Music lovers, this weekend is your time to shine. Over the next four days, concert goers can attend a three-day festival loaded with country music's brightest stars, see the Queen of hip-hop, and jeer an all-time reality TV villain.
Elsewhere, a Hollywood star does his part for mental health, vintage shoppers can acquire items from a Houston real estate icon, and a Houston artist gets recognized in a new exhibition.
Of course, we've got you covered for Mother's Day with more than 20 recommendations for brunch.
Here are this weekend's best bets.
Thursday, May 9
The Menninger Clinic presents Annual Luncheon featuring Joe Pantoliano
Best known for his Emmy-winning role in The Sopranos and films such as The Matrix, Bad Boys, Memento, and The Goonies, actor Joe Pantoliano struggled for years with his mental health, until a diagnosis of clinical depression encouraged him to use his platform to educate the public about mental illness. Pantoliano will share his mental health journey at The Menninger Clinic’s Annual Luncheon, which honors the YMCA for their contributions to our community’s mental health. Noon.
Laura Rathe Fine Art presents "Desert Bloom" opening reception
Laura Rathe Fine Art presents "Desert Bloom," a reflective, three-woman exhibition of renowned Southern-based artists Caprice Pierucci, Lynn Sanders, and Sydney Yeager. From Pierucci's intricately carved wood sculptures to Sanders' layered geometric forms and Yeager's dynamic abstract oil paintings, the works featured in this exhibition pay homage to a desert landscape after the first rain. Through Thursday, June 6. 5 pm.
Nicki Minaj in concert
For all those local Barbz who are still down with their goddess, Nicki Minaj will be coming to Houston to perform for y’all. Fresh from wearing a floral gown at the Met Gala, the hip-hop mama will be performing her hits, as well as tunes from her 2023 album Pink Friday 2. A hitmaker in her own right, Monica (of “That Boy is Mine” fame) opens. 8 pm.
Nicki Minaj will perform at Toyota Center on May 9.
Friday, May 10
Stella Nova Foundation presents An Estate of Grace Sale
The two-day Estate of Grace Sale celebrates the life and legacy of Martha Turner, a real estate empress who passed away in 2022 at age 81. Thanks to donations courtesy of her daughter Deasa, people can snatch up clothes, jewelry, art and mementos from her estate. They’ll also raffle off a custom-made vest – black satin with velvet trim – handcrafted for Miss Turner by her daughter. Proceeds will go to The Montrose Center and Healthcare for the Homeless Houston. 11 am (9 am Saturday).
Big As Texas Music and Food Festival
The inaugural, three-day Big As Texas Music and Food Festival will feature over 26 hours of live music from the 35 artists billed for this year's three-day event, spread across 75+ acres of rolling Texas plains. The festival will be headlined by Thomas Rhett, Dierks Bentley, Billy Strings, and Morgan Wade. Texas will be well-represented with a number of acts, including Midland, Jamestown Revival, Amanda Shires, Buffalo Nichols, Braxton Keith, and Kate Watson, among others. Noon.
Reeves Art + Design presents Wes Archer & Steve Brudniak opening reception
Reeves Art + Design will present simultaneous solo shows from Wes Archer and Steve Brudniak. Houston native/renowned animation director Archer (The Simpsons, Rick and Morty) will have his first-ever gallery exhibition, featuring work that references his illustrious animation career as well as showcase his other creative work. Brudniak's exhibition, "Ontological Catastrophe," explores his oeuvre from the last 24 years, which combines a variety of unconventional materials. Through Saturday, May 25. 6 pm.
Party on the Plaza presents Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras
The principal player in the Scandoval drama that engulfed Vanderpump Rules, actor, model and restauranteur Tom Sandoval will appear with his band at a free concert at Avenida Houston. Expect a lively set of familiar hits. Jeremy Joseph opens. 7 pm
Art Factory presents Someone Like You: The Music of Adele
For those of you who haven’t been able to attend the Las Vegas residency Adele has been doing (she’ll be back in the fall), Art Factory has the next best thing for you this weekend. Someone Like You: The Music of Adele features some of Houston’s best vocalists, celebrating the soul-stirring music of Adele. The concert experience, delivered in an intimate candlelit setting, promises an unforgettable evening of Adele’s chart-topping hits. 8 pm (5 pm Sunday).
Saturday, May 11
Spectrum Concessions and City of Sugar Land present Sugar Land Jazz Fest
The Sugar Land Jazz Fest is a two-day, certain-to-be-very-awesome music festival, featuring headlining performances by Boney James and Houston’s very own Grammy winner Robert Glasper. Other performers include Tower of Power, Vincent Ingala, Gerald Albright, and Terrace Martin. Exclusive VIP packages will be available, offering a private bar, unique culinary experiences, and premium stage front seating. 9 am.
The Houston Symphony presents Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert
The Harry Potter Film Concert Series will give us the second film in the series. Cars fly, trees fight back and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts. Adventure and danger await when bloody writing on a wall announces: The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. To save Hogwarts will require all of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s magical abilities and courage. The Houston Symphony will perform John Williams’ score live, while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen. 2:30 & 7:30 pm.
Asia Society Texas presents No-No Boy in Concert
This immersive concert experience from No-No Boy (Julian Saporiti) and collaborator Emilia Halvorsen Saporiti illuminates hidden Asian American histories through folk songs, sound pieces, live projections, and storytelling in a performance celebrating the new album, Empire Electric. A reception will follow the concert where audience members can continue the conversations sparked by the show. 7:30 pm.
Houston Cinema Arts Society presents Lost Soulz
Here’s a hip-hop hangout movie you can watch this weekend. An aspiring Austin rapper (Sauve Sidle) flees a busted house party and leaves his producer buddy, who overdoses in one of the bedrooms. He hitches a ride with a misfit group of rappers and singers as they take a road trip across the Lone Star State. Writer-director Katherine Propper populates her feature-film debut with actual up-and-coming rappers, who basically bond while the cameras roll. Sidle will be performing live after the movie. 8 pm.
Sunday, May 12
Mother’s Day Brunch at Four Seasons Hotel Houston
You're invited to indulge the woman who birthed and raised you with a special Mother’s Day brunch at Toro Toro. You’ll get all the brunch classics, along with a spectacular seafood tower and pan-Latin flair. Brunch is priced at $165 for adults and $65 for children 12 and under. Reservations are required. Moms joining for brunch will receive a complimentary one-month Vivrelle membership. 11 am.
East End Soul Club
Have you ever felt like chilling at a bar, having a couple beers and listening to some old-school jams? Thankfully, East End Soul Club provides that for you, every second Sunday of the month at Lil Danny Speedo’s Go Fly a Kite Lounge. You can hear the slower side of soul, with a focus on the Chicano sounds of Texas, played strictly off the original wax, courtesy of A Fistful of Soul’s Stewart A. Anderson. There might also be some LPs available for purchase. 4 pm.
Houston Symphony presents "Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House"
In this special performance, Houston Symphony artistic partner Itzhak Perlman presents his collection of traditional klezmer music, In the Fiddler’s House. Released more than 25 years ago, the album became a PBS special that earned Perlman his third Emmy. He’ll be joined by several artists, including vocalist/percussionist Judy Bressler, vocalist/violinist Michael Alpert, trumpeter Frank London, and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. 7:30 pm.
