Forget Christmas carols, live music is making its presence felt in the Bayou City this December.
The last month of the year is generally considered one of the slower ones in the concert world. The holidays aren’t exactly prime time for artists to tour with the hustle and bustle of gift-buying and visits from Santa. But in a post-COVID world, the amped up music industry is different, and artists are touring well into the yuletide season.
This month sees major acts across several different genres hitting local stages, including the pop-R&B of Janet Jackson, adult alternative with Train, hip-hop in Rod Wave and alt-rock with Queens of the Stone Age. In other words, there’s something for every kind of music fan – naughty or nice.
Here are the best concerts to close out 2023.
Janet Jackson, December 1, NRG Arena
Taking its name from her triple-platinum album, The Velvet Rope, pop-R&B superstar Janet Jackson’s Together Again U.S. tour rolls into town after kicking off way back in April. She hasn’t put an album of original material out since 2015’s Unbreakable, but that hasn’t stopped crowds from coming to see her very own Eras Tour.
Jackson’s setlist covers songs from across her career, including those from the mega-selling Control, Rhythm Nation 1814 and Janet, and her performances are drawing rave reviews.
Old 97’s, December 6, House of Blues
Almost an exact year after they appeared in the “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” as Nowhere’s house band, the Dallas cult-act, Old 97’s, returns to Houston. The band garnered critical and commercial acclaim in the mid-‘90s, partially thanks to their energetic take on alt-country, and partially thanks to lead singer-guitarist Rhett Miller’s striking good looks.
Expect songs from their twelfth album released in 2020, aptly named, Twelfth. Jarret Reddick opens.
Train, December 7, 713 Music Hall
Hey soul sisters, adult-alternative superstars, Train, will headline the Mix 96.5’s Holiday Deck The Hall Ball. If you haven’t heard “Drops of Jupiter” or “Meet Virginia” enough times at the grocery store, dentist office, or on the car radio on the way to the school drop-off line, this should be a good show – the Train gang continues to sell boatloads of tickets at mid-to-large-sized venues across the country.
This appearance at 713 Music Hall will be a bit more intimate than their usual stopping points. Benson Boone opens.
Rod Wave, December 7, Toyota Center
Rod Wave is currently riding a big one. The prolific, Florida-raised rapper is celebrating his third consecutive No. 1 album in as many years. Nostalgia, released this year followed the similarly huge Soulfly (2021) and Beautiful Mind (2022) thanks to the strength of several Top 40 singles including “Heart On Ice,” “Street Runner,” “Tombstone,” and “By Your Side.” The deft storyteller is quickly rising to superstar status. Ari Lennox, Toosii, and Eelmatic open.
Queens of the Stone Age with Spiritualized, December 9, 713 Music Hall
Queens of the Stone Age plays December 9.
Photo by Andreas Neumann
While their commercial heyday of the mid-aughts might be behind them, the Josh Homme-led collective, Queens of the Stone Age, has before and since released good-to-great albums, including this year’s Grammy Rock Album-nominated In Times New Roman… They remain one of the last exciting touring alt-rock bands, always worth the price of admission for the leather jacket-wearing set.
What makes this show a must-attend event is opener, psych-rock outfit, Spiritualized, whose masterpiece, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, once beat out Radiohead’s OK Computer for album of the year in the revered U.K. music mag, NME. The Jason Pierce-fronted group released their fantastic album, Everything Was Beautiful, last year.
Black Pumas, December 9 & 10, House of Blues
What a rise for Austin-based duo, Black Pumas. Adrian Quesada and the buttery-soul-voiced Eric Burton became one of those acts that emerged of the pandemic with a spotlight firmly shining on them. Their self-titled 2019 album and its huge single, “Colors,” earned them four Grammy nominations. They are cashing in on that goodwill following the release of this year’s Chronicles of a Diamond, showcasing their killer live chops with two shows at House of Blues.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, December 10, Toyota Center
Not to be confused with Mannheim Steamroller, which makes an appearance at the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land later this month, the holiday lights and sound bonanza, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, makes its yearly pilgrimage to the Toyota Center with its show, “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve – The Best of the TSO and More.” If rock-metal versions of your favorite seasonal tunes set to eye-popping visuals don’t bring you festive cheer, you might be the Grinch.
Charlie Mars, December 12, McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Starting his career as a student at Southern Methodist University, singer-songwriter Charlie Mars worked the college circuit before catching his big break when the now defunct V2 Records won a bidding war to release his self-titled album in 2004. It catapulted him to sharing stages with R.E.M. and The (then Dixie) Chicks as well as a four-year romance Weeds actress Mary-Louise Parker. In other words, not too shabby. His new album, Times Have Changed, features local ties, being released by boutique label, Foxgate Records, owned by local businessman and fellow SMU alum, Jay Fields.
Toadies with Local H, December 29, House of Blues
One of the more reliable fun nights out, north Texas alt-rock act Toadies have made an end-of-year trip down I-45 a regular occurrence. Best known for ‘90s hits “Possum Kingdom” and “I Come From the Water” from the platinum-selling Rubberneck, Toadies still bring it hard in a live setting and still get regular airplay on rock stations. This year, they are bringing another great, underrated ‘90s cult act, Local H, the Scott Lucas-led duo that rose to prominence on alt-rock radio and MTV with the stoned-out angst anthem with the super-catchy guitar riff, “Bound for the Floor.”
K.Flay, December 29, White Oak Music Hall
A songwriter very much of her time, K.Flay gained notoriety by mish-mashing genres into a hitmaking DIY brew of indie, hip-hop and EDM, most notably on the alt-rock smash, “Blood in the Cut,” from her 2017 breakthrough, Every Where Is Some Where. It won her Grammy nods, movie and TV placements, and collaborations with a variety of who’s-who in rock, dance, and rap. Her latest is this year’s Mono, inspired in part by her sudden deafness in one ear.
