A television special documenting the Kennedy Center awards ceremony at which Conan O’Brien received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor premiered recently on Netflix. The vibe was a bit unusual, since the Kennedy Center is currently on shaky ground, but a highlight of the evening was the closing number, when O’Brien and fellow comedian Adam Sandler traded guitar solos on Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
It has been said that most actors want to be musicians and most musicians want to be actors, and yes, there is a bit of an overlap when it comes to the actor / musician Venn diagram. O’Brien and Sandler have already been mentioned, but, aside from those guys, who are the most talented actors and / or comedians who have side careers as musicians? Here is a list, in no particular order:
Marc Maron (guitar)
Kevin Bacon (guitar)
Keifer Sutherland (guitar)
Billy Bob Thornton (drums)
Johnny Depp (guitar)
Keanu Reeves (bass)
Ed Helms (banjo)
Steve Martin (banjo)
Jeff Bridges (guitar)
Ryan Gosling (guitar, piano, bass)
Jason Schwartzman (drums, guitar)
Fred Armisen (drums)
Jeff Garlin (guitar)
Hugh Laurie (guitar, piano, drums)
Jeff Goldblum (piano)
Michael Cera (bass)
Mel Brooks (drums) (actually received lessons from Buddy Rich)
There is one well-known actor who, according to those in the know, plays guitar fairly well, but he is not on the list because he is, according to those in the know, a world-class asshole. Want to guess who?
Ticket Alert
How can you not love a band whose name is a bad pun, who released a video featuring dancing syringes for the song “Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth,” and who once played a cover of the Velvet Underground’s “White Light / White Heat” with none other than David Bowie? The never-boring Dandy Warhols will perform on Saturday, September 27, at the Heights Theater, and tickets are on sale now.
Quirky. Peculiar. Trailblazing. All of these adjectives apply to the B-52s and Devo, who will join forces this fall for the “Cosmic De-Evolution” tour, which will stop at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Sunday, November 2. New Wave comrade in arms Lene Lovich will open. Presales are in progress, with the general sale set for Friday.
Blue October has come a long way since the band began its career playing at a Papadeaux seafood restaurant in 1998. The Houston alt-rockers will perform two nights, Friday, November 14, and Saturday, November 15, at the 713 Music Hall. You can snag presale tickets now or hit the general sale on Friday.
Guitarist Kingfish Ingram crushed it a few weeks ago at the House of Blues, so it’s good to know that he will be returning to Houston later in the year, performing on Sunday, December 17, at the White Oak Music Hall. Ingram was born in Clarksdale, MS, right near the legendary crossroads (see Robert Johnson), so maybe he was destined to be a blues guitarist. Tickets are on sale now, with a VIP package available.
Concerts This Week
Along with several other artists who emerged in the ‘70s, Steve Forbert had the misfortune to be a tagged as a “new Dylan,” though he disavowed the designation. After notching a hit with “Romeo’s Tune” in 1979, Forbert made a name for himself as a songwriter par excellence, earning the respect of both critics and his peers. Check him out on Thursday at the Mucky Duck. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: Forbert had a cameo role in the video for Cyndi Lauper’s song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” portraying her boyfriend.
The cutting contest is a long-held tradition in the blues, one in which a group of musicians (generally guitarists) get together onstage, with each musician aiming to establish his superiority. If fast and flashy guitar licks are your thing, don’t miss the Texas Guitar Blues Summit on Friday at the Heights Theater, featuring Mike Morgan, Anson Funderburgh and Shawn Pittman. While this gig is not officially billed as a measuring contest, any time you get three hotshot guitar players together, the spirit of friendly competition is going to kick in.
Country music bad boy Morgan Wallen will establish residence at NRG Stadium on Friday and Saturday, as he brings the “I’m the Problem” tour to Houston. Wallen seems to pop up in the news with some frequency, and generally for the wrong reasons (hollering racial slurs, throwing furniture off the roof of upstairs bars, dissing Saturday Night Live and New York City). We’ll see if Wallen can behave himself while in the Bayou City, but he should probably stay at his hotel, order room service and watch ESPN while he is not onstage, just to be on the safe side.
Fans of blues and Gulf Coast R&B will want to head for Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge on Saturday for Allison Fisher and Her Swell Band. The Big Top is just a couple of doors down from the Continental Club, and it has recently been remodeled and renovated. It’s an early (6:30 p.m.) show, so you can have dinner afterwards or, if you are of a certain age, head home and binge on “The Last of Us.”
Pete Yorn established himself as one of the country’s premier songwriters with his 2001 release musicforthemorningafter and has continued to burnish his reputation with a string of fine albums, including last year’s The Hard Way. Catch him on Tuesday at the Heights Theater. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: Yorn composed the score for the Jim Carrey film Me, Myself & Irene.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
