John Egan The Big Easy, May 5
Solo bluesman John Egan sings in a tone that suggests someone is constantly walking over his grave, and his lyrics are loaded with bad mojo like nature gone haywire and apocalyptic visions. All he needs live is his National Resonator, one of those shiny silver guitars that sting and snarl, and has begun mastering the followup to 2012's spare and sinister Phantoms. Earlier this year Egan advanced to the semifinals of the International Blues Challenge's solo competition for the second year in a row, vying with bluesmen and women from all over the planet.
Debonair Lounge Cafe 4212, May 5
Since approximately Labor Day 2013, the only way to get each week off on a good foot has been at this Museum District oasis of cool. Debonair Lounge has already welcomed a who's who of Houston's hottest young hip-hop and R&B performers and, as always, that smooth-ass Debonair house band strutting their stuff for one of the most stylish audiences in town.
Hosted by local scenesters Tay Mitch and Brad Gilmore, whom Channel 39's Newsfix called "ebony and ivory at its finest," these few hours will have you looking forward to every Monday...just not Tuesdays. Check @DebonairLounge for lineup updates, and the party never stops on Instagram at @DebonairLoungeHTX.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, May 6
Well...what took you so long, Boss? Normally five years is not an especially long time for A-list rock stars to go between passing through town, but this is Bruce Springsteen we're talking about. Since the Boss (now 64) was last here in April 2009, he has taken the E Street Band to faraway lands like South Africa and Australia, seen them inducted on their own into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, mourned the loss of "Big Man" Clarence Clemons (but replaced him on sax with Clemons' nephew Jake), and released several albums.
The latest of these, this year's High Hopes, is pitched halfway between "statement albums" like 2012's Wrecking Ball and more personal affairs such as The Ghost of Tom Joad, and suffers not at all with the substitution of ex-Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello for Miami Steve Van Zandt. (Sorry, Steve.) Not to worry, though: both Morello and Van Zandt are back in the fold for this tour, truly giving E Street fans the best of both worlds.
More shows on the next page.
