• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    queen rocks houston

    Queen and Adam Lambert bring a Bohemian Rhapsody to Houston for new tour

    Craig Lindsey
    Dec 4, 2018 | 10:07 am
    Queen Adam Lambert Rhapsody Tour
    Queen and Adam Lambert will rock Houston.
    Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

    Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic on rock legends Queen — fronted by the late, great Freddie Mercury, who passed away from AIDS complications in 1991 — is officially the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, currently raking in $164 million domestically and $540 million worldwide.

    Since people flocked to see Queen in theaters, it was a no-brainer that the boys were gonna get the band back together and hit the road so fans can take them in live — and Houston will be one of those stops.

    Starting next summer, original band members Brian May and Roger Taylor will travel the country, performing as Queen for The Rhapsody Tour. Joining them will be Adam Lambert, the flamboyant, American Idol runner-up who has stepped in as frontman on several occasions, including a run of 10 sold-out shows at MGM Park Theater in Las Vegas last September.

    “Adam is a real gift from God," May said in a press release. "He’s a voice in a billion. Nobody has that range — nobody that I’ve ever worked with - and not just the range but the quality throughout the range. I’ve seen Adam develop just like I watched Freddie develop.”(Original bassist John Deacon will not going them for this tour, as he retired from the music industry in 1997.)

    The 23-date arena/stadium tour will start on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 in Vancouver and end on Friday, August 2, in Charlotte. The Houston show will happen on Wednesday, July 24 at Toyota Center. Tickets will go on sale December 7.

    music
    news/entertainment
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.

    King George dethroned

    Judge rules Texas Renaissance Festival owner must sell his kingdom

    Jef Rouner
    May 8, 2025 | 6:34 pm
    Amid scandals covered by multiple documentaries, the nation's largest Renaissance festival opens for its golden season.
    Photo courtesy of the Texas Renaissance Festival
    undefined

    A Grimes County judge ruled on Wednesday, May 7 that Texas Renaissance Festival owner George Coulam must honor an agreement he made in 2023 to sell the fair. The judgement and sale, if upheld, are not expected to affect the fair's operations in the fall.

    "Our commitment remains unchanged: to deliver a safe, vibrant, and memorable experience for the hundreds of thousands of guests who visit each year," spokesperson Tyler Moyer tells CultureMap in a written statement. "Festival operations are moving forward as planned for the 2025 season."

    The case stems from business dealings depicted in the HBO docuseries Ren Faire. Over the show's three episodes, Coulam is shown engaging in negotiations with a party referred to as "The Greeks," but the deal falls through. Those parties, a group that includes RW Lands, Texas Stargate, and Royal Campgrounds, sued Coulam to compel him to honor the contract.

    Judge Gary W. Chaney sided with the plaintiffs in a brief judgment against Coulam. Not only is he ordered to abide by the original contract to sell the festival grounds and adjacent properties for $60 million, he has to pay $22 million in damages as well as $1 million in attorney fees. Coulam has not commented publicly about the ruling, and it is not known at this time whether he plans to appeal the decision.

    King George's History

    For more than half a century, George Coulam has reigned as king of the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission. Not only is it the largest and one of the earliest incarnations of such festivals, it codified the concept to such a degree that its model is replicated all over the world. There is no doubt that Coulam has been the Walt Disney of renaissance events.

    However, that long reign has come with accusations of bad business dealings and sexual harassment. Multiple former employees have sued Coulam for hostile work environment related to his conduct. In addition to depicting the sale negotiations, Ren Faire exposed the backstage politics surrounding Coulam's business practices. The show dealt with the possibility of Coulam finally selling the festival to retire, while also highlighting his desire to remain "king," with all the privileges that entails.

    Former performer reacts

    As Coulam's management of the festival grew increasingly capricious, many longtime employees and visitors stopped associating with the fair. Niki Korontona was an employee until 2019 when she decided to leave, partially because of her health and partially because of the toxic environment. She says that if Coulam is truly out, she could see returning.

    "If the sale goes through as it says it's going to, I'll go back," she said in a Facebook message. "While my time with the performance company was its own b----, if the new owners are who I've heard, it will be going into... I don't know... less toxic hands?"

    Few renaissance festivals survive a change of ownership, but it's not unheard of. In fact, Coulam was a part of one of the bigger ones. Before starting the Texas Renaissance Festival in 1974, he founded the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in 1971. The investor of that enterprise, lawyer Jules Smith Sr., then sold his shares and opened a new festival in Maryland in 1977. These days, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is one of Texas's main rivals.

    That was long before the institutions were cemented into their current forms, worth tens of millions of dollars. Still, Korontana says that a change in management that doesn't mess with what works should succeed.

    "[It's] an ironclad business." she said. "Even recessions didn't break it. It's so commercial that it doesn't matter who owns it as long as tickets aren't too expensive and turkey legs exist."

    news/entertainment

    most read posts

    Veteran Houston chef steps in to EaDo barbecue joint

    Friends share memories of Houston musician Scott Gertner, who died this week

    Michelin-recognized Houston restaurant now open for dinner daily

    Loading...