Best Live Venue (Small): The Secret Group
Local municipalities run multi-service centers, spaces created to bring the community together for programs and events. While it’s not part of any city agency, The Secret Group is a vital multi-service center, the hippest one in all of Houston. The intimate EaDo performance venue was designed to showcase local and touring comics and that’s still its primary function, hosting national acts like Nick Thune and SNL’s Sarah Sherman, along with a bevy of talented locals who deliver comedy programming throughout the week.
The venue is a music hub, too. Its various rooms have hosted interesting live music acts over the years, but this year it has really filled a bit of a void created by music rooms which switched gears or shuttered doors during COVID’s isolation period. This year alone, The Secret Group presented Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum (the trippy band fronted by Dexter’s Michael C. Hall), snarling punk rockers Destroy Boys and Wet Leg, one of the buzziest rock bands on the planet. Music is showcased on its various deejay nights, from a popular, rotating ‘90s dance party to K-pop sets and a karaoke night that puts you in The Secret Group’s wide, hot spotlight. Add in the many bars, breweries and restaurants within walking distance of its doors on Polk and St. Emanuel and The Secret Group is as vital a community hub as any in town.
2101 Polk
832-898-1088
thesecretgrouphtx.com
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
