Reba McEntire
NRG Stadium
March 4, 2025
In music, country music especially, a commonly applied mononym is a pretty good indicator of quality: Willie, Waylon, Dolly, Hank, Loretta, and — of course — Reba.
The 2025 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo kicked off yesterday, and the opening act was ironically the most legendary performer on the schedule (don’t @ me, Journey fans): Reba McEntire. Making what she said was her 20th HLSR appearance, McEntire drew on almost 50 years worth of music for a packed NRG Stadium.
It’s been 11 years since McEntire last played the Rodeo, and the last couple decades have seen her making more appearances on various TV shows (Reba, Malibu Country, Young Sheldon, and Happy’s Place, among others) than a stage. Her most recent full tour was 2022-23, and didn’t swing through Houston at all. From the sound of the crowd last night, there weren’t any hard feelings.
At this point, Reba (feel like I can call her Reba) doesn’t have anything to prove. She’s sold 75 million albums and has 24 No. 1 country singles. She thrived during the C&W doldrums of the 1980s and survived the genre’s transition to stadiums in the ’90s. She’s in the Country Music Hall of Fame, has seven ACM awards for Top Female Vocalist, three Grammys, and a Kennedy Center Honor, back when that actually meant something.
It’s quite the legacy, is what I’m saying.
As always, when the chuckwagon races ended and the mutton bustin’ proceedings concluded, HLSR’s ponderous “Star Stage” rolled out. The Rodeo is also bizarrely fond of setting off fireworks right before performers take the stage, meaning the entire stadium is hazy with pyrotechnic smoke for most of the show.
But it wasn’t hard to see Reba. Stepping out in a black outfit with silver fringe, she launched into “Turn On the Radio,” her go-to opener from All The Women I Am. This was followed by “Fear of Being Alone.” Hell, she could’ve filled her abbreviated Rodeo slot with nothing but No. 1s and still not gotten through all of them.
She told us it was “good to be back in Texas again,” which is sort of an unofficial Rodeo performer requirement, but Reba made it sound sincere. She also mentioned how 2025 marked her 50th year in the music business. which is pretty remarkable. Even with that in mind, her voice is largely undiminished, save for pulling back some on the high notes for “You Lie.”
It was after “You Lie” that Reba asked the audience to give a “rip roaring round of applause” for the cowboys and cowgirls. They obliged, even as I Googled the etymology of the phrase “rip roaring.” Fun fact: it apparently originated in 1834. Someone get Taylor Sheridan on the phone.
The night featured both the expected (“You Lie,” “Fancy,” “One Promise Too Late”) and the not so much (“Maggie Creek Road,” the only song from Keep On Loving You). “MCR” belongs in that pantheon of sinister musical avenues: “Copperhead Road,” “Highway to Hell,” “I Can’t Drive 55”).
We were also “treated” to the theme songs to the two TV shows she’s starred in. And while “I’m A Survivor” stands pretty well on its own (it was incorporated as the theme to Reba after its release), I’m a little bummed she spent a song slot on “Happy’s Place.” Think of it as George Strait being contractually obligated to play “Codigo” at every show.
Her triptych of covers was also well received. “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” is basically her song now (sorry, Vicki Lawrence), while Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Stop Now” was perhaps the most (mildly) surprising development of the night,
Though not so much as Reba’s admission that she called her “Dewey Loopy” when introduced her to accompany Chris Stapleton at a recent Academy of Country Music show.
“Don’t Stop Now” was only one of a nice triptych of covers that included “Respect” and “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” which might as well be a Reba song. Similar to how Tina Turner took ownership of “Proud Mary.”
Reba McEntire was a solid start to the 2025 Rodeo. Though it may be instructive to HLSR’s staff that the number of people exiting before “Fancy” made its appearance indicates the traffic control (or lack thereof) and seemingly arbitrary street closures are kind of hurting the experience. When the time spent driving to and from the Rodeo is longer than the concert itself, maybe some improvements can be made.
Personal Bias: I was initially cool on Reba, but there’s a good reason, sort of. Back in the winter of 1980, my mom was driving my sister and me through Oklahoma. Our car skidded off the road in McAlester, which was only notable because of the outstanding ditch we ended up in and the (new) sign telling me it was the birthplace of Reba McEntire. We spent two days in Kiowa waiting to get chains on our tires, and I guess I resented her by association. It honestly wasn’t until Tremors that I came to appreciate her and dig into her music.
And now, “Fancy” is my go-to karaoke jam.
SET LIST
Turn On the Radio
The Fear of Being Alone
One Promise Too Late
I’m Gonna Take That Mountain
You Lie
Maggie Creek Road
I’m A Survivor
Happy’s Place (Theme Song)
Going Out Like That
Respect (Aretha Franklin cover)
Don’t Start Now (Dua Lipa cover)
You Keep Me Hangin’ On (The Supremes cover)
Consider Me Gone
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (Vicki Lawrence cover)
Why Haven’t I Heard From You
Fancy
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
