21 Best Things to Do in Houston This Week: Rainbow on ICE and Dirty Dancing
Tuesday, January 17 It’s easy to stand by and grumble about election shenanigans and fake news, but one local venue has been quietly expressing its opinions about the political arena through the magic of Hollywood. While events are ramping up in Washington with dinners, parades and a pair of inaugural…
Final Look at Artists Scheduled for Houston Press Artopia 2017
We’re excited to announce the final wave of artists selected to participate in the 9th Annual Houston Press Artopia®, a celebration of culture, fashion, music, food and especially art. We announced the other participating artists on December 12 and January 2. We see a return of “blood artist” Reece Carnley,…
The Coming of the Xanadudes (And Yes, They Are Here)
“A lot of those bands could write something offbeat, even dark, but it would still be catchy.”
Nixon in China Returns to the Houston Grand Opera
Scott Hendricks was driving down Green Mountain Road in San Antonio when he got a call from Houston Grand Opera’s Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers asking him if he’d like to sing the Richard Nixon role in Nixon in China. Hendricks replied quickly in the affirmative. He’d never sung…
Beatniks, Beboppers and Bennies and Their Tight Connections
Bop Apocalypse: Jazz, Race, The Beats, and Drugs By Martin Torgoff 432 pp. $26 Da Capo Press The nexus between artistic creativity and drug abuse is hardly a new or unplumbed concept. Nor the discussion of whether certain art can is created either because of or in spite of the…
NASA’s Moonprobing Has Created a Better Map for the Great American Eclipse
NASA’s enthusiastic moonprobing is once again paying off. There’s a massive solar eclipse coming this year, and now, thanks to NASA, we have a really good idea of exactly where you’ll be able to watch the Great American Total Solar Eclipse when it occurs. New data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance…
This Week in Houston Food Events: A Janis Joplin Burger & Brooklyn Pop-Up
From a Houston Marathon watch party to a Brooklyn burger pop-up, here’s a look at this week’s hottest culinary happenings: Now through select dates in January January specials at Hopdoddy Burger Bar Through Sunday, January 22, Hopdoddy Burger Bar, 4444 Westheimer, will be offering the Janis Joplin Burger ($10). The…
We May Fast Be Approaching a Time When Most People Will Not Need to Work
Most Americans have fantasied about never having to work another day of their lives, but what if that were to become the reality for most of us? No, millions of us aren’t going to win the lottery, but many of us might one day find ourselves permanently without a job…
Texans Just Love Their Death Penalty
This week brought one of the more absurd cases where Texas sued the federal government. The fight this time? Texas wants its execution drugs, damn it, and the FDA is holding on to them. Our beloved state often leads the nation in the number of executions per year, and we’re…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Lobster Friday & a First Brunch
Hope you’re not sticking to that New Year’s diet too long, because here’s a look at this weekend’s best culinary happenings: Lobster Friday at Bernie’s Burger Bus Friday 5407 Bellaire; 2643 Commercial Center Stop by Bernie’s Burger Bus in Bellaire or Katy to chow down on succulent morsels of lobster,…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: A Sweet and Tart Start to the New Year
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary happenings: Ooh La La Dessert Boutique, 23920 Westheimer, 770 West Sam Houston Parkway North, 20155 Park Row, is offering a sweet and tart start to the new year with its January’s Cupcake of the Month. Available at…
NFL Playoffs, Wild Card Round: Raiders-Texans — Four Things to Watch For
If you’re among those rooting for the Texans to win a home playoff game this weekend, the easiest way to quantify just how kind the football gods were to you (and the Texans, who I’m certain are rooting for the Texans to win on Saturday) in Week 17 is by…
Openings & Closings: Beaver’s West & Riel Are Finally Open and Year End Wrap-Up of 2016
For all those eager beavers out there, the wait is over, Beaver’s West, 6025 Westheimer, opened in the Galleria area on January 2 after months of drool-worthy posts on social media. Executive Chef Arash Kharat (better known in the pop-up scene as “SpaceCityCowboy”) has been teasing fans with pictures of…
The Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Aerialists, Archetypes & “Rain”
The weather prognosticators call for cooler weather and clear skies, but there’s a 100 percent chance of “Rain” over at the eerie-spooky Cistern, which has been tricked out with an amazing sound and light show courtesy of MFAH and Buffalo Bayou Partnership. The weekend also calls for gravity-defying entertainment that…
Tillerson Severs Ties With ExxonMobil in What Should Be an Example to Trump
While President-elect Donald Trump has yet to step back from his business interests almost two months after winning the election, Rex Tillerson, the longtime ExxonMobil CEO tapped to be the next secretary of state, has already agreed to cut ties with the Irving-based oil behemoth well before he knows whether he’ll…
“I’ll Be There for You.” Play Inspired by Television’s Friends Coming to Houston
What does the television show Friends mean to you? Maybe it conjures up personal memories of what you were doing during the show’s ten-year run (1994-2004), or you’ve adopted one of the characters as your spirit animal totem, or perhaps you recently fell down a rabbit hole binge-watching on Netflix…
Best Bets for NFL Wild Card Weekend and CFB Playoff Title Game
For the seven years I’ve been doing Best Bets on here, if I had to guess, I am probably SLIGHTLY above the threshold where, with vig included, it’s been profitable to follow my lead. 52 percent, 53 percent, somewhere in there? In the gambling world, I’ve been “just a guy.”…
What Was Really Going on Behind the Closing of Foreign Correspondents?
As the Treadsack group’s new restaurants were drawing local and national accolades, raising the city’s dining profile and making rock stars out of its owners, the Texas Comptroller’s Office was threatening to seize cash for back taxes, the IRS slapped the group with $1.1 million in liens and two banks…
HPD Chief Acevedo Decries Drug War, Outlines Reforms on Local Radio Show
Last fall, President Barack Obama sought Art Acevedo’s help. Acevedo was Austin’s police chief at the time, and was representing the voices of dozens of chiefs as the first vice president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. The president wanted to know: How did police leaders feel about sentencing reform…
Ten Things to Do in Houston for $10 or Less (Eight Free) January 5-11
Week one of 2017 is off to a running start and Houston is not slowing down. You can begin the year on the right foot by joining a free running group where at the end of an eight-week series you”ll race and prove who took his or her fitness resolution…
Houston Music Folks Share Their Wishes For 2017
Some local favorites share their wishes for the new year with us.
Federal Judge Extends Order Blocking Fetal Remains Burial Rule
A federal judge Wednesday extended the temporary restraining order blocking Texas’s fetal remains burial rules from going into effect, according to various reports. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks said at a hearing in Austin that he would make a final ruling on the constitutionality of the rules the week of…
When Would-Be Superstars Suddenly Weren’t
John Michael Montgomery seemed like a long-term star. Then, he wasn’t. He isn’t alone.
I’m Tired of Dating but Don’t Want to Be Alone. Help!
What’s on your mind? What isn’t? Ask Willie D!
RODEOHOUSTON Is Looking for Super Fans for Sunday Night
If you’re like us, you’re going to need an extra energy boost come Monday morning after staying up late for one of the biggest Houston music events of the year: the RODEOHOUSTON Entertainment Announcement. The rodeo concerts are the sugar on top of an already loaded experience that includes over…
Will Rick Perry Be the Best (or Worst) Energy Secretary Ever?
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has defied the odds, thrown off all the political tea reader predictions and managed to do the unthinkable — he’s back in a position of power and this time it’s as a member of the president’s cabinet, a job on the national stage as Department…
Dive Under the Sea With Coral Kingdoms and Empires of Ice
National Geographic Live’s Coral Kingdoms and Empires of Ice will host David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes as they talk about their adventures as a photography team who traveled from the equator to the polls to capture stunning images of life under the water.
Houston’s Kim Burrell Booted From Ellen Show After Homophobic Comments
Just eight days before she was supposed to sing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, renowned gospel singer Kim Burrell came under fire for homophobic comments she made during a sermon in Houston that went viral… and ultimately got her booted from the show. At church service last week at Houston’s Love…
20 New Houston Restaurants We’re Looking Forward to in 2017
Originally, this article was going to be about 10 restaurants we were looking forward to in 2017, but in light of all of the cool newly debuted and about-to-debut spots that are set to open in the first half of 2017, we had to double the number of places mentioned…
Ranking the “QB Situation” of All 12 NFL Playoff Teams
We all know that the NFL, for the better part of the last couple decades, has been a quarterback’s league. Aside from some extreme outliers — Trent Dilfer in 2000 for the Baltimore Ravens being the patron saint of outliers — the regular season has been a weeding out process…
Only in Texas — State Sues Feds Over Withholding Execution Drugs
It could fit on a You Know You’re in Texas When… coffee mug, or a gimmicky T-shirt, or maybe a ball cap: Texas is suing the feds over withholding its execution drugs. Specifically: imported thiopental sodium, which induces unconsciousness and is used for lethal injections. The Texas Department of Criminal…
Troubles Far Behind Him, Houston’s Kay Jay Prepares to Seize the Moment
Houston rapper Kay Jay discusses his difficult past and how it has prepared him to Seize the Moment
Nashville’s Brothers Osborne Are Really on a Roll Now
“As artist-types, you have to be pretty porous as to the things going on around you.”
10 More Houston Concerts We’re Looking Forward to In 2017
Hey, January only has 31 days…
Ask a Stoner: Can Marijuana Help With Arthritis?
Dear Stoner: I think pot will help my grandfather’s arthritis. Is there a kind of pot product — flower, edible, whatever — you’d recommend? Scott Dear Scott: According to science, you’re probably right. A study by the University of Oxford showed that cannabis-based medicine administered orally helped reduce rheumatoid arthritis…
Fleming’s Sam Governale Announces His Departure
Sam Governale of Fleming’s Steakhouse’s Operating Partner Sam Governale plans to leave the River Oaks location in the Upper Kirby District early in the new year to create his own restaurant group, it was announced today. “The last eight years with Fleming’s have been filled with amazingly creative and passionate people…
Introducing the New Food Editor for the Houston Press
The Houston Press is pleased to announce that in the new year we will usher in a new Food Editor. Gwendolyn Knapp, who has been working for Eater NOLA, has agreed to move over to the Bayou City and take over the reins of our food site. Before spending four…
Kim Ogg Is Now the Harris County DA. Meet Her Top Brass.
Succeeding Devon Anderson, Kim Ogg was sworn in as the Harris County district attorney Monday morning in a packed auditorium at South Texas College of Law – Houston, Ogg’s alma mater. After taking the oath of office, Ogg laid out her vision for the district attorney’s office and her prosecutors,…
Former Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak Walks Away From Coaching (For Now)
Back in 2013, after an 11th consecutive loss, this one a Thursday night embarrassment in Jacksonville, Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak was fired on a Friday morning in early December. Kubiak was absent from the press conference announcing his termination. Only owner Bob McNair and general manager Rick Smith…
Cane Rosso More Than Fulfills a Pizzaphile’s Need for a Fix
When I was 13, a church youth group minister tried to explain the risks and rewards of dating through the lens of pizza. “Pizza Love,” he told us, was a transactional sort of love, a passing affection based on instant gratification. The scratching of an itch. Whether or not you…
Magdalena Fernández’s “Rain” Gains New Life at the Cistern
“…gather me / Into the artifice of eternity.” — From “Sailing to Byzantium” — William Butler Yates In Istanbul (formerly Constantinople and Byzantium) there is a 1,500-year-old Roman cistern built by the Emperor Justinian to supply water to his palace and city, a purpose it continued to serve into modern…
The Greenway: The Gone but Not Forgotten Movie House
One cinema that did not survive the changes in the industry was one of Houston’s oddest and most memorable locations for film, the Greenway. A tiny, three-screen theater housed in a basement next to what became Lakewood church, it operated for 35 years before closing in 2007. Landmark was the…
The Top 10 Houston Dishes of 2016
Last year was another great year for food in Houston. In between being profiled as one of “America’s Best Food Cities” by Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post and being named “The Next Global Food Mecca” by celebrity chef David Chang in GQ, our city’s chefs competed in numerous food…
5 Big Issues the Texas Legislature Aims to Tackle This Session
We always approach the biennial Texas legislative session with a good mix of gleeful anticipation and gut-churning anxiety akin to the post-presidential family Thanksgiving every four years, and the upcoming convening of the 85th Texas Legislature is no exception. After all, we’re going into this show at a time when…
In the Age of Streaming, How Houston’s Cinemas Keep You Going to the Movies
In July 1999, the River Oaks Theatre had the honor of exclusively hosting The Blair Witch Project for two weeks. Lines snaked around the building for an endless stream of sold-out shows. People began trying to sneak their friends in through the exit. With too many people and not enough…
10 Houston Acts to Watch in 2017
Keep your eyes peeled for these acts this year. We’ve heard good things.
Faithless Elector Claims Fraud, ID Law Kept Him From Voting in Election
There’s a little irony in the case of the now-nationally known Texas faithless elector Chris Suprun, who refused to vote for Donald Trump on December 19: Despite being a self-described “voting addict,” he says he was unable to cast a vote during the general election. That’s because, Suprun claims, somebody…
Are Run the Jewels a Top Five Hip-Hop Duo Yet?
Killer Mike and El-P have emptied a clip in creating three honest-to-God brilliant projects within a five-year span.
Houston’s 10 Best Concerts In January
One month down in 2017, 11 to go…
Railroad Tigers Offers a Dirty Dozen–Style Caper on a Different Front
For 75 years, the U.S. has dominated the production of World War II action comedies. There’s Spielberg’s 1941 (1979), Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in Operation Petticoat (1959), and then exquisite ensembles in The Dirty Dozen (1967), Kelly’s Heroes (1970) and Inglourious Basterds (2009), among many others. We’re such experts…
Anna Foerster Takes Over the Underworld Films — and Strives to Invest Set Pieces with Emotion
What does it take for a woman to win the trust it takes to become an action director? For Anna Foerster, it took two decades, an expert’s knowledge of visual effects and cinematography and a directing gig on key episodes of a cult television show — Starz’s Outlander. Now she’s…
Five International TV Series That Deserve Your Couch Time
Once upon a time, in the dark ages of not-that-long-ago, foreign television was a mysterious land beyond our reach. Aside from the occasional British import, the wonders of international series were limited to those equipped with multi-region DVD players. Scandinavian gloom mostly stayed in Scandinavia. Thanks to streaming, it’s now…
So What’s Going to Happen in Sports in 2017?
Thank God 2016 has come to an end, right? But what does 2017 have in store for Houston sports fans? A look into the crystal ball reveals the following in store…. THE SUPER BOWL: The Super Bowl will be played at NRG Stadium next month. No, the Texans won’t be…
Dry Powder at the Alley: When Profit Motives Collide in Business
Sarah Burgess went to New York University to major in film making. She soon focused on writing and eventually that led to playwrighting although she had no experience with theater at her high school she says. She saw plays as an opportunity to write in a certain style. “I like…
NFL Week 17: Titans 24, Texans 17 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
Given the players they designated as “inactive” heading into Sunday’s game in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans — seven players, including stalwarts Jadeveon Clowney, Lamar Miller, Johnathan Joseph, and Brian Cushing — the Texans’ goals for the game, given the 46 players taking the field, had to go as follows:…
Food Safety Lawyer Says Blue Bell Unwise to Urge Feds to Drop Listeria Testing
Blue Bell has asked federal regulators to drop pricey precautions that were put in place to ensure no products that might even potentially be tainted with listeria would hit the market, as we’ve recently noted, but the Brenham-based company’s officials may want to think twice about the request they made…
Next Look at Artists Scheduled for Houston Press Artopia 2017
We’re excited to announce the next wave of artists selected to participate in the 9th Annual Houston Press Artopia®, a celebration of culture, fashion, music, food and especially art. We announced the first wave of artists on December 12; click here to read the names of the first dozen artists…
This Week in Houston Food Events: Recover With a New Year’s Day Brunch
From New Year’s brunches to an eccentric pop-up, here’s a look at this week’s hottest culinary happenings: Monday, January 2 New Year’s Brunch at Beaver’s Original Beaver’s Original, 2310 Decatur, will serve New Year’s Day Brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Highlights include the New Year’s Sandwich, with a black eyed…
Shows of the Week: A Gifted Musician Already Showing Others the Ropes
The livest live music in the Bayou City for the first week of January 2017.
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s a Great Sex Pistols Memoir
Sex Pistols guitar-slinger Steve Jones pens short, sharp, shocking memoir.
Revelers Say Fuck You To 2016 at Roologic’s New Year’s Eve Bash
2016 went out with a bang, not a whimper. So what better way to send off the year than with a simple, curt “Fuck you!” That’s what Roologic had in mind when it planned its New Year’s Eve bash at the House of Blues around a Fuck 2016 theme. The…
Mourners Hold Lightsaber Vigil for Carrie Fisher in Katy
Scores of Star Wars fans traveled to Alamo Drafthoust: Mason Park in Katy on Friday to celebrate the life of Carrie Fisher in the most logical way: a lightsaber vigil. Fisher, 60, died last week after a heart attack. She played Princess Leia in the original three Star Wars films as…
Our Best Cover Stories of 2016
We had a busy 2016. From police shootings to kush abuse to an ambitious plan to protect Houston from hurricanes — and even a firsthand account of a robbery in broad daylight — we sought to bring readers personal stories of the people who shape and are shaped by southeast…
Your Favorite Houston Press Food Posts of 2016
How much did you eat in 2016? More importantly, how much food did you miss out on? Good news, 2017 is a new year with new opportunies to taste the foods, fine or otherwise, that Houston has to offer. As you prepare yourself for new experiences and new memories, take…
Holy Men, Holy Losers: Scorsese, Silence and the Mystery of Faith
“With all respect, sir, may I ask, who are you?” “What you see before you is a man, a simple monk.” “Are you the Lord Buddha?” “I believe I am a reflection, like the moon on water. When you see me, and I try to be a good man, you…
Heal This New Year With HBO’s Bright Lights and the Love Between Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds
Like many people after Carrie Fisher’s untimely passing on Tuesday, Dec. 27, I was moved to revisit Postcards From the Edge, the Mike Nichols–directed film that Fisher adapted from her own novel. This was the sole feature screenwriting credit for the actress-novelist, despite the fact that she was for decades…
Houston Kid: Guy Clark in the Bayou City
A recent biography on the legendary Texas songwriter goes into detail about his years living in Montrose during the ’60s.
Houston Airwaves Make Room for a (Somewhat) New Spot
Goodbye Hot 95.7, hello same old classic hits.
Blue Bell Is Ready to Drop Its More Stringent Testing for Listeria
As we roll inexorably toward a brand new year, it’s a good time to forgive, forget and stop worrying about listeria contamination. At least, that’s what the owners of Blue Bell think, apparently. Even though it was only last year that the company was grappling with a listeria outbreak that…
It’s Almost 2017, So What Are the Astros Up To?
Are you ready for 2017? The year the Astros are supposed to win the World Series? Well the Winter Meetings are done. Spring training is right around the corner, and the Astros have been making moves. But since it’s winter, and since the Astros didn’t make the playoffs, most people…
Harris County Sued Yet Again Over Allegedly Unconstitutional Court Practices
On Christmas Eve, Lucas Lomas was accused of stealing five DVDs and a speaker, and on December 26, Carlos Eaglin was arrested for possession of less than two ounces of weed — two defendants of roughly 1,400 handcuffed every week in Harris County. But attorneys now claim that the problem…
Fuzzy Pygmy Slow Loris Twin Babies Have Arrived at Moody Gardens
In the first such birth at Moody Gardens since 2011, twin pygmy slow loris babies have arrived in the Rainforest Pyramid just before the new year. Part of a rare and endangered species, the loris twins are the offspring of Cai, a twin herself who was born at Moody Gardens…
The Ten Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Lightsaber Vigil, New Year’s Eve
It seems that the revelry can’t begin until we stop for a moment to pay tribute to Carrie Fisher, so we’re beginning our weekend with a lightsaber vigil over at Alamo Drafthouse in Katy. The back-to-back deaths of both Fisher and her mother, the iconic Debbie Reynolds, remind us that…
Sen Ted Cruz Is Pushing a Bill to Make It Okay Not to Serve LGBTQ People
Sen. Ted Cruz, still intent on rebuilding his brand within the GOP after his refusal to endorse Donald Trump did not play out as he’d expected, has hit upon a real honey of a way to get his conservative bona fides back in order. He’s going after gay people. To…
Texas Judge Elsa Alcala, Who Criticized Death Penalty, Won’t Seek Re-election
Judge Elsa Alcala, who sits on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court, announced Thursday that she will not seek reelection. Alcala, perhaps best known for her passionate dissenting opinions and for expressing deep concern about how Texas carries out the death penalty, will remain on…
