ballers and shot callers

Keith Urban, Lil Nas X, and Tim McGraw headline Houston's slam-dunk March Madness Music Festival

Houstonians—and the asphalt highways that are taking a rubber pounding from increased traffic—won’t even have two weeks to recover from the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo before the next Big Ticket Event hits town.

The 2023 NCAA Men’s Final Four was a big get for the city, but the actual games are only part of the overall weekend that also includes events, celebrity parties, a Fan Fest, and even tailgating.

And slam dunks won’t be the only type of jamming going on, as the lineup has just been announced for the NCAA March Madness Music Festival. Big names in Americana, country, and hip hop are hitting the stage at Discovery Green downtown from March 31-April 2.

All tickets are free, though they do require reservation online while supplies last.

Performers for the AT&T Block Party on March 31 are still being determined. But here’s the rundown for the other two days:

April 1

MOVE by Coca-Cola Stage; 3-9 pm

The afternoon kicks off with singer/songwriter Maggie Rogers. The multi-instrumentalist grew up on a diet of classical and neo soul music. But her career really started when a video of her playing her song “Alaska” to a visibly-moved Pharrell Williams went viral. Nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy in 2019 for debut Heard It In a Past Life record. Last year saw the release of follow-up Surrender.

It's hard to believe that it’s only been a few years since the sing-songy “Old Town Road” was heard everywhere from elementary school classrooms to senior citizen centers, but headliner and Grammy winner Lil Nas X has certainly not stayed staid. He courted new sounds in rap, dance and hip hop (and multiple controversies—see: lap dancing for Satan himself) with the expansive Montero (“Panini,” “That’s What I Want”) while also coming out a both gay and a fashion icon. He also collaborated with rapper Jack Harlow on “Industry Baby.”

April 2

Capital One JamFest; 2:30-10 pm

It’s a boot-scootin’ afternoon of classic and contemporary country sounds beginning with Texas native Mickey Guyton. Sure, she’s gotten surface attention for being a rare black female artist in the genre, but any naysayers were silenced by tunes like “Better Than You Left Me” and “Heartbreak Song” before she addressed race in “Hold On, Sister” and “Black Like Me.” Ironically, those numbers were embraced more on social media than country radio. In 2021, she released the debut Remember Her Name, which added gospel and R&B to the mix, and she co-hosted the Academy of Country Music Awards the same year.

The Alabama quartet Little Big Town have been a force going back to their 2002 debut, scoring big hits with “Pontoon,” “Better Man,” “Little White Church,” “Day Drinking,” and “Girl Crush” among them while collecting a lot of award hardware along the journey. Singers Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman along with singer/instrumentalists Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook’s most recent album was last year’s Mr. Sun. They are also a country group for people who proclaim they don’t like country music.

Keith Urban has a career spanning more than three decades. And while his Australian roots, wife Nicole Kidman, judging on American Idol, and his looks/tattoos get almost as much attention as his music to the general public, the singer/guitarist has got a long and solid discography. That includes 20 (and counting) #1 country hits including “Somebody Like You,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me,” “Days Go By,” “Somewhere In My Car,” “Break on Me,” and “Wasted Time.” His last album was 2020’s The Speed of Now Part 1.

Finally, headliner Tim McGraw sheds his period cowboy duds of the Yellowstone TV series spin-off 1883 to strap on a guitar for a similarly hit-heavy repertoire including “I Like It, I Love It,” “Just to See You Smile,” “Something Like That” and “Real Good Man” though “Live Like You Were Dying,” “Back When,” and “Southern Voice.” Some will hope for a pop-up appearance from wife Faith Hill, but the Louisiana native can more than hold an audience on his own while flexing his lean, muscular frame that’s the envy of any a middle-aged man.

Stay up to date with developments and announcements at ncaa.com/marchmadness/musicfest.

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.

Keith Urban will play Capital One JamFest.

Movie Review

Summer camp drama The Plague proves middle school is still pure horror

Photo courtesy of IFC

Everett Blunck in The Plague.

Anybody who’s attended elementary school in the last 100 years knows the concept of “cooties,” a fictional affliction that is typically caught when touched by a member of the opposite sex. A more updated version of the same idea is featured in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, this time called the “Cheese Touch,” making anyone who touches a moldy piece of cheese on the school’s basketball court an outcast.

A much more menacing version of this “disease” is on display in The Plague, which takes place at a summer water polo camp for tweens. The film focuses on Ben (Everett Blunck), a slightly awkward boy who struggles to fit in with the “cool” crowd led by Jake (Kayo Martin). That group has no problems making fun of others that they deem to be different, especially Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), who has been ostracized because of a rash he has that the kids call “the plague.”

Ben wants to be part of the main group, but his natural empathy leads him to reach out to Eli on more than one occasion despite Eli engaging in some uncomfortable behavior. With the camp’s coach (Joel Edgerton) not much help when it comes to the bullying tactics by Jake and others, especially those that take place at night, Ben is left to fend for himself. His vacillations between wanting to be accepted and wanting to do what’s right continue until his hand is forced.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Charlie Polinger, the film has all the feel of a horror movie without actually being a horror. The staging used by Polinger gives the film a claustrophobic feel as Ben can’t seem to escape the psychological torture inflicted by Jake and others no matter where he goes. He also employs a jarring score by Johan Lenox to great effect, one that’s designed to keep viewers on edge even when nothing bad is happening.

No matter how far removed you are from middle school, the film will likely bring up feelings you thought you had left behind. Much like with Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, Polinger finds a way to tap into something universal in his depiction of tweens, an age when everyone is still discovering who they really are. Some go along to get along, others don’t even attempt to fit in, but no one truly feels settled.

Whether the plague is real or not in the world of the film is up for debate. While most of the time it comes off as something made up to underscore the feeling of otherness felt by Ben, Polinger does literalize it to a degree. He even tiptoes up to the line of body horror before wisely retreating, although what he does show will still make some viewers squeamish. However, because he seems to be leaning one way before pulling back, there’s the possibility that some will be disappointed by the tease of something more intense.

The film’s biggest success is in its casting. Finding good child actors is notoriously tough, and yet Polinger and casting director Rebecca Dealy found a bunch who sell the story for all it’s worth. Blunck, Martin, and Rasmussen get the most play, but everyone else complements them well. Edgerton is the only well-known actor in the film, but he’s used sparingly and isn’t asked to do much, leaving the kids to carry the story on their shoulders.

Fitting in as a tween is hard enough without others actively trying to find ways to cast someone out. The Plague is an effective demonstration of the dynamics that can play out in a competitive environment that also includes a group that has yet to develop into fully-rounded people. It features discomfort on multiple levels, marking an auspicious debut for Polinger.

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The Plague is now playing in theaters.

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