The best concerts of the week | Houston Press

Do people use illicit or mind-bending substances at music festivals? Of course they do. But how much and how much? Thanks to the folks at Innerbody Research, we now have answers to these questions. Their study, which included 900 music festival attendees, reported that the heaviest drug use occurred at the Rock Fest in Wisconsin. Burning Man comes in second, followed by Coachella. The Austin City Limits festival wasn’t mentioned, but South by Southwest was ranked 11th.

About 87 percent of those surveyed said they planned to improve their experience attending festivals this year. Marijuana is the most popular party item at festivals, with 65 percent of respondents reporting using it. In what may seem like a retrospective trend, cocaine comes in second with 46 percent. Psychedelics come in third, at 26 percent, but when you trip your balls, it doesn’t matter Really do you want a competition?

Ticket alert
Sure, they just performed at the Big As Texas festival in Conroe, but plenty of people will be ready to groove to Los Lobos again when they play the Heights Theater on Thursday, September 19th. Tickets are on sale now, so grab them while you can. I mean, can you really hear these guys cranking out “Mas y Mas” too often? No, it’s possible.

Country neo-traditionalist Cody Johnson will perform for two evenings at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Friday October 25 and Saturday October 26. Two evenings? That’s pretty ambitious, but let’s keep in mind that Johnson sold out a Rodeo Houston performance in 2018 as an unsigned artist, so he has a strong local following. Which makes sense, since he was born in Sevastopol, right next to the Pavilion. Tickets are still available for both nights, and there is also a VIP option.

This just in: British blues singer Joss Stone will perform at the Bayou Music Center on Friday, August 23. Pre-sales are happening now, with the general sale scheduled for Friday.

Concerts this week

Many graduation ceremonies are planned for next week, which means many concert halls are booked. I suspect some schools hold the ceremonies off-site to allow more family members to attend. Because you can’t have too many Yahoos honking their horns and yelling “It’s my baby!” after they were told to hold their applause until everyone had crossed the stage and returned the pom-pom.
Either way, there are still plenty of live music choices this week in Houston. Molly Tuttle, virtuoso guitarist and bluegrass star, will perform at White Oak Music Hall Downstairs on Thursday. His file City of Gold won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2023, and his album Crooked tree won the same award in 2022. If you like Billy Strings and the like, this show is worth checking out. Tuttle will be performing at Cactus Music today at 5:30 p.m. if you’d like a preview.
The Toyota Center will jump this week, with Melanie Martinez performing on Thursday. Martinez first gained national recognition after her appearance on “The Voice” in 2012. Since then, it has been nothing but platinum. Friday at the Toyota Center is Colombian reggaeton phenomenon Feid, on tour to promote his most recent album, Mor, No Theme at Darkness (Love, do not fear the darkness). Saturday brings Mexican regional megastars Grupo Firme.
Two of Austin’s most talented musicians will perform at Main Street Crossing this week. Thursday is Ruthie Foster with her signature blend of blues, soul and gospel. Then on Sunday, Sue Foley and her paisley pink Telecaster will take the stage for some serious blues.
Singer-songwriter and Houston favorite Dana Cooper will be at Dosey Doe Whiskey Bar on Friday. Cooper celebrates the release of his new album, The ghost of Tucumcari, which, in addition to its usual batch of great songs, includes guest performances from Lyle Lovett, Hayes Carll, Shake Russell and Darden Smith, among others. If you can’t make it to Dosey Doe, Cooper will perform in-store at Cactus Music on Wednesday, May 29 at 5:30 p.m.
At the Heights Theater on Friday, it’s the famous and respected Iris DeMent, whose latest album, Working on a world, addresses the multiple problems society faces in contemporary times. Because knowledge is power: DeMent has guested on albums by John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Delbert McClinton. Ana Egge, whom Lucinda Williams called “folk Nina Simone,” will open the show.
Ready to shake your groove? Then head to the Miller Outdoor Theater on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for “Dancin’ in the Streets,” Houston’s 25th annual tribute to Motown and much more. We’re talking classic R&B, soul and funk. Songs made famous by artists like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Tina Turner. The show is free (as are all performances at Miller), with tickets for indoor seating available online the day before the show.