For those who did not catch Saturday Night Live over the weekend, musical guest Morgan Wallen – who is set to play NRG Stadium on Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21 — bolted from the stage and strode toward the camera during the show’s final segment, when the cast and guests are generally giving out hugs and handshakes while waving to the folks at home. Subsequently, Wallen posted a photo on social media of a private plane waiting to take off with the comment, “Get me to God’s country.”
PR types say that it was no big deal, and that Wallen’s exit was planned that way. If so, it was news to SNL cast member Keenan Thompson. Since Thompson has been featured as the host of the mock television show “What Up with That?” in past SNL episodes, it is only appropriate to wonder what his answer might be to the question “What Up with Morgan Wallen?”
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Thompson said, “I don’t know what goes through people’s minds when they decide to do stuff like that. I don’t know if he understood the assignment or not, or if he was really feeling a certain kind of way.” Thompson later observed, “You see somebody [walk off] before you get a chance to say hi or say good job or anything like that, they just dipping. I thought maybe he had to go to the potty or something.”
It is worth noting that Wallen has a history of problematic behavior, including throwing a chair off the roof of a Nashville bar (almost hitting two police officers standing on the sidewalk) and appearing on a home video throwing a racial slur around. Perhaps significantly, one of the songs Wallen performed on SNL was “I’m the Problem.”
Ticket Alert
Recent Grammy winner Chris Brown will bring his Breezy Bowl XX tour to Minu…. (hold on, still getting used to it) Daikin Park on Monday, September 8, with Summer Walker and Bryson Tiller rounding out the bill. Presales are in progress, with the general sale set for Thursday. VIP packages? Brown has assured his fans (emphatically) via social media, “OH AND WE DOING THEM MEET AND GREETS.”
‘90s hitmakers Live and Collective Soul will embark on a joint Summer Unity tour this, well, summer, appearing at the 713 Music Hall on Friday, August 15, and tickets are on sale now. Live is offering a VIP meet and greet package, but, unlike Chris Brown’s, this one is not an all-caps affair.
Rock and classical music have been combined with varying degrees of success over the years. Good: The Who’s Quadrophenia. Bad: Roger Waters’ opera Ça Ira. (Additional points deducted due to Waters’ participation in the project.) The latest version of this rock and classical mashup is Rock Orchestra by Candlelight, coming to the Smart Financial Centre on Thursday, October 2. The official blurb promises that “14 classical musicians [will] unleash effortlessly enchanting melodies alongside powerful walls of distortion” in performances of material from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC. Presales are up now, with the general ticket sale on Friday.
Tickets are on sale now for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s show at the White Oak Music Hall on Friday, October 17. This band is deep. On its website, bassist Robert Levon Been is quoted as saying, “We are truly an island – come hell or high water, so it’s usually best to dress accordingly. Though I’m not sure what the proper attire is when drowning in fire. But leather usually goes with everything.”
Concerts This Week
Guitarist Ana Popović, who hails from Serbia, will bring her blend of blues, soul, funk and gospel to Main Street Crossing tonight. Though she now has a Fender Stratocaster custom made to her exacting specifications, her main guitar is still a 1964 sunburst Strat that she bought with $20,000 of merch money saved up during a tour. Find out more in this week’s Houston Press interview with Popović.
A couple of significant rap shows are coming to town this week. First, Denzel Curry’s Mischievous South tour will stop at the Bayou Music Center on Thursday, with Kenny Mason, 454 and Clip opening. Then on Saturday, it’s Alief’s own Tobe Nwigwe at the 713 Music Hall. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: Word is that Michelle Obama had Nwigwe’s “I’m Dope” on her workout playlist for a while. Who knows, maybe she still does.
Dana Cooper and Shake Russell – performing separately and as a duo – helped to define the singer-songwriter scene in Houston during the ‘70s. As it happens, both artists will be performing at the Dosey Doe Breakfast, BBQ and Whiskey Bar this week. Cooper is first up, with a “Birthday Bash” on Thursday. Russell slides in on Friday, but he isn’t celebrating his birthday, so we can assume there will be no cake and candles. But the music will be plenty good.
ZZ Ward got her start in show biz at the age of 12 when she began singing in her father’s blues band. Since then, she has made her mark as a performer of some note, updating American roots music with touches of sampling, drum loops and rap. Catch her show on Sunday at the Heights Theater.
