don't call it a comeback

LL Cool J ready to rock the bells with The Roots and hip-hop royalty on star-studded tour heading to Houston

Don't call it a comeback: he's been here for years.

LL Cool J/Instagram

Celebrity-actor-rapper- LL Cool J will embark on his first headline arena tour in 30 years, called "Rock The Bells & Live Nation Urban Presents The F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) Live," which includes a Houston stop at Toyota Center on Friday, August 25.

LL Cool J will be headliner, but the tour will be hip-hop heavy with a lineup personally selected by the iconic performer. The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and DJ Z-Trip will collaborate on performances at each stop, and the bill will also include a rotating cast of big-name acts.

As of now, the Houston lineup includes Big Boi, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Goodie Mob, and Juvenile. Expect more names to be added to the list.

Houston joins Fort Worth as the only other Texas dates. The tour hits Fort Worth's Dickies Arena on Thursday, August 24.

The tour is building off of the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop celebration that took place at the Grammy Awards earlier this year. Unlike the traditional “opening act – headliner” format, the show will be a nonstop musical mash up with artist performances interwoven within one continuous musical set backed by The Roots.

Kicking off in Boston on June 25, the tour will travel to 24 cities over the course of more than two months.

Verizon will offer customers an exclusive presale for the tour in the U.S. through Verizon Up. Customers will have access to presale tickets for select shows beginning Tuesday, April 25 at 12 pm through Thursday, April 27 at 10 pm.

Citi cardmembers will also have access to presale tickets for select shows beginning Tuesday, April 25 at 12 pm through Thursday, April 27 at 10 pm through the Citi Entertainment program.

On Thursday, April 27 between 10 am-10 pm, fans may purchase tickets through either the Live Nation presale, Ticketmaster presale, or local venue and radio presales. General on-sale kicks off on Friday, April 28 at 10 am.

TOUR DATES

6/25 Boston, MA TD Garden
6/27 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
6/28 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
6/29 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
7/1 Baltimore, MD CFG Bank Arena
7/2 Washington, DC Capital One Arena
7/4 Atlanta, GA State Farm Arena
7/6 Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
7/8 Raleigh, NC PNC Arena
7/9 Charlotte, NC Spectrum Center
8/12 Cleveland, OH Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
8/13 Chicago, IL United Center
8/18 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena
8/19 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center
8/20 Indianapolis, IN Gainbridge Fieldhouse
8/22 Memphis, TN FedExForum
8/23 New Orleans, LA Smoothie King Center
8/24 Ft. Worth, TX Dickies Arena
8/25 Houston, TX Toyota Center
8/27 Albuquerque, NM Sandia Casino Amphitheater
8/29 Denver, CO Ball Arena
9/1 San Francisco, CA Chase Center
9/2 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
9/3 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum

concerts music

a beautiful mind

Houston Health Museum's new exhibit shines a light on dyslexia

Sarah Sudhoff created "The Reading Brain" in honor of her son.

Photo by Rose Tylinski

"The Reading Brain" replicates neuron activity in a dyslexic brian while reading

No, "The Reading Brain" isn't the title of a B-horror film from the 1960s. It's a brand new installation at the Houston Health Museum that explores dyslexia.

The piece was created by Houston-based artist Sarah Sudhoff, in partnership with Dr. Guinevere Eden, Director of the Center for the Study of Learning at Georgetown University. Hanging from the ceiling of the Health Museum, it uses light-up colored circles to represent the frontal lobe activity of a dyslexic person while reading. MRI scans of dyslexic brains formed the foundation of the light activity. Sudhoff's own son has dyslexia, and she had to adapt her homeschooling of him to account for his neurodivergence. As much as 20 percent of the American population is dyslexic.

"The Reading Brain" grew out of a similar exhibit at the DoSeum in San Antonio. "Beautiful Minds: Dyslexia and the Creative Advantage" challenged visitors to see dyslexia not as a learning disability but as simply a different way some human brains work. The exhibit featured videos, stories, and art work by dyslexic individuals that show how they succeed and create, as well as a selection of brain puzzles used to teach dyslexic people.

“Even though your brain works differently, it still lights up and is beautiful to watch, a wonderful machine you have. It just means you have to navigate and pivot a little differently,” Sudhoff said.

Sudhoff's innovative bridge between science and art is a permanent part of the Health Museum's MindWorks exhibit. Like "The Reading Brain," MindWorks maps out thinking processes through light and hands-on activities. The exhibit will close on January 5, meaning visitors have a very short time to see Sudhoff's piece.

The Health Museum is a hidden gem in Museum District located a block away from the Children's Museum. It houses a variety of exhibits about the human body, such as a giant plastic colon that kids love to run through. Since opening in 1969, the museum has helped Houstonians and visitors from around the world learn about the way the body works as well well as public health protocols. As the only Smithsonian Affiliate Museum in the Houston Museum District, it has a high educational pedigree despite it's colorful and often whimsical offerings.

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