This is a Pop Star

Mandy Moore gets back to singing with 2020 tour coming to Houston

Mandy Moore will go on tour for the first time in over a decade.

Photo courtesy of Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore, who transitioned from pop star to actor in the early 2000s, is getting back to her first love, going on tour for the first time in over a decade. She'll bring her tour to Cullen Performance Arts Center on Friday, April 24, 2020.

Moore made the announcement on her Facebook page November 19, indicating that the tour will be "an intimate, elevated evening of new and old tunes, performed with a superb group of musicians," a show that will "have threads of what the writing and recording process was like with this band, almost like you’ve been invited in our living room for an inside glimpse." Moore released a new single, "When I Wasn’t Watching," this past September.

The tour will travel to 29 cities across the United States, starting in Pittsburgh on March 20. In addition to Houston, Moore will also go to Dallas on April 23 and Austin on April 25. All three Texas dates will feature opening act Madison Cunningham.

Moore made her debut as a singer in 1999, releasing six albums over the next 10 years, her most recent being 2009's Amanda Leigh. While she had decent success in that realm, she has become much more well known as an actor, most notably for her role as Rebecca Pearson on the NBC show This is Us, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2019.

Various pre-sales for the tour start on Wednesday, November 20, with tickets for the general public going on sale on Friday, November 22.

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welcome back, frank!

Broadcaster Frank Billingsley finds second act at Houston radio station

Al Torres Photography

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When he announced his retirement from KPRC, Frank Billingsley told the late Ken Hoffman that he probably wasn’t done with media.

“I love all forms of communication so I'm sure I'll gravitate toward that either as a hobby or a second act. I'll weigh options and go from there,” he said in May.

Turn out that second act will be at one of Houston’s most prestigious radio stations. Billingsley has joined Houston Public Media as an executive producer and meteorologist.

"Frank Billingsley’s reputation as a Houston legend precedes him,” station manager Josh Adams said in a statement. “His experience and connection to our community align perfectly with Houston Public Media’s mission to inform and inspire. We are thrilled to welcome him to the team and look forward to the impact his presence will have."

Beginning in early 2025, Billingsley will serve as one of the hosts for a new talk show called Hello, Houston!. Led by Billingsley, veteran HPM host Ernie Manouse, and producer Celeste Schurman. Hello, Houston! will tell stories about a wide range of Houston happenings.

“Of course, I'll still get to talk about the weather, but Celeste, Ernie, and I will have fun and fascinating discussions about politics, arts, concerts, restaurants, clubs, people: everything that makes this city so great,” Billingsley said. “We have a great team behind us and I'm really looking forward to the challenge!”

Frank Billingsley worked at KPRC for 30 years. Prior to that, he worked at ABC13 for six years. He has earned multiple honors from the Associated Press, Houston Press Club, Houston Press Newspaper, and Dallas Press Club.

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