madge is back

Madonna announces new Houston dates on worldwide Celebration Tour following life-threatening illness

Madonna has announced new show dates following her hospitalization.

Madonna/Facebook

Not long after battling for her life following a serious illness, Madonna has just announced her triumphant return.

The pop icon announced a slew of rescheduled shows in Texas and beyond for her wildly anticipated, worldwide Celebration Tour on Tuesday, August 15. Fans will recall that the 84-date tour, a nod to her 40-year career anniversary, was initially set to kick off on July 15 in Vancouver, Canada.

Madonna will now perform in Houston on Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29, 2024 at Toyota Center. Importantly, these are new shows replace the original Houston performance dates of September 13 and 14 this year.

Elsewhere in Texas, Madonna will now perform in Dallas on Sunday, March 24 and Monday, March 25, 2024 at American Airlines Center — those dates are rescheduled from the original September 18 and 19 shows there.

She'll also head to Austin on April 14 and 15 for two Moody Center shows, rescheduled from the original September 21 and 22 dates.

Her Celebration Tour will officially kick off with four sold-out shows in London this October and will travel across Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands) throughout 2023.

The North American leg will begin on December 13 in New York at at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with new show dates just added.

Fans can visit the tour sites on Live Nation and Ticketmaster for updates and more information.

Sadly for some fans across the U.S., the following shows are now canceled: July 27 in Tulsa, December 22 in Nashville, January 15 in San Francisco, January 18 in Las Vegas, and January 20 in Phoenix.

After developing a serious bacterial infection on June 24, Madonna spent several days in the ICU for what has been widely reported as septic shock — an often fatal syndrome. Sepsis, a notoriously fatal condition occurring after infection, has been linked to celebrity deaths including Muhammad Ali and Patty Duke Astin.

Five weeks ago, Madonna confirmed the reports with an apologetic message to fans and staff. "My first thought when I woke up in the hospital was my children," she wrote on Instagram. "My second thought was that I did not want to disappointment anyone who bought tickets for my tour. I also didn't want to let down the people who worked tirelessly with me over the last few months to create my show."

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But now, the pop powerhouse is back. Here are the full North American tour dates, included rescheduled and new performances.

Madonna - The Celebration Tour - 2023/2024

12/13/2023 Brooklyn Barclays Center Original Date (no change)

12/14/2023 Brooklyn Barclays Center Original Date (no change)

12/16/2023 Brooklyn Barclays Center MSG - 8/27/2023*

12/18/2023 Washington Capital One Arena Original Date (no change)

12/19/2023 Washington Capital One Arena 9/2/2023

1/8/2024 Boston TD Garden 8/30/2023

1/9/2024 Boston TD Garden 8/31/2023

1/11/2024 Toronto Scotiabank Arena 8/13/2023

1/12/2024 Toronto Scotiabank Arena 8/14/2023

1/15/2024 Detroit Little Caesars Arena 8/5/2023

1/18/2024 Montreal Bell Centre 8/19/2023

1/20/2024 Montreal Bell Centre 8/20/2023

1/22/2024 New York Madison Square Garden 8/23/2023

1/23/2024 New York Madison Square Garden 8/24/2023

1/25/2024 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center 12/20/2023

1/29/2024 New York Madison Square Garden 8/26/2023

2/1/2024 Chicago United Center 8/9/2023

2/2/2024 Chicago United Center 8/10/2023

2/5/2024 Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena 8/7/2023

2/8/2024 Cleveland Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 8/2/2023

2/13/2024 Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center 7/30/2023

2/17/2024 Seattle Climate Pledge Arena 7/18/2023

2/18/2024 Seattle Climate Pledge Arena 7/19/2023

2/21/2024 Vancouver Rogers Arena 7/15/2023

2/24/2024 Sacramento Golden 1 Center 1/13/2024

2/27/2024 San Francisco Chase Center 10/4/2023

2/28/2024 San Francisco Chase Center 10/5/2023

3/1/2024 Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena 10/7/2023

3/2/2024 Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena 10/8/2024

3/4/2024 Los Angeles Kia Forum Crypto.com - 9/27/23*

3/5/2024 Los Angeles Kia Forum Crypto.com - 9/28/23*

3/7/2024 Los Angeles Kia Forum Crypto.com - 9/30/23*

3/9/2024 Los Angeles Kia Forum Crypto.com - 10/01/23*

3/11/2024 Los Angeles Kia Forum Kia Forum - 1/7/24 & 1/8/24*

3/13/2024 Palm Desert Acrisure Arena 1/11/2024

3/16/2024 Phoenix Footprint Center 7/22/2023

3/19/2024 Denver Ball Arena 7/25/2023

3/24/2024: Dallas, American Airlines Center 9/18/2023

3/25/2024: Dallas, American Airlines Center 9/19/2023

3/28/2024: Houston, Toyota Center 9/13/2023

3/29/2024: Houston, Toyota Center 9/14/2023

4/1/2024 Atlanta State Farm Arena 9/5/2023

4/4/2024 Tampa Amalie Arena 9/7/2023

4/6/2024 Miami Kaseya Center 9/9/2023

4/7/2024 Miami Kaseya Center 9/10/2023

4/14/2024: Austin, Moody Center 9/21/2023

4/15/2024: Austin, Moody Center 9/22/2023

4/20/2024 Mexico City Palacio De Los Deportes 1/25/2024

4/21/2024 Mexico City Palacio De Los Deportes 1/27/2024

4/23/2024 Mexico City Palacio De Los Deportes 1/28/2024

4/24/2024 Mexico City Palacio De Los Deportes 1/30/2024

howling for you

Houston's interdimensional art exhibit books 4 local acts for summer concerts

The four members of Swimwear Department hugging

Photo provided by Meow Wolf

Swimwear Department is heading to Meow Wolf

Things are heating up this summer at Meow Wolf as they host their first ever summer concert series. Four hometown bands will take the stage at the immersive art complex for a series of shows in June and July.

“Houston’s music scene has always been bold, genre-defying, and deeply original, so it felt natural to bring that same energy into our Radio Tave world,” said Aaron Johnson, general manager of Meow Wolf Houston. “This concert series is about celebrating the artists who define Texas' sound and give guests a new reason to experience Meow Wolf in a whole new way.”

Ever since Meow Wolf first opened during Halloween last year in Fifth Ward, the collection of artistic spaces has wowed, delighted, and sometimes confused audiences. Cowboix Hevvven, the venue's "dive bar" with possible links to extraterrestrials, was designed by fifth generation Texan Cole Wilson and features a jukebox of 30 original songs Wilson created in collaboration with other Texas artists. Radio Tave, Meow Wolf's name for the exhibit as a whole, has been a huge critical and popular hit for Meow Wolf, winning two Webby Awards last month.

It's also the perfect place to show off some of the more esoteric bands that make up the Houston sound. The odd four-piece rock band Swimwear Department burst onto the scene in 2023, winning over audiences with their songs about pools and malls as well as a series of stellar music videos shot around the city. Their potent mix of quirk and early-alternative music has made them one of the best novelty acts in Houston.

Meanwhile, The Mighty Orq and Mango Punch have been mainstays for more than a decade. Orq is swamp blues royalty, and always adds a sense of the strange to his concerts thanks to his near-mystical aura. Mango Punch is almost custom built for Meow Wolf thanks to a hectic swirl of Top 40, disco and cumbia.

The schedule for the concerts is below with links to tickets.

Though Houston has never hurt for places weird bands can play, wedding the popular immersive art space at Meow Wolf with concerts is an opportunity to reframe music as performance art rather than just something to listen to while having a drink (though you can still do that at Meow Wolf). Should the summer concert series prove a success, it could quickly become one of the prime venues in the city, at least for groups looking to be a little out there.

meow wolf concerts