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

Chris Pratt fights for his innocence in popcorn thriller Mercy

Photo courtesy Amazon Content Services

Chris Pratt in Mercy.

It seems like every other movie set in modern times being released these days includes either a reference to or a plot revolving around artificial intelligence. In the real world, the benefits of the technology compete with its downsides, but when it comes to movies A.I. is almost always seen as a threat, including in the new film Mercy.

The audience is thrown headlong into the slightly futuristic story involving LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt), who finds himself strapped in a chair in a sparse room, being told that he is on trial for killing his wife. Turns out he’s in a court dubbed “Mercy,” which is overseen by an AI judge named Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson). By the rules of the court, Raven has 90 minutes to provide reasonable doubt of his guilt, or he will be executed on the spot.

Raven is in a multi-pronged quandary: Not only does he believe he’s innocent despite a trove of evidence pointing to his guilt, but he’s also the poster boy for the law enforcement side of the equation, having arrested the first man who went to Mercy. Anger and disbelief for Raven turn into acceptance, which then turns into him tapping into his detective skills, scrutinizing every shred of evidence the court provides him in a desperate attempt to save his own life.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Marco van Belle, the film is a relatively propulsive thriller despite having a so-so story and even worse acting. The film is told in real time (with a few fudges here and there), so the concept alone of a man trying to prove his innocence in a short amount of time provides good intrigue. Bekmambetov’s use of digital elements as Raven scrolls through files or calls potentially exculpatory witnesses like his partner, Jaq Diallo (Kali Reis), keeps the film visually interesting.

On the other hand, the swift viewing of videos and documents by Raven, not to mention the high degree of cooperation by Judge Maddox, opens up more than a few plot holes. The filmmakers try to explain away a few leaps in logic by having Raven falling off the sobriety wagon the night before, but they can only use that excuse for so long. They also have the AI judge experience technical glitches along the way, errors that seem to point toward a wider conspiracy until they’re completely forgotten.

More than anything, it’s difficult to get over the wooden acting of Pratt and the misuse of other usually reliable actors. Pratt has no real presence, especially when he’s confined to a chair, so any emotion he tries to conjure up comes off as contrived. Ferguson is done no favors by a role that shows only her upper body and has her alternating between robotic and oddly sympathetic. Reis earned an Emmy nomination for True Detective: Night Country, but has little to do here, a fate that also takes out Chris Sullivan as Raven’s AA sponsor.

If you’re okay with turning off your brain for a little while, Mercy can be an enjoyable watch. But if you find yourself scrutinizing why characters make the odd decisions they do, or the wishy-washy way the film approaches AI in general, then you’re likely to find the whole thing lacking.

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Mercy is now playing in theaters.