Houston's Coachella

Houston's Coachella? New festival combines comedy and music with more than 60 acts

Warehouse Live in collaboration with Lucky's Pub, Bud Light, BBVA Compass Stadium and others, is introducing a new type of festival to the Bayou City. Houston Whatever Fest, the brainchild of event producer Jason Price, is a two-day music festival that also incorporates comedy. More than 60 performers will entertain crowds on five stages on Saturday and Sunday at EaDo Party Park.

"I wanted it to be a festival with more variety, like Coachella or Bonnaroo, though it won't be nearly as big. The idea is to build a music festival in Houston that incorporates comedy and music," Price said.

The name and theme of the festival came to Price, who works as the in-house talent buyer and promoter for Warehouse Live, based on the variety of the bookings at the venue.

"If you look at the booking at Warehouse Live its a little bit of everything," Price said. "The question was, can we take the Warehouse bookings and translate that into a festival? Can we tie it in together? The result was Whatever Fest because we have music from whatever genre. It's not just an Indie fest or a rock fest or a comedy fest."

The festival will feature more than 30 multi-genre musical performances as well as 30 plus comic showcases, including well-known comedians like TJ Miller, a co-star in the summer blockbuster Transformers: Age of Extinction, Iliza Shlesinger, winner of the sixth season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, and "Bobcat" Goldthwait. Musical acts include Mute Math, Passion Pit, We Were Wolves, Filter, Neon Indian, Blonde Redhead, The Hold Steady, Kreayshawn and Rebirth Brass Band.

Price says he modeled the festival after similar music and arts festival elsewhere.

"Being a promoter for 14 years, I've been to every major festival. I wanted it to be a festival with more variety, like Coachella or Bonnaroo, though it won't be nearly as big. The idea is to build a music festival in Houston that incorporates comedy and music," Price said.

The two-day festival will begin at noon on Saturday and Sunday at EaDo Party Park, a square block near the soccer stadium that includes Warehouse Live and Lucky's Pub. There will be three outdoor stages (the Bud Light Stage on the north side near Rusk street, the Space City Vodka Stage on the south side of EaDo Party Park near Walker street, and outdoors at Mojeauxs Louisiana Drinkery) and two indoor stages at Warehouse Live.

Day passes are $35, weekend passes are $55, and VIP access is $150. For more information, visit the website.

Houston Whatever Fest hopes to emulate Coachella and its crowds, shown here.

Photo by Michael Orlosky

Houston Whatever Fest hopes to emulate Coachella and its crowds, shown here.

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a beautiful mind

Houston Health Museum's new exhibit shines a light on dyslexia

Sarah Sudhoff created "The Reading Brain" in honor of her son.

Photo by Rose Tylinski

"The Reading Brain" replicates neuron activity in a dyslexic brian while reading

No, "The Reading Brain" isn't the title of a B-horror film from the 1960s. It's a brand new installation at the Houston Health Museum that explores dyslexia.

The piece was created by Houston-based artist Sarah Sudhoff, in partnership with Dr. Guinevere Eden, Director of the Center for the Study of Learning at Georgetown University. Hanging from the ceiling of the Health Museum, it uses light-up colored circles to represent the frontal lobe activity of a dyslexic person while reading. MRI scans of dyslexic brains formed the foundation of the light activity. Sudhoff's own son has dyslexia, and she had to adapt her homeschooling of him to account for his neurodivergence. As much as 20 percent of the American population is dyslexic.

"The Reading Brain" grew out of a similar exhibit at the DoSeum in San Antonio. "Beautiful Minds: Dyslexia and the Creative Advantage" challenged visitors to see dyslexia not as a learning disability but as simply a different way some human brains work. The exhibit featured videos, stories, and art work by dyslexic individuals that show how they succeed and create, as well as a selection of brain puzzles used to teach dyslexic people.

“Even though your brain works differently, it still lights up and is beautiful to watch, a wonderful machine you have. It just means you have to navigate and pivot a little differently,” Sudhoff said.

Sudhoff's innovative bridge between science and art is a permanent part of the Health Museum's MindWorks exhibit. Like "The Reading Brain," MindWorks maps out thinking processes through light and hands-on activities. The exhibit will close on January 5, meaning visitors have a very short time to see Sudhoff's piece.

The Health Museum is a hidden gem in Museum District located a block away from the Children's Museum. It houses a variety of exhibits about the human body, such as a giant plastic colon that kids love to run through. Since opening in 1969, the museum has helped Houstonians and visitors from around the world learn about the way the body works as well well as public health protocols. As the only Smithsonian Affiliate Museum in the Houston Museum District, it has a high educational pedigree despite it's colorful and often whimsical offerings.

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