Live Music Now
These are the 6 best concerts to catch in Houston this week
Let's hope the weather gods take it easy on Houston music fans by the end of the week, as big outdoor shows always run the risk pf being sweaty, scorching spectacles (not in a good way). The best thing about this week's live music selections is there is plenty of diversity to satiate any type of fan — with fan being the key word. Bring one, or a dozen, with you if venturing out to see any of following shows.
Malkmus' Jicks bring the gold sounds
Few performers are as revered in the indie-rock world as former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus. His work with that California band in the ’90s, featuring off-kilter melodies and an apathetical croon defined the next 20 years of the genre, pretty much creating modern hipsters in the process. Following the dissolution of that group, Malkmus pursued a successful career with his hand-selected act, The Jicks, producing seven albums that build on the foundation Pavement once laid down, adding more sounds to the palette. The band is touring behind its latest, Sparkle Hard, with promotional material that features a very unhipster-like Malkmus astride a horse for some reason.
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks perform at White Oak Music Hall, located at 2915 North Main St., on Thursday, July 26. Soccer Mommy opens. Tickets start at $22 in advance plus a $9.22 service charge. Doors open at 8 pm.
CultureMap show of the week: Turnpike Troubadours, Corb Lund, and Shooter Jennings
Fans of Americana music won’t want to miss a stacked lineup on the White Oak Music Hall lawn this Friday when Oklahoma’s Turnpike Troubadourscome to town for a lawn show. The grizzled five-piece hasn’t put out a bad album, including last years A Long Way From Your Heart, and mixes a variety of sounds that wouldn’t be out of place in the Bayou City, including rock, bluegrass, country and folk. They’ll be joined by two acts that could headline their own tours, the talented Americana singer-songwriters Corb Lund and Shooter Jennings.
The Turnpike Troubadours play White Oak Music Hall, located at 2915 North Main St., on Friday, July 27. Corb Lund and Shooter Jennings open. Tickets are $30 in advance plus a $11.54 service charge. Gates open at 6 pm.
The English Beat goes on
Known simply as The Beat back in their native U.K., The English Beat is best known in the U.S. for the early ’80s hit “Save it for Later,” which has been used in movies, TV, and commercials over the last decade. But the band started at the height of the second wave ska movement, when the group’s shows became legendary. They later achieved greater success across the pond when they shifted their sound towards the burgeoning New Wave movement. The group just released new album, Here We Go Love, some four decades after forming.
The English Beat stomp into the Heights Theater, located at 339 W 19th St., on Friday, July 27. Ghost Town Steppas open. Tickets are $22 in advance plus a $6 service fee. Doors open at 7:30 pm.
Logic takes off
One of the fastest rising rappers from the last few years, Logic — aka Robert Bryson Hall II — scored the biggest of his many hits with the ubiquitous 2017 single, “1-800-273-8255,” from his Everybody album, which brought worthy attention to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Not coincidentally, that album hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, an amazing feat for someone who seemed to appear out of nowhere less than five years ago. Now he’s headlining large venues across the country, bringing his Frank Sinatra, Quentin Tarantino, and Wu-Tang influences with him.
Logic headlines the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, located at 2005 Lake Robbins Dr. in The Woodlands, on Saturday, July 28. Kyle and NF open. Tickets start at $25 for the lawn, $39.50 for reserved seating plus service fees. Gates open at 6 pm.
CultureMap recommends: ’90s R&B queens En Vogue still got it
Anyone lucky to catch En Vogue’s Day for Night set last December were treated to one of the best surprises of the weekend. The now three-piece, all-female, ’90s R&B legends, backed by what feels like a Sunday Baptist revival band, blew everyone out of the water with pipes that harked back to the good ol’ days when En Vogue ruled the charts with hits such as “Free Your Mind,” “Don’t Let Go (Love),” and “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It).” The full-length show will be straight fire.
En Vogue plays the Arena Theatre, located at 7326 Southwest Freeway, on Saturday, July 28. Tickets start at $39.50 plus service fees. Show starts at 8:30 pm.
Pitch perfect with Pentatonix
The pinnacle of success for choir kids everywhere, there’s no denying the not-so-barbershop quintet Pentatonix has the talent to take down any acapella group in Pitch Perfect (or its seemingly too many sequels). It will be interesting to see how the Arlington, Texas-based group will fill a large-scale venue with only their pipes. They’re obviously giving hope to vocal students, though, with an impressive 10 million albums sold, most of them consisting of cover takes of modern pop songs. Their latest is PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. 1.
Pentatonix performs at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, located at 2005 Lake Robbins Drive in The Woodlands, on Sunday, July 29. Echosmith and Calum Scott open. Tickets start at $25 for the lawn, $29.50 for reserved seating plus service fees. Gates open at 7 pm.