All About Houston

Big changes for the Mitchell Center: Arts organization moving in a bold, newdirection

Heart Chamber Orchestra

Photo courtesy of Terminal Beach
A scene from SuperEverything* presented by The Light Surgeons
Aaron Landsman, City Council Meeting

Photo courtesy of Aaron Landsman
Lynne McCabe

Courtesy Photo
Dario Robleto, The Invention of Loss

Courtesy Photo
Heart Chamber Orchestra

Photo courtesy of Terminal Beach

This upcoming fall season marks a major turning point for the Mitchell Center, the innovative arts initiative founded at the University of Houston in 2003 to provide ground-breaking collaborations across the visual, performing and literary arts.

"It's really the last season you'll see before we dedicate ourselves to a program of long-range residencies," UH Mitchell Center director Karen Farber tells CultureMap.

The next few months will showcase the Mitchell's usual mix of hard-to-define programming, with events that might be described as "live cinema" or "biological m usic."

"Starting in 2013, we'll focus entirely on developing projects that use the city of Houston and its citizens to tackle broader national issues . . .

"It's a bold new direction and I think you can see that transition with a lot of our programming this fall."

While the next few months will showcase the Mitchell's usual mix of hard-to-define programming — with events that might be described as "live cinema" or "biological music" — the upcoming season harkens to signs of a new mission, with several participants already lined up for future residencies.

Farber offered a quick run-down of fall events, all of which she guaranteed would "defy categorization." Visit the Mitchell Center website for further details.

Heart Chamber Orchestra: Sept. 21, Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex

Created by electronic musicians TERMINALBEACH, the Heart Chamber Orchestra is a fully immersive audiovisual experience generated by the heartbeats of musicians wired to electrocardiogram sensors. For September's performance at Barnevelder, 12 members from Houston's Two Star Symphony will be hooked to the EKG machines.

Dario Robleto: Oct. 25, Dudley Concert Hall, University of Houston

Titled "Boundary of Life Is Quietly Crossed," acclaimed Houston-based artist Dario Robleto will present objects and sounds he's collected for an ongoing project exploring connections between creativity and memory. Farber described the performance as a cross between an art talk and a storytelling session, during which the artist "uses materials from a cabinet of curiosities" to tell brief narratives about his current work.

City Council Meeting: Nov. 1 and 2, multiple locations to be announced

Organized by current Mitchell resident Aaron Landsman, City Council Meeting attempts to perform participatory democracy in front of a live audience. Houston area artists, activists and government officials will be asked to read quotes taken from various city council meetings across the country, creating a theatrical version of democracy that casts new light on all those involved. Just in time for the elections, of course.

Light Surgeons: Nov. 9 and 10, Asia Society Texas Center

The London-based Light Surgeons fuse pre-recorded film clips with a live electronic musical score to create a portrait of contemporary Malaysia. Called SuperEverything*, the performance juxtaposes tradition and modernity to examine the nation's complex patterns of identity and ritual.

Lynne McCabe: Nov. 13 and 14, Blaffer Art Museum

An artist-in-residence for both the Blaffer Art Museum and the Mitchell Center, Lynne McCabe will present two public conversations that employ social sculpture to explore a series of forgotten feminist texts and performance pieces from the 1970s.

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Music feature

Texas country star Cody Johnson's new album goes to 'Banks of Trinity'

Photo by Cameron Powell

Cody Johnson.

There's a moment at every Cody Johnson show where the Texas-born-and-bred country star asks the crowd, “How many of you tonight are watching me and this band live for the very first time?” he told The Associated Press. “And every night, I would say at least 80% of the crowd raises their hands.”

It's not the kind of reaction most veteran artists receive. “And I’m thinking, you know, 20 years is a long time to work for something. But when you see that … What’s the next 20 years look like?” he asks.

The rancher, rodeo competitor, and onetime prison guard started his two-decade career playing honky tonks and dive bars. That led to slow and steady growth for the country traditionalist, but in the last few years, something has shifted. He landed his fifth career No. 1 song with “The Fall.” He was named Entertainer of the Year at the 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards, the show's highest honor. That was a month after he headlined Stagecoach Music Festival. For an artist with legions of fans, it looked like he was accessing new heights.

“I feel like I’m closing a book and I’m opening another one and it’s all blank pages,” he says of this period. “Let's get to the next chapter." On June 26, that new era began with the release of his latest album, Banks of the Trinity.

Traveling to the Banks of the Trinity
It hasn't been an easy road. Last fall, Johnson had to cancel a bunch of tour dates after upper respiratory and sinus infections caused a burst eardrum that required surgery — an intimidating medical procedure for anyone, but especially nerve-wracking for a musician. “I was scared,” he said simply. But “in a roundabout way, it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

It forced him to take three months off, which allowed him to be home during the birth of his son. It also rejuvenated his approach in the studio. Before the incident, he thought the album was complete. It was not. The additional time resulted in the inclusion of a few songs that now feel inextricable from the record: “Thank Somebody Country,” “Take Me Back (Leave Me There),” “Cricket on a Hook,” and the resilient “I Have” among them.

“What a blessing to have that kind of song fall in your lap when you’re kind of up against the ropes,” he says of the latter. “I mean, we thought we had the record done. It wasn’t done.”

A title track with real resonance
At the heart of Banks of the Trinity is its title track, which recalls Eagles' cover of “Seven Bridges Road” meets bluegrass and Southern gospel.

Lyrically, it's an ode to Johnson's childhood. “I grew up on the banks of the Trinity [River.] Fishing for catfish, not so much out of pleasure or sport but for necessity to put food in the freezer. Deer season for me was not a trophy thing,” he said.

And while that track inspires a feeling of nostalgia within the listener, he doesn't consider this album a throwback collection. He says it's about showcasing his evolving sonic diversity.

"The rest of the album for me is a musical journey from track one to track 16,” he said. “There’s a little bit of a flavor for everybody. It does kind of hit Motown. It does kind of hit bluegrass. It does hit progressive country. It does it old country. It does a little rock here and there.”

It's the result of a new kind of freedom, one that is at least partially due to his recent accomplishments, including taking home the top prize at the ACM Awards.

“I just did the thing that I’ve aspired to do in my career my entire life,” he says. “A really good place is a really good way to describe where I am.”

And now that the album is out, he's ready to take a breather.

“I will be shirtless with no shoes on a beach at an undisclosed location,” he jokes about the days after record release. “'Cause I have already done all the prep work. I've been working on this album for two years. I’ve done all of the interviews. I’ve shook all the hands. Me and my wife and kids are gonna disappear for 10 days and I’m gonna become, I guess, every Kenny Chesney song ever.”

texas country artist cody johnson interview music