creed seems likely

10 Millennial-friendly musical acts that could play RodeoHouston in 2025

As long as we still have millennial nostalgia on the brain, let’s think about who could follow the likes of Nickelback, 50 Cent, and the Jonas Brothers in 2025. The record-breaking crowds for those shows proved that millennials — this writer is an elderly millennial himself — are ready to rodeo with the bands that populated their iPods and burned CDs.

If the crowd for Nickelback is any indication, seeing Creed at RodeoHouston isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. It’s going to happen, so embrace it with arms wide open.

Justin Timberlake would be a great candidate for a sold-out show, but he’s coming through Houston’s Toyota Center at the end of the year. He could always come through in 2026 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of “FutureSex/LoveSounds”. Sometimes chest pains aren’t just chest pains. Be sure and talk to your doctor.

Past appearances by Fall Out Boy (2015), Panic! At The Disco (2019) and blink-182 (2017) proved that even pop-punk has a place at NRG Stadium. Bun B’s All-American Takeover featured hip-hop acts like Rick Ross, Ying Yang Twins, Eve, and Nelly that ably scratched the Y2K-era itch.

Kings of Leon (2019), Gwen Stefani (2022), Bruno Mars (2013) and Maroon 5 (2005, 2006, 2014) have all been through the building and would be welcomed back with a quickness.

With all that in mind, let’s engage in a little idle speculation about which Millennial-friendly musical acts might threaten the Jonas Brothers’ new attendance record of 75,600 for RodeoHouston 2025. Hopefully, at least a couple of them perform on the star-shaped stage next year.

The Killers
No lie, this would be a hugely sought-after ticket across several demographics, not just people who had Friendster accounts. The Killers have international clout to (cowboy) boot. Did you know that “Mr. Brightside” has over 2 billion spins on Spotify?

Weezer
It wasn’t too many album cycles ago that Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo was wearing cowboy hats and pearl snap shirts on album covers and rocking the country boy aesthetic. They also have plenty of hits to keep everyone captivated for an hour, meaning all killer no filler. If their September stop at Toyota Center sells out, it’s a no-brainer to bring them back in March.

Creed
Creed and Nickelback were two of the best-selling rock acts of the late ‘90s and early 2000s even while they were openly reviled by the Pitchfork crowd. A new generation has rediscovered them with a little less seriousness. Creed can play as long as they leave the Texas Rangers gear at home.

Paramore
Paramore are one of the most popular acts of the past 20 years, growing with the Warped Tour audience they came up with to be spin-class icons. Lead singer Hayley Williams is her generation's Debbie Harry. This is Mom Music now, and moms need to party too.

Miley Cyrus
It’s actually highly surprising that Miley Cyrus hasn’t returned to RodeoHouston since her two Hannah Montana shows in the 2000s. A lot has happened in the meantime. And hey, you know the wardrobe would be immaculate.

Korn
As long as we’re booking Creed, let’s bring on the cowboy hats and the dreadlocks. Korn is not the same Korn they were in 1999. These guys are now upstanding citizens with grandkids and church ministries.

Christina Aguilera
She’s been drawing huge crowds at her Las Vegas residency. We might not ever see Britney Spears at the rodeo, sadly, but this would be the next best thing.

Avril Lavigne
“Sk8er Boi” was released 22 years ago. Have you had your cholesterol checked lately? Did you know there are good and bad cholesterol levels? It’s true.

Snoop Dogg
It’s only a matter of time before they start selling THC seltzers at the rodeo.

Rob Zombie
Come on, you know you want to see Rob Zombie’s army of robot monster stage props on the dirt at NRG Stadium.

Photo by Chuck Brueckmann

Creed seems like an inevitable follow up to Nickelback.

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Movie Review

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 doesn't match the first movie's enthusiasm

Blumhouse

Five Nights at Freddy's 2.

Blumhouse Productions first made their name with the Paranormal Activity series, establishing themselves as a leader in the horror genre thanks to their relatively cheap yet effective movies. In recent years, they’ve added on “soft” horror films like M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s to draw in a younger audience, with both films becoming so successful that each was quickly given a sequel.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 finds Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) still recovering from the events of the first film, with Abby particularly missing her “friends.” Those friends just so happen to be the souls of murdered children who inhabit animatronic characters at the long-defunct Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, children who were abducted and killed by William Afton (Matthew Lillard).

A new threat emerges at another Freddy Fazbear’s location in the form of Charlotte, another murdered child who inhabits a creepy large marionette. Mike, distracted by a possible romance with Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), fails to keep track of Abby, who makes her way to the old pizzeria and inadvertently unleashes Charlotte and her minions on the surrounding town.

Directed by Emma Tammi and written by Scott Cawthon (who also created the video game on which the series is based), the film tries to mix together goofy elements with intense scenes. One particular sequence, in which the security guard for Freddy Fazbear’s lets a group of ghost hunters onto the property, toes the line between soft and hard horror. That and a few others show the potential that the filmmakers had if they had stuck to their guns.

Unfortunately, more often than not they either soft-pedal things that would normally be horrific, or can’t figure out how to properly stage scenes. The sight of animatronic robots wreaking havoc is one that is simultaneously frightening and laughable, and the filmmakers never seem to find the right balance in tone. Every step in the direction of making a truly scary horror film is undercut by another in which the robots fail to live up to their promise.

It doesn’t help that Cawthon gives the cast some extremely wooden dialogue, lines that none of the actors can elevate. What may work in a video game format comes off as stilted when said by actors in a live-action film. The story also loses momentum quickly after the first half hour or so, with Cawthon seemingly content to just have characters move from place to place with no sense of connection between any of the scenes.

Hutcherson (The Hunger Games series), after being the true lead of the first film, is given very little to do in this film, and his effort is equal to his character’s arc. The same goes for Lail, whose character seems to be shoehorned into the story. Rubio is called upon to carry the load for a lot of the movie, and the teenager is not quite up to the task. A brief appearance by Skeet Ulrich seems to be a blatant appeal to Scream fans, but he and Lillard only underscore how limited this film is compared to that franchise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first film, but not by much. The filmmakers do a decent job of making the new marionette character into a great villain, but they fail to capitalize on its inherent creepiness. Instead, they fall back on less effective elements, ensuring that the film will be forgettable for anyone other than hardcore Freddy fans.

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Five Nights at Freddy's 2 opens in theaters on December 5.

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