here comes the sun

Legendary Houston DJ presents Loveletter to his hometown with can't-miss, star-studded performance

DJ Sun performs his Loveletter on Saturday, July 23 at Moores Opera House.

Photo by Mark Sabinin

Cool, cosmopolitan, and more chill than his signature smooth sounds, DJ Sun has been a fixture in Houston’s music scene since the mid-’90s, boasting a diverse and loyal fan base that far transcends the city.

A respected purveyor of soul, lounge, and groove, DJ Sun (born Andre Sam-Sin) first nurtured his following with his Soular Grooves radio show on KPFT nearly 30 years ago, as well as his wildly popular DJ sets and residencies (his jam-packed Friday night sets at The Flat in Montrose are a local tradition).

Now, the DJ/producer/musician/host is set to release his third studio album, a figurative love note to his fans, Houston, and the world. Loveletter drops on Saturday, July 23. To mark the release that same day, the talented DJ and a cast of elite musicians will perform Loveletter: Red Hook to Rotterdam, a multi-disciplinary show at the University of Houston’s Moores Opera House.

The ensemble includes a 14-piece orchestra conducted by the acclaimed Marlon Chen, rapper Fat Tony, spoken word by Houston Poet Laureate Outspoken Bean and DJ Sun’s daughter SAM-SIN, and renowned Houston native Chris Dave — who has drummed for superstars Beyoncé, Adele, and D’Angelo and whom famed drummer Questlove of The Roots calls “the most dangerous drummer alive” — and his band The Drumhedz.

Also adding serious star power is bassist Tim Ruiz, a three-time Grammy Award winner with famed Tejano band La Mafia. Notably, Dave, Ruiz, and Chen (currently the music director of the Manila Symphony Orchestra) are graduates of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Other names include Louis Morales (lead singer of reggae band DEM) and astrologer Jasmine Richardson. To add to the immersive experience, corresponding videos and projections will be created by Justice Tirapelli-Jamail and Tamirah Collins. Navarro Stark serves as the event’s creative director.

Tickets for the star-studded performance are a mere $5 and are available online.

Fans can expect Sun’s trademark Lo-Fi grooves, clever and tasty samples, and atmospheric, retro vibe — made all the more lush and immersive with the orchestra and corresponding visual displays in a refined setting.

A top-tier production, this Loveletter showcase is co-produced by the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston and should rightly command a top-tier ticket price. But the benevolent DJ and UH grad — born in the Netherlands, raised in Suriname, and now decades-long Houstonian — ensured through a UH grant and his own investment that prices would be accessible to all, as a thank-you.

“Houston has just been amazing to me — not just good, but amazing — because of the diversity that we have here,” DJ Sun tells CultureMap. “I call this a Loveletter because really, we could all use that right now.”

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DJ Sun and company perform Loveletter: Red Hook to Rotterdam at the Moores Opera House at the University of Houston (3333 Cullen Blvd.) on Saturday, July 23. Doors open at 6:30 pm; concert begins at 8 pm. Individual tickets are $5 and can be purchased online or by phone at 713-743-3388.

Houston legend DJ Sun presents his lush multi-disciplinary, Loveletter on Saturday, July 23.

Photo by Mark Sabinin

Houston legend DJ Sun presents his lush multi-disciplinary, Loveletter on Saturday, July 23.

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Movie Review

Shaun the Sheep welcomes spooky season with PG-scary new movie

Photo courtesy of Aardman / Sky UK LTD / StudioCanal 2026

Shaun the Sheep in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.

Since his introduction over 30 years ago, the Aardman Animations character Shaun the Sheep has been almost as popular as the studio’s flagship characters, Wallace and Gromit. There is never a shortage of trouble Shaun can get into as he leads his flock and proves to be a thorn in the side of his farmer and Bitzer, the farmer’s loyal sheepdog.

His antics lead everyone down some slightly spooky roads in the new film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. At first, things are only slightly awry as Shaun and the flock are growing a secret pumpkin patch to have their own jack-o-lanterns. But when the farmer accidentally destroys the pumpkin patch, Shaun tries to regrow it quickly with a Frankenstein-esque experiment.

However, disaster looms when Shaun uses an old bottle of Hair-Gro as the container for the serum he creates. Naturally, the balding farmer uses it on his head, and everyone soon discovers how truly successful it is, with pumpkins growing out of control and the farmer sprouting hair all over his body. Through a series of mishaps, the farmer becomes the titular beast, creating mayhem while Shaun and others try to stop him.

Directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, and written by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow, the film goes down just as easy as every other Aardman project has. They get the Halloween vibes started from the opening credits, with things like the sheep doing the “Thriller” dance, and continue the fun throughout, referencing everything from Psycho to Friday the 13th in a nice, PG way.

With no script — every character is mute save for reaction noises — the movie relies on sight gags for its humor, and the Aardman team is endlessly inventive in that respect. Sometimes it’s small things like a sheep using toilet paper rolls as binoculars, and sometimes it’s something like forcing the Bigfoot-like farmer to be shaped into a rectangle as he escapes through a window. But there’s a never-ending stream of such moments, so even if one doesn’t tickle your funny bone, chances are the next one will.

The biggest benefit of the characters not talking is that there’s no need for deep character development. The filmmakers do a great job of giving the basic traits of each character, and then use those attributes to color everyone’s actions for the rest of the film. Shaun is the troublemaker, the farmer is a bumbling fool, Bitzer is preternaturally smart, and the town’s vet is empathetic, and the combination of those characters and others makes for a highly entertaining blend.

Like all Aardman creations, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a fun lark that doesn’t make its audience think too hard. With just enough references to keep viewers engaged but not so many as to be overbearing, the film puts its well-worn characters to good use once again, delivering a Halloween season story that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

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Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is now playing in theaters.

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