This Week's Best Concerts

The start of a new year signifies new beginnings, a fresh start and a clean slate. In this annual spirit of renewal, I am happy to point out a few things to look forward to in 2024:

It’s a leap year! This means that we all get an extra chance to, as Rare Earth sang, “celebrate another day of living.” Also, those born on February 29 will get an actual birthday party this time around.

The Olympic Games will be held this year! For the participating athletes, there’s nothing like strutting your stuff in the City of Lights. Well, there is that pesky, lingering bedbug problem in Paris, but certainly that will be sorted out by this summer. Can’t have folks scratching during their gymnastics routines.

There will be a total solar eclipse! According to NASA (and they should know), the eclipse will be visible on Monday, April 8, in Fredericksburg, Austin, Waco and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. So it looks like a road trip for Houstonians, but you could do worse than driving to Austin, eating some BBQ and watching the moon obliterate the sun.

Ticket Alert

As we gaze ahead to the coming year, the good news is that tickets are still available for most of the stadium shows that have been scheduled so far. Pickings are slim for the Rolling Stones at NRG Stadium on Sunday, April 28, but seats remain in a number of sections. And there are always the VIP packages to consider. These range from the Start Me Up option, which guarantees “awesome” tickets, to Get Close (“incredible” tickets) to Jumpin’ Jack Flash (“phenomenal” tickets) to Gimme Shelter (“amazing” tickets) to Paint It Black (“excellent” tickets) to Tumbling Dice (“fabulous” tickets). So check your thesaurus, check your credit card balance and get to clicking!

On the country side of the aisle, plenty of tickets remain for Zach Bryan (with Jason Isbell opening) at NRG stadium on Saturday, July 27. Same story for Luke Combs, who will perform for two nights at NRG, on Friday, August 9, and Saturday, August 10. Bear in mind that Combs’ shows have different opening acts – four of them – each night, so choose wisely.

Concerts This Week

It is often interesting to hear the story behind a band’s name. The Beatles, for instance, were inspired by Buddy Holly’s band, The Crickets, incorporating a bit of wordplay on “beat” (we see what you did there, lads!). In the case of Slaughter Beach, Dog, front man Jake Ewald was taken by the name of a town in Delaware that he would pass by when going to visit his parents. After learning that another band had already claimed the name, Ewald simply added “Dog” (and a comma) to “Slaughter Beach” and, voila! The band will perform on Thursday at the House of Blues, Dog.

For the past decade or so, a highlight of the new year has been the BowiElvis Fest at the Continental Club, a celebration of the shared birthday of David Bowie and Elvis Presley and their musical legacies. The festival will encompass two indoor stages (the Continental Club and Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge) and one outdoor stage (the Continental Club’s Pachinko Hut), so there will be plenty of room to stretch out.

Pecos Hank, Pierce and The Purple Moon, Catterina, Christopher Seymore, Drew Daniels, Soft Gems, Electric Gold, Alex Saxon, The Shimmer Show Burlesque, Mills McCoin, DJ Boogie Soul and Kitch Services are among those lending their talents to the shindig, so get there early and stay late. And keep in mind that there will also be a costume contest, so start thinking now about those tough choices: “Hound Dog” Elvis or Vegas Elvis? Ziggy Stardust or The Thin White Duke? Decisions, decisions.

You have two chances to catch Texas icon Alejandro Escovedo, who will play both Friday and Saturday at the Mucky Duck. Tickets are going fast, but a live stream video option is also available. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: Escovedo is a man of his convictions, refusing to play his song “Castanets” during George W. Bush’s administration after finding out that it was on the then-president’s iPod. More recently, he departed Twitter after Elon Musk bought the company, stating “We are leaving Twitter because of Elon and his fascist friends. Adios!”