Concert News

The Fray and Dashboard Confessional include Houston on new summer tour

The Fray will play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving on August 1.

Photo courtesy of The Fray

Rock band The Fray will travel across North America in 2026 with their Summer of Light Tour, a journey that will include a stop at 713 Music Hall in Houston on Friday, July 31.

Joined on all dates by special guest Dashboard Confessional, the band will start the tour in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada on May 11, hitting 36 cities over the course of almost three months.

In addition to Houston, The Fray will play in Austin on July 29 and the Dallas suburb of Irving on August 1.

The tour is in support of the band's new album, A Light That Waits, which is scheduled for release on March 13. It is the band's first full album in 12 years following a hiatus and departure of original lead vocalist Isaac Slade.

The Fray were a top selling band in the 2000s and 2010s, notching three top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including the No. 1 The Fray in 2009. Among their hit songs are "Over My Head (Cable Car)," "How to Save a Life," and "You Found Me."

With guitarist Joe King now also serving as lead vocalist, the band embarked on a 20th anniversary tour for their debut album, How to Save a Life, in 2025, which also included stops in Dallas, Austin, Houston.

Tickets for the tour will first be available via a Citi presale from Tuesday, January 27 at 10 am to Thursday, January 29 at 10 pm.

Fans can also sign up at TheFray.com to access the Seated registration presale beginning on Wednesday, January 28 at 10 am.

Additional pre-sales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on sale beginning on Friday, January 30 at 10 am.

SUMMER OF LIGHT TOUR DATES

May 11 — Moncton, NB — Casino New Brunswick
May 13 — Montreal, QC — MTELUS
May 15 — London, ON — Centennial Hall
May 16 — Ottawa, ON — Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
May 19 — Winnipeg, MB — Centennial Concert Hall
May 21 — Saskatoon, SK — TCU Place
May 22 — Edmonton, AB — Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
May 24 — Calgary, AB — MacEwan Hall
May 26 — Vancouver, BC — Orpheum
July 10 — Indianapolis, IN — Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
July 11 — Maryland Heights, MO — Saint Louis Music Park
July 14 — Kansas City, MO — Starlight Theatre
July 16 — Milwaukee, WI — Landmark Credit Union Live
July 19 — Great Falls, MT — Voyagers Stadium
July 23 — Berkeley, CA — The Greek Theatre
July 24 — Los Angeles, CA — YouTube Theater
July 25 — San Diego, CA — Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
July 27 — Phoenix, AZ — Arizona Financial Theatre
July 29 — Austin, TX — Moody Amphitheater
July 31 — Houston, TX — 713 Music Hall
August 1 — Irving, TX — The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
August 4 — Franklin, TN — FirstBank Amphitheater
August 5 — Atlanta, GA — Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park
August 7 — Charlotte, NC — Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 8 — St. Augustine, FL — St. Augustine Amphitheatre
August 10 — Selbyville, DE — Freeman Arts Pavilion
August 12 — Cleveland, OH — Jacobs Pavilion
August 14 — Columbia, MD — Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 15 — Boston, MA — Leader Bank Pavilion
August 19 — Asbury Park, NJ — The Stone Pony Summer Stage
August 20 — Gilford, NH — BankNH Pavilion
August 22 — Wantagh, NY — Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
August 23 — Bridgeport, CT — Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
August 26 — Toronto, ON — RBC Amphitheatre
August 28 — Detroit, MI — Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
August 29 — Chicago, IL — Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island

concerts music

Movie review

Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd chase their dreams in music-heavy Power Ballad

Photo by David Cleary for Lionsgate

Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd in Power Ballad.

Writer/director John Carney is one of the great purveyors of movies featuring music (as opposed to musicals) in the 21st century. Starting with Once in 2007 (which was turned into a Broadway musical several years later), he has made music-themed stories like Begin Again, Sing Street, Flora and Son, and now Power Ballad.

Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is a former wannabe rock star who is now the lead singer of “Ireland’s #1 Wedding Band,” The Bride & Grooves. While they mostly play smaller weddings, a gig at a country estate leads to an encounter with Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), a former boy band member struggling to make it as a solo artist. Rick and Danny wind up bonding in a booze- and pot-filled jam session, sharing various song ideas.

After returning to Los Angeles and desperate for a hit, Danny steals one of Rick’s songs, which miraculously turns into the No. 1 “How to Write a Song (Without You).” Rick, initially overjoyed that something he wrote has become big, is crushed when he finds out Danny didn’t give him credit. His quest to find a way to prove his worth sends him into a spiral, upending the ordinary life he had built.

Co-written by Peter McDonald, the film is a nice exploration of two men trying to hold on to their music dreams. Their individual circumstances could not be more different, but each of them knows the ups and downs of the business as well as the other, as well as the ineffable magic of creating that one great song. While the music scenes are hit-and-miss because of a reliance on lip synching, the scene featuring Rick and Danny trading ideas is electric with creativity.

Oddly, though, the film could have used a bit less music and more of a focus on the two men’s personal lives. Rick wound up living in Ireland after falling in love with his future wife, Rachel (Marcella Plunkett), while on tour with his former American band. He spends a decent amount of time with her and his daughter, Aja (Beth Fallon), but his story needed a few more family scenes to drive the point home. Danny’s personal life is all but nonexistent, giving his arc less impact than it could have had.

Instead of loved ones, Carney and McDonald try to give Rick and Danny more depth through friends and business associates. Rick’s bandmate Sandy (McDonald) is a ride-or-die kind of guy for him, but his presence is only good for a few humorous distractions. Danny’s manager Mac (Jack Reynor) is difficult to parse, as he goes to bat for Danny on multiple occasions, but also seems to keep him at arm’s length.

It’s long been joked that Rudd never ages, and that youthfulness serves him well in this role, in which his character is supposed to be much younger than his actual age of 57. His energy and enthusiasm make his character appealing throughout, even when Rick starts to go off the deep end. Jonas is decent in his role, selling the music side well, but there might be a reason his character doesn’t have many scenes requiring him to show emotions.

While Power Ballad has all the hallmarks of another great Carney music movie, it’s missing a few pieces that could have put it over the top. It’s still a fun film with an insanely catchy song at its center, but it’s not quite as memorable as most of the filmmaker’s previous efforts.

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Power Ballad is now playing in theaters.

movies music film

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Movie review

Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd chase their dreams in music-heavy Power Ballad