best november concerts

Jelly Roll and Usher headline Houston's 10 best November concerts

In stressful times, one reliable way to blow off steam is live concerts. These settings might be some of the last bastions for melting away all our differences to experience artists performing their distinct brand of melodies, hooks, and beats. Music rarely, if ever, lets us down.

So in a particularly tense cultural climate, restore your faith in humanity by attending any of the 10 biggest concerts happening in Houston this month.

Old 97’s with Fastball, November 10, The Heights Theater
Two of the more underrated Texas acts that found initial success in the ‘90s will visit the intimate confines of the Heights Theater this November. Led by the handsome Rhett Miller, the Dallas-formed Old 97’s carved out a respectable and prolific career on the foundation of hook-filled alt-rock-meets-Americana, their latest being this year’s critically acclaimed American Primitive. Meanwhile, the Austin-formed Fastball garnered attention for the still-great rock radio hit, “The Way,” with their latest album being Sonic Ranch.

Can’t Miss Songs: “Question," "The Way."

Cyndi Lauper, November 16, Toyota Center
The neon-bright feminist icon Cyndi Lauper is doing one last dance, embarking on her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell tour to celebrate 40 years as one of the most successful pop stars of all time. The Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning songwriter ruled the charts in the ‘80s, and her outspoken voice on women’s issues has endured over the years alongside her hits. The Lauper-influenced pop duo AJ & Aly will open.

Can’t Miss Songs: “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “True Colors,” and “She Bop.”

Jelly Roll, November 17, Toyota Center
The first of several former RodeoHouston headliners to perform in Houston this month, Nashville’s Jelly Roll is, well, on a roll these days, taking over the country charts in true crossover fashion that’s become a popular strategy for hip-hop artists. His No. 1-hit “Save Me” has been inescapable since it was released in 2020, and he has parlayed that into a stratospheric rise to mainstream popularity after starting his career as an indie rapper. His new album, Beautifully Broken, scored him his first Billboard #1 pop and country album.

Can’t Miss Songs: “Save Me,” “Need a Favor”

GWAR, November 17, Warehouse Live Midtown
Not for the faint of heart, heavy metal legends GWAR are on a mission to melt your face off with their hyper-sexual, mythological and frankly, uncouth, guitar assault. Best known for their exuberantly over-the-top and grotesque costumes and interactive performances that involve actual audience members being consumed by onstage props or being sprayed by fake bodily fluids, GWAR have no time for pearl clutching. In other words, are you not entertained?

Can’t Miss Songs: “Immortal Corruptor,” “Lust in Space”

Mariah Carey, November 19, Toyota Center
The Queen of Christmas is coming. We’re not just talking about Mariah Carey’s biggest holiday hit song of all time, “All I Want For Christmas,” which should start blasting from speakers any day now. For those who haven’t heard enough of that tune, the superstar will also be taking the show on the road with a setlist full of festive favorites alongside non-Yuletide-themed hits.

Can’t Miss Songs: “All I Want For Christmas,” “Hero”

Manchester Orchestra, November 20, Bayou Music Center
A festival favorite, Manchester Orchestra, has steadily been building a solid fanbase in the Bayou City, seemingly playing city stages every year, even when there’s no new music to tout. Thanks to the genius of singer/guitarist Andy Hull, the Atlanta band’s sprawling, multi-genre sound is the catharsis many crave. Their last original album may have been released in 2021, but their strong live presence forged on large stages means that they’ll continue to draw a crowd.

Can’t Miss Songs: “The Gold,” “The Alien”

Kacey Musgraves, November 21, Toyota Center
The Texas-raised, seven-time Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves is one of the brightest lights in the new country scene. After winning multiple awards for 2018’s groundbreaking full-length, Golden Hour, Musgraves achieved her first No. 1 pop chart hit with Zach Bryan, “I Remember Everything,” and she appeared on Saturday Night Live following the release of her new album, Deeper Well. The strength of her live performance has only grown since she opened RodeoHouston in 2019, and Lord Huron and Nickel Creek round out a solid line-up at this Toyota Center headlining gig.

Can’t Miss Songs: “Follow Your Arrow,” “Butterflies”

Better Than Ezra, November 22, House of Blues
Three bands that had their own 15 minutes of fame on ‘90s alt-rock radio are playing within days of each other on different Houston stages. Denton’s Deep Blue Something (“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”) perform on November 22 at the Last Concert Café and SoCal rockers Everclear (“Santa Monica”) are at Sawyer Park Icehouse on Nov. 24. Of the three, our pick is Better Than Ezra at House of Blues, a trio that released a series of good-to-great albums featuring the power-pop gems, “Good,” “King of New Orleans,” and “Desperately Wanting” that found alt-rock radio success.

Can’t Miss Songs: “Good,” “Desperately Wanting”

Usher, November 27, 29 and 30, Toyota Center
Is R&B heartthrob Usher the biggest artist in the world right now? A sell-out Las Vegas residency, a Super Bowl halftime performance, and three-night run at Toyota Center at the end of the month points to (cue Lil Jon voice) “Yeah!” The seemingly ageless performer who first broke out during the Total Request Live era will draw from a vast catalog of hits in what might be some of the biggest shows of the year in Houston.

Can’t Miss Songs: “Burn,” “You Make Me Wanna,” “Yeah!”

Midland, November 29, 713 Music Hall
Country act Midland heads down the highway from their Central Texas home for a headlining gig at 713 Music Hall, their Eagles meets ‘80s country a perfect fit for their blue steel looks. A few years removed from their 2020 RodeoHouston opener, in many ways this trio pointed the way forward for country acts today, with outlaw attitudes up against catchy hooks as a recipe for success. They are back on the road with their new album, Barely Blue.

Can’t Miss Songs: “Drinkin’ Problem,” “Mr. Lonely”

Photos by Jordan Taylor Wright

R&B super star Usher comes to H-Town for a three-night run at the Toyota Center, November 27, 29, and 30.

concerts

RIP, Chuck

Actor Chuck Norris, star of 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' dies at 86

Courtesy photo

Chuck Norris, star of "Walker, Texas Ranger," has died at 86.

Chuck Norris, the martial arts grandmaster and action star whose roles in “Walker, Texas Ranger” and other television shows and movies made him an iconic tough guy — sparking internet parodies and adoration from presidents — has died at 86.

Norris died Thursday, in what his family described as a “sudden passing.”

“While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace,” the family said in a statement posted to social media.

Before he would become a star in movies and on TV, Norris was wildly successful in competitive martial arts. He was a six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate champion. He also founded his own Korean-based American hard style of karate, known sometimes as Chun Kuk Do, and the United Fighting Arts Federation, which has awarded more than 3,300 Chuck Norris System black belts worldwide. Black Belt magazine ultimately credited Norris in its hall of fame with holding a 10th degree black belt, the highest possible honor.

Born Carlos Ray Norris in Ryan, Oklahoma, on March 10, 1940, he grew up poor. At age 12, he moved with his family to Torrance, California, and joined the U.S. Air Force after high school, in 1958. It was during a deployment to Korea that he started training in martial arts, including judo and Tang Soo Do.

“I went out for gymnastics and football at North Torrance high,” he told The Associated Press in 1982. “I played some football, but I also spent a lot of time on the bench. I was never really athletic until I was in the service in Korea.”

After he was honorably discharged in 1962, he worked as a file clerk for Northrop Aircraft and applied to be a police officer, but was put on a waitlist. Meanwhile, he opened a martial arts studio, which expanded to a chain, with students including such stars as Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, Donnie and Marie Osmond, and Steve McQueen, whom he later credited with encouraging him to get into acting.

From one studio to another
Norris made his film debut as an uncredited bodyguard in the 1968 movie “The Wrecking Crew,” which included a fight with Dean Martin. He had also crossed paths with Bruce Lee in martial arts circles. Their friendship — sometimes, as sparring partners — led to an iconic faceoff in the 1972 movie “Return of the Dragon,” in which Lee fights and kills Norris' character in Rome's Colosseum.

He went on to act in more than 20 movies, such as “Missing in Action,” “The Delta Force” and “Sidekicks.”

“I wanted to project a certain image on the screen of a hero. I had seen a lot of anti-hero movies in which the lead was neither good nor bad. There was no one to root for,” Norris said in 1982.

In 1993, he took on his most famed role, as a crime-fighting lawman in TV's “Walker, Texas Ranger.” The show ran for nine seasons, and in 2010, then-Gov. Rick Perry awarded him the title of honorary Texas Ranger. The Texas Senate later named him an honorary Texan.

“It’s not violence for violence’s sake, with no moral structure,” Norris told the AP in 1996, speaking about the show. “You try to portray the proper meaning of what it’s about — fighting injustice with justice, good vs. bad. … It’s entertaining for the whole family.”

Norris also made a surprise comedic appearance as a decisive judge in the final match of the 2004 movie “Dodgeball.” He only on occasion has taken acting roles in recent years, including 2012's “The Expendables 2” and the 2024 sci-fi action movie “Agent Recon.” He's due to appear in “Zombie Plane,” an upcoming film starring Vanilla Ice.

Chuck Norris: the man, the meme, the legend
It was around the time of “Dodgeball” that his toughman image became the stuff of legend, literally: “Chuck Norris Facts” went viral online with such wildly hyperbolic statements as, “Chuck Norris had a staring contest with the sun -- and won,” and, “They wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mt. Rushmore, but the granite wasn’t tough enough for his beard.”

Norris ultimately embraced the absurdity of the meme craze, putting together “The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book,” which combined his favorites with supposedly true stories and the codes he aimed to live by. He would also write books on martial arts instruction, a memoir, political takes, Civil War-era historical fiction and more.

“To some who know little of my martial arts or film careers but perhaps grew up with 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' it seems that I have become a somewhat mythical superhero icon,” Norris wrote in the forward to the fact book. “I am flattered and humbled.”

That book raised money for a nonprofit he founded with President George H.W. Bush that promoted martial arts instruction for kids.

The intentionally outlandish statements featured in the 2008 Republican presidential primary, when Norris endorsed Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and shot an ad playing on the “Chuck Norris facts.”

President Donald Trump's supporters later promoted Trump Facts in the same vein, and political pundits tried it as well, describing the commander-in-chief's decision to seize Venezuela's sitting president, Nicolas Maduro, as a “Chuck Norris Moment,” and its initial effect on oil prices a “Chuck Norris Premium.”

Norris was outspoken about his Christian beliefs and his support for gun rights, and backed political candidates for years — he even went skydiving with Bush for the former president's 80th birthday. As for Trump, Norris endorsed him in the 2016 general election and wrote guest columns praising him without explicitly endorsing him the in the days before the 2020 and 2024 elections.

Norris has five surviving children: stunt performers Mike and Eric with his late ex-wife Dianne Holechek, twins Dakota and Danilee with his wife Gena Norris, and Dina, the result of an early 1960s “one-night stand” revealed in his autobiography.

Norris celebrated his birthday just over a week before his death, posting a sparring video on Instagram.

“I don't age. I level up,” he wrote.

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