Any self-respecting '80s New Wave/New Romantic/pop fan would no doubt possess a mixtape — or at least a Spotify playlist — featuring Boy George and Culture Club, Berlin, and Howard Jones. Now, Houston fans of all three can ditch the Maxell cassettes and experience the real thing, as all three acts head to town on a new tour.
Flamboyant '80s pop/fashion/culture icon Boy George and his act Culture Club will hit the The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Friday, August 11 as part of The Letting It Go Show, a 25-city summer U.S. tour featuring the three Big '80s acts. The day before The Woodlands stop, the tour will hit Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas on Thursday, August 10 and Austin's Germania Insurance Amphitheater on Saturday, August 12.
Tickets for the Live Nation-produced show will be available starting with a Citi presale beginning on Wednesday, April 19. Expect more presales throughout the week ahead of the general onsale, which starts at 10 am Friday, April 21 at livenation.com.
As for the show, fans can expect Culture Club's singalong faves such as "Karma Chameleon," "Church of the Poisoned Mind," and the reggae-inspired song that started it all, "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me.” Boasting seven straight Top Ten hits in the U.S. and UK, Culture Club became a pop powerhouse through the early and mid-'80s, before pausing and eventually disbanding.
A lighting rod for identity politics and a style maverick who often donned androgynous and even head-scratching looks, Boy George (née George Alan O'Dowd) made a grandiose return in 1992 with his haunting, ethereal cover of Dave Berry's "The Crying Game" became the title song for the Oscar-nominated film of the same name. His resurgence led to his autobiography, Take It Like a Man, which was published in 1995. Devotees rejoiced when the Culture Club trio reunited in 1998, issuing the two-disc set VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Hits. (The current Culture Club lineup features George with bandmates Roy Hay and Mikey Craig.)
A favorite of '80s dance clubs long before they hit the mainstream, electronic dance/New Wave act Berlin shocked and rocked with its single "Sex (I'm A...)," which sparked bans and outrage with its (then) outrageous lyrics and lead singer Teri Nunn's sultry, breathy stylings. Chart toppers "No More Words" and the clubby "The Metro" followed, but the band struck solid gold with its lush ballad "Take My Breath Away," the unforgettable love scene track in Tom Cruise's Top Gun. Herself also an '80s icon, Nunn is seemingly ageless and was recently ranked No. 11 on VH1.com’s “100 Greatest Women in Rock.”
Photo courtesy of Culture Club
Boy George and Culture Club headline The Letting It Go Show tour.
With more than 10 million albums sold worldwide, Howard Jones has transitioned from '80s and '90s pop act to current relevance thanks to his poppy, hummable hits be9ing used in screen hits like Stranger Things, Breaking Bad, The Watchmen, and more. Bursting on the scene as a hot new British act with "New Song," Jones (or HoJo as fans know him) followed with anthemic hits like "Everlasting Love," "What is Love," and "Life in One Day." Cherished for those smash singles and the slow singalong "No One is to Blame," he returned in the '90s with feel-good single "Lift Me Up."
Here is the full schedule of The Letting It Go tour dates:
Thu Jul 13 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sat Jul 15 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sun Jul 16 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily's Place Amphitheatre
Tue Jul 18 – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
Wed Jul 19 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Thu Jul 20 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
Sat Jul 22 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sun Jul 23 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Tue Jul 25 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Wed Jul 26 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Fri Jul 28 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Sat Jul 29 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Sun Jul 30 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at the Mann
Tue Aug 01 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Thu Aug 03 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Fri Aug 04 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Sat Aug 05 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Tue Aug 08 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
Thu Aug 10 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Fri Aug 11 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sat Aug 12 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Mon Aug 14 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Fri Aug 18 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 19 – San Diego, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sun Aug 20 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
