Danny Wimmer Presents, the producers behind last year’s ill-fated Houston Open Air festival and historically more successful hard-rock/metal events like Northern Invasion and Carolina Rebellion, announced today that HOA will indeed return for an encore year, moving to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on October 14 and 15.
“After encountering challenges due to inclement weather at the 2016 Houston Open Air debut, festival producers have reaffirmed their commitment to the Texas rock community and the Houston area, and look forward to returning in 2017,” DWP said in a press release Wednesday.
“Challenges” might be underselling it just a bit. Featuring scheduled headliners like Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, Ministry and The Cult, the two-day outdoor event at NRG Park’s Yellow Lot was plagued by persistent showers and lightning, prompting several weather-related evacuations before the second day was ultimately canceled altogether. Some fans, however, thought organizers were a little too quick to evacuate, though HOA officials insisted they were strictly acting out of safety concerns. DWP ultimately offered full or partial refunds based on which tickets fans had bought.
Here’s to a much smoother second year. The 2017 HOA lineup — officially, Monster Energy Houston Open Air — will be announced at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, June 12; tickets go on sale that Friday, June 16. See houstonopenair.com for more information.
This article appears in May 11-17, 2017.
