Concert News

Rock gods Mötley Crüe roll into Houston on nostalgic 2026 tour

Mötley Crüe will play The Woodlands on September 11, 2026.

Photo by Ross Halfin

Iconic rock band Mötley Crüe will celebrate a couple of key anniversaries on their upcoming 2026 tour, The Return of the Carnival of Sins, which will include a stop at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Friday, September 11.

The two milestones being remembered are the 20th anniversary of their 2005-2006 Carnival of Sins tour, which marked the reunion of the band's original four members, and the 45th anniversary of the band itself, which was formed in 1981.

It's also the 12th anniversary of Mötley Crüe's "retirement" from touring, but that retirement was shelved in 2022 when they started the first of two tours with Def Leppard.

Calling the tour The Return of the Carnival of Sins isn't just trying to make fans nostalgic; it's Mötley Crüe saying that they're going to try to emulate the elaborate staging and a sense of chaos that came with the original tour.

The tour will stop in 33 cities across North America, starting on July 17 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. In addition to Houston, they will play Dallas on September 10.

They'll be joined by special guests Tesla and Extreme on all dates.

The heavy metal band was at their peak in the 1980s and '90s, when they had a string of top 10 albums and hits like "Smokin' in the Boys Room," "Dr. Feelgood," and "Without You."

They've released nine albums in their career, most recently Saints of Los Angeles in 2008.

In conjunction with the tour announcement, the band is releasing the Theatre Of Pain 40th Anniversary Deluxe box set, featuring a newly remastered version of the 1985 album on color vinyl, a never-before-released 1985 Long Beach live concert, and more.

The general on-sale for the tour begins on Friday, November 21 at 9 AM at motley.com.

THE RETURN OF THE CARNIVAL OF SINS - 2026 TOUR DATES

Fri, Jul 17, 2026 — Burgettstown, PA — The Pavilion at Star Lake
Sat, Jul 18, 2026 — Buffalo, NY — Darien Lake Amphitheater
Mon, Jul 20, 2026 — Clarkson, MI — Pine Knob Music Theatre
Wed, Jul 22, 2026 — Toronto, ON — RBC Amphitheatre
Fri, Jul 24, 2026 — Gilford, NH — BankNH Pavilion
Sat, Jul 25, 2026 — Bangor, ME — Maine Savings Amphitheater
Mon, Jul 27, 2026 — Camden, NJ — Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Wed, Jul 29, 2026 — Saratoga Springs, NY — Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Fri, Jul 31, 2026 — Holmdel, NJ — PNC Bank Arts Center
Sat, Aug 1, 2026 — Mansfield, MA — Xfinity Center
Mon, Aug 3, 2026 — Bristow, VA — Jiffy Lube Live
Wed, Aug 12, 2026 — Alpharetta, GA — Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Fri, Aug 14, 2026 — West Palm Beach, FL — iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sat, Aug 15, 2026 — Tampa, FL — MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Mon, Aug 17, 2026 — Charlotte, NC — PNC Music Pavilion
Wed, Aug 19, 2026 — St. Louis, MO — Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Fri, Aug 21, 2026 — Shakopee, MN — Mystic Lake Amphitheater
Sat, Aug 22, 2026 — Tinley Park, IL — Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Mon, Aug 24, 2026 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH — Blossom Music Center
Tue, Aug 25, 2026 — Cincinnati, OH — Riverbend Music Center
Thu, Aug 27, 2026 — Grand Rapids, MI — Acrisure Amphitheater
Fri, Aug 28, 2026 — Noblesville, IN — Ruoff Music Center
Tue, Sep 8, 2026 — Kansas City, MO — Morton Amphitheater
Thu, Sep 10, 2026 — Dallas, TX — Dos Equis Pavilion
Fri, Sep 11, 2026 — The Woodlands, TX — The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sun, Sep 13, 2026 — Albuquerque, NM — Isleta Amphitheater
Wed, Sep 16, 2026 — Phoenix, AZ — Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Fri, Sep 18, 2026 — Chula Vista, CA — North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sat, Sep 19, 2026 — Long Beach, CA — Long Beach Amphitheater
Mon, Sep 21, 2026 — Salt Lake City, UT — Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Wed, Sep 23, 2026 — Wheatland, CA — Toyota Amphitheatre
Thu, Sep 24, 2026 — Mountain View, CA — Shoreline Amphitheater
Sat, Sep 26, 2026 — Ridgefield, WA – Cascades Amphitheater

concerts music

Movie Review

Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close shine in ambitious drama La Bola Negra

Photo by Carla Oset/Netflix

Miguel Bernardeau and Guitarricadelafuente in La Bola Negra.

For a long time — too long — gay characters in movies tended to appear as either side characters with no real stories or as tragic figures who were usually unable to express their true selves for fear of what the world at large would think. That has changed in recent years, but the remnants of the past can still haunt, as the new film La Bola Negra demonstrates.

The film takes shape in storylines involving three different men: Carlos (Milo Quifes), a young man in Granada, Spain in 1932 who wants to join an exclusive casino (aka social club); Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente), who unwillingly joins the military during the Spanish Civil War in 1937, only to have desires aroused in him when he’s asked to guard an enemy detainee; and Alberto (Carlos González), an out gay man in 2017 whose inheritance from his recently-deceased grandfather opens up a world he knew nothing about.

The film goes back and forth between each man, detailing how they handle their individual situations and the complications that arise in their individual lives. Along the way their stories are deepened through people they meet who either welcome them with open arms or shun them for various reasons. While tragedy bonds their stories, so too does hope, resistance, and love.

Co-director/co-writers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, along with co-writer Alberto Conejero, have expanded Conejero’s play, La Piedra Oscura, which was inspired by Federico García Lorca’s unfinished play, La Bola Negra. Lorca, who was killed during the Spanish Civil War, had only finished four pages of the work, his first to feature an openly gay protagonist. It’s clear there’s a desire by the filmmakers to honor the legacy of Lorca as both a playwright and a gay man, and the seriousness of their pursuit is evident throughout the film’s 160 minutes.

Calvo and Ambrossi do little handholding to guide viewers through the three distinct stories, an approach that mostly works but occasionally leads to confusion, especially as more characters are added to the equation. None of the stories are overly complicated, but they take their time with each, making the long film feel even longer. Only Alberto’s story contains any kind of development that might be considered surprising, making it tough to fully engage with the other two.

Where the film does come alive is when it brings in two well-known actors for brief-but-fascinating stints. Penélope Cruz plays Nené Romero, a singer who entertains the troops and further expands Sebastián’s mind. Glenn Close pops up as Isabelle Durand, a scholar of Lorca who helps Alberto with a unique discovery he makes in his inheritance. Both actors bring up the level of the film significantly through their performances.

Quifes, Guitarricadelafuente (the stage name of Spanish singer Álvaro Lafuente Calvo, no relation to Javier), and González all put in good work in their roles, even if none are overly engaging. They are often overshadowed by supporting actors like Cruz and Close, as well as Miguel Bernardeau as Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, the captured soldier; Julio Torres as Alberto’s partner, and Alberto Cortés as Lorca, who brings a symmetry to the film as a whole.

La Bola Negra — which means “the black ball,” represented both literally and figuratively in the film — is an ambitious film that becomes a slight victim of its filmmakers’ aspirations. Although each of the three stories contain interesting elements, a strong emotional connection is lacking overall despite good-to-great performances.

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La Bola Negra is now playing in select theaters; it debuts on Netflix on December 2.

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