’s Day -- and dad gets in free. The old man can also get some authentic, Texas barbecue, slow smoked onsite daily and served with zesty BBQ sauce made from scratch. 11 am.

The Rad Dad Father’s Day Extravaganza at Eureka Heights Brewery
EyeFearNoBeer, Houston’s premier beer blogger and craft beer advocate, will be hosting this dad-day extravaganza. The celebration includes a “Lava” Lego walk of endurance, a dadcore fashion contest (think white clunky New Balance Shoes and jean shorts), and smoked brisket burgers and dogs from up-and-coming Houston pitmasters Deckle and Hide. The event will also showcase a collection of vintage toys from Super Happy Incredible Toys, as well as freshly brewed “crispy bois” from Eureka Heights. Noon.

The Secret Group presents Bobcat Goldthwait
In the '80s, Bobcat Goldthwait was mostly known as that loud, crazy dude from the Police Academy movies. Now, he's one of comedy's elder statesmen. His stand-up features hilarious riffs on politics, divorce, going broke, and his career as a writer and director of film. (Personally, we prefer his documentaries more than his darkly comic cult films, like Shakes the Clown.) Let's hope he gives us juicy, behind-the-scenes stories about his time as a regular on Hollywood Squares. 8 pm.

event-planner

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.”

music