weekend event planner

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

Have a sketchy weekend with Via Colori and ArtCrawl Houston.

Photo courtesy of Via Colori

It's all about the art this weekend.

Look for the Via Colori chalk art festival happening downtown on Saturday and Sunday. But don't forget about the 27th Annual ArtCrawl Houston, where the Downtown Artists’ Warehouse District will open working art studios and exhibition spaces to the public. More than 150 artists will participate, as this year’s event marks the 27th anniversary of Artistic Survival, celebrated by an all volunteer, artist-run non-organization.

And of course, there are plenty more colorful picks for your weekend entertainment.

Thursday, November 21

Lance Flowers at Community Artists' Collective
After viewing "Most Improved," the new exhibit from up-and-coming artist Lance Flowers, we couldn't wait to tell everyone about it. While he says this assembly of collages addresses the philosophical concept of Anicca — the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence — these pop-art pieces also appear to address our endless fascination with consumerism and labels. This Saturday, Flowers will explain more during an artist talk at 4 pm. It will run through Saturday, November 30. Noon.

Beaujolais Nouveau 2019 with Camerata at Paulie’s
For the third year in a row, Camerata will be hosting a no-holds-barred bacchanal, benefiting the traditional French holiday known as Beaujolais Nouveau Day. They'll be embracing the ebullience of Nouveau season with the first-ever BeaujoWorld (like AstroWorld!). Sommelier Chris Poldoian has created a fun recipe for freaujolais (frozen nouveau), cult bottlings by the Gang of Four (all rarely available by the glass), an ice luge, great music, surprises, and swag. 4 pm-2 am.

Friday, November 22

Allison Moorer at Cactus Music
Last month, singer/songwriter Allison Moorer released Blood, her first solo album in four years. She also dropped Blood: A Memoir, a detailed account of growing up with her sister (who just happens to be the equally talented singer Shelby Lynne) in a troubled home in southern Alabama, which ended with the well-documented murder-suicide of her parents in 1986. Moorer will be over at Cactus Music, both signing copies of the book and performing songs from her new album. 5 pm.

An American Werewolf in London and Fright Night at Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra
Yes, Halloween is long gone, but Alamo's weekly Graveyard Shift series continues to serve up horror flicks on the regular. And this double feature consists of two of the most tongue-in-cheek, revisionist creature features ever made. First up is John Landis's 1981 werewolf classic, which featured groundbreaking, Oscar-winning special effects from Rick Baker. Next is Tom Holland's 1985 bloodsucker, where a teenager discovers his new, next-door neighbor is a vampire. 9 pm.

Saturday, November 23

Tracksuits & Kicks Day Party at the Davenport
Ultra-stylish promoter Keto Gentry always throws the wackiest day parties over at the Davenport Lounge. (We're hoping he'll give us another ugly-sweater, post-Christmas party like last year.) This weekend, he'll be having a tracksuits-and-kicks soiree, for those who long for the days when b-boys and girls roamed the streets looking like LL Cool J or Doug E. Fresh. R & B artist I-Will will be the host, while DJ Meek will provide the tunes. There will also be an after-party at Martini Bar & Cigar. 2-8 pm.

Kevin McDonald & Friends at the Station Theater
Local Kids in the Hall fans will definitely be pleased that Kevin McDonald — Sir Simon Milligan himself — will be in town for a weekend full of comedy. On Saturday, he'll do a best-of show based on his Kevin McDonald's Kevin McDonald Show podcast, sharing stories and doing sketches. On Sunday, he'll start off with some stand-up, then do selected sketches from a workshop that'll be held during the weekend. Finally, he'll close the evening with a "special improv jam." 8 pm (7 pm Sunday).

Sunday, November 24

Houston Exotic Auto Festival at MSR Houston
It's cars, cars, and more cars at the 5th Annual Houston Exotic Auto Festival & Luxury Lifestyle E-X-P-O, an automobile show that brings luxury and exotic brands to a single site. Owners and collectors will celebrate their vehicles in front of an audience. Trophies and prizes will be awarded to the best automobiles, SUVs, off-road vehicles, and motorcycles in Houston under various different categories. (This is also a prime destination for those who love flexing on Instagram next to a fly whip.) 10 am.

Houston Goodness at White Oak Music Hall
Since 2012, the Denver-based, Sunday-afternoon day party known as Goodness has been promising exceptional people, music, drinks, food, and more on a recurring basis. (They even have their own hot sauce!) Now, they're bringing their act over to these parts. Goodness founder/resident music man DJ Low Key will be setting things off, along with special guests Dayta, Gracie Chavez, and Hiram. There will also be live art from DeeJon, complimentary buttons and stickers. 3-9 pm.

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Movie Review

Billie Eilish takes fans behind the scenes in immersive 3D tour film

Photo by Henry Hwu/courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Billie Eilish in Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D.

In 2021, at the tender age of 19, singer Billie Eilish was already the subject of a documentary, The World’s a Little Blurry. At that point, she had only released one album, so the film threatened to feel too early for such treatment. The ensuing five years have only made her a bigger star, though, so in many ways that movie now feels prescient for the person on display in the new concert documentary with the unwieldy title of Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D.

Directed by Eilish and blockbuster filmmaker James Cameron, the film takes viewers inside Eilish’s 2024-2025 tour in support of her latest album, 2023’s Hit Me Hard and Soft. Filmed mostly at her series of shows in Manchester, England, the movie is a showcase for Eilish’s music, but it also serves as a smaller exploration of the type of person she is, as well as the impact she has had on her legion of fans.

The draw of the film is the use of Cameron’s beloved 3D technology, which he has employed in each of the three Avatar films. Unlike in those films, where the 3D has the odd effect of making the visuals too realistic for their own good, the technique brings an intimacy to the large-scale show that underscores the unique bond the singer has with her supporters.

Eilish and Cameron go back and forth between performances at the concert to behind-the-scenes sequences, detailing the enormous effort it takes to put on a show like that and how Eilish spends her time getting ready for it. As in The World’s a Little Blurry, this film continues to portray the singer as down-to-Earth, someone who yearns to maintain the connection to her fans that she’s had since she released her first single, “Ocean Eyes,” 10 years ago.

And as the many emotional songs in Eilish’s concert playlist prove, the feeling from the crowd is mutual. While Eilish has multiple bangers like “Bad Guy,” “Therefore I Am,” and the Charli XCX collaboration “Guess,” it’s the sad songs like “Everything I Wanted,” “Happier Than Ever,” and the Oscar-winning Barbie anthem, “What Was I Made For?” that hit the hardest. The depth of feeling emanating from her many sobbing fans singing along to crushing songs cannot be understated.

For audiences of the film, though, it’s the breadth of camera angles and shot choices that make it truly dynamic. There are cameras everywhere, including in the crowd, inside a cube at the center of the stage that rises and descends, following Eilish as she traipses every inch of the long, rectangular stage, and even a small one Eilish uses to bring an extra personal touch to the in-arena screen. Combined, they capture the complete energy of the concert, something that is not always the case in a film of this type.

Eilish has almost as many movies — two — as she does albums — three — which borders on overkill for a singer of her age. But both her music and the movies show her to be a person who knows the responsibility of being a celebrity, someone who understands that her fans are the reason she’s famous at all. Her career may go up or down from here, but it’s clear she’s already made a huge impact on those who love her most.

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Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D opens in theaters on May 8.

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