weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Grammy-winning soprano Jessica Jones presents an hip evening of opera.

Photo courtesy of Opera in the Heights

Halloween is upon us. On top of the spooky haunted houses here to scare you, a few fall festivals are here. The 22nd Houston Polish Festival is currently underway at AMC Studio 30, continuing through Sunday. The ten-day, Blessington Farms Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival in Simonton starts on Thursday.

And the 12-day, Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival begins on Saturday at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston.

Without a doubt, the scariest thing happening this weekend is comics (and notorious joke thieves) Dane Cook and Jay Mohr will be in town performing — at the same time!

Let's get through this together. Here's your best bets for the weekend:

Thursday, October 31

The Exorcist: The Director's Cut at Alamo Drathouse LaCenterra
What better way to celebrate Halloween than watching a horror movie that basically set the template for how scary movies should terrify the hell outta people? This version of William Friedkin's supernatural classic, with Linda Blair as the head-spinning, pea soup-spewing girl possessed by Satan himself, features 10 minutes of footage deleted before the film's 1973 release. So, expect even more things from the movie to mess you up. 7:30 pm.

Whiskey & Witchcraft Party at Bosscat Kitchen & Libations
If you want to spend this Halloween drinking yourself silly instead of chasing down candy, Bosscat will be having a Halloween party (benefitting Hermann Park Conservancy) that'll get you in the spooky, sloshed spirit. We're talking cocktails, costume contests, a live DJ, and more. Tickets include entry to the private event, one cocktail, and small bites. Prizes will be awarded for Best Couples Costume, Scariest Costume, and Funniest Costume. 8 pm.

Friday, November 1

Jessica Jones at Space HTX
Jessica Jones, an opera-singing, Grammy-winning soprano (and Opera in the Heights alumna). She'll be here to do an evening of audience favorites, an evening that will include a cocktail hour, dinner, concert, and an aria raffle. 6:30 pm.

Sabrina Claudio at House of Blues Houston
Florida alt-R & B singer Sabrina Claudio is a performer you almost hate to admit you enjoy listening to. The half-Cuban/half-Puerto Rican artist nearly had her career derailed when it was discovered she posted some racist tweets years ago on an old Twitter account. (She has since apologized, but y'all know Twitter doesn't forget about that stuff.) Nevertheless, she continues to churn out good music, like the tunes on her recently-released second album, Truth Is. 7:30 pm.

Saturday, November 2

A Funky Good Time at Smart Financial Centre
Majic 102.1 will be taking a lot of people back to the '70s and '80s with this concert. The lineup is a full-fledged collection of funk legends: Cameo, Rose Royce, SOS Band, Zapp, Dazz Band, Lakeside, and Morris Day, the frontman for The Time. This show is definitely for all those people who like to enjoy live music while sipping on bottles of Crown Royal they snuck into the show. Majic on-air personality Funky Larry Jones will emcee the event. 5:30 pm.

Blue Note Records 80th Birthday Celebration at Wortham Theater Center
Da Camera of Houston will bring in artists to celebrate the birthday of Blue Note Records, one of most legendary jazz labels out there. (This makes us wish Madlib would've dropped another Blue Note remix album.) The first date in a nationwide tour, the lineup features Kandace Springs, Houston native James Francies and the James Carter Organ Trio. They each will perform a set of their own music, followed by a finale with all of the artists performing a classic Blue Note tune. 8 pm.

Sunday, November 3

Depressed Cake Shop and Bake Sale at Silver Street Studios
It's time once again to make some desserts for depression. Jody Stevens of JodyCakes will host the seventh annual bake sale, which will have unique, grey-colored baked goods that are thematically tied to mental health issues. Attendees will get a chance to bid on one-of-a-kind auction cakes that will be on display, from some of the city’s top restaurants, bakery owners, and pastry chefs. All proceeds will be donated to The Montrose Center and NAMI Greater Houston. 1-5 pm.

House (Hausu) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The MFAH will basically wrap up this Halloween weekend with one head trip of a movie. This 1977 Japanese horror/comedy/whatever, about a schoolgirl who travels with six classmates to her ailing aunt’s creaky country home, is also known as a crazy cult classic. This Movie Houstonians Love selection will be introduced by Fareena Arefeen, Houston’s second Youth Poet Laureate and a graduate of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. 5 pm.

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In Memoriam

Legendary Texas singer-songwriter Joe Ely dies at 78

Joe Ely/Facebook

Joe Ely was a major figure in Texas' progressive country scene.

Joe Ely, the legendary songwriter, singer and storyteller whose career spanned more than five decades, has died from complications related to Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and pneumonia. He was 78.

In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Ely died at his home in Taos, New Mexico, with his wife, Sharon, and daughter, Marie, at his side.

Born February 9, 1947, in Amarillo, Texas, Ely was raised in Lubbock and became a central figure among a generation of influential West Texas musicians. He later settled in Austin, helping shape the city’s reputation as a hub for live music.

As with many local legends, it's hard to tease out what specifically made Ely's time in Austin so great; Austin treasures its live music staples, so being around and staying authentic from the early days is often the most important thing an artist can do.

Ely got his local start at One Knight Tavern, which later became Stubb's BBQ — the artist and the famous venue share a hometown of Lubbock. He alternated nights with emerging guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughn. He built his own recording studio in Dripping Springs, and kept close relationships with other Texas musicians. Later in his career, Ely brought fans into the live music experience, publishing excerpts from his journal and musings on the road in Bonfire of Roadmaps (2010), and was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2022. Austin blues icon Marcia Ball was among Ely's friends who played the induction show.

"Joe Ely performed American roots music with the fervor of a true believer who knew music could transport souls," said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

In the 1970s, Ely signed with MCA Records, launching a career that included decades of recording and touring around the world. His work and performances left a lasting impact on the music scene and influenced a wide range of artists, including the Clash and Bruce Springsteen, according to Rolling Stone.

"His distinctive musical style could only have emerged from Texas, with its southwestern blend of honky-tonk, rock & roll, roadhouse blues, western swing, and conjunto. He began his career in the Flatlanders, with fellow Lubbock natives Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, and he would mix their songs with his through 50 years of critically acclaimed recordings. [...]"

Read the full story at KVUE.com. CultureMap has added two paragraphs of context about the Austin portion of Ely's career.

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