Houston Concert Watch 10/8: Keith Urban, Lumineers and More

Following the death of drummer Neal Peart in 2020, it appeared that Rush would follow the lead of Led Zeppelin (another band who lost a drummer) and disband, so as to avoid damaging a stellar legacy.  Remaining Rush members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee have been firm on their stance, but it has been reported that, over cocktails, Sir Paul McCartney cajoled Lifeson into getting back on stage.

So Rush is (sort of) back, and the band is planning a brief tour of 12 dates in seven cities across North American next summer, with drummer Anika Nilles, who has played with Jeff Beck, behind the kit.  No, Houston is not on the list.  However, Rush will play two nights in Fort Worth at the Dickies Arena on Wednesday, June 24, and Friday, June 26.  You can register (by 11:59 p.m. Thursday) here for Ticketmaster presales, which begin on Monday, October 13, but there are other sales (credit card holders, etc.) which begin this Friday.  Complete information is available at rush.com.

Ticket Alert

Former Geto Boy and one-time Houston City Council candidate Scarface will perform at the Bayou Music Center on Friday, November 14.  The presale begins tomorrow, with the general sale on Friday.

Kenny G is not only a best-selling instrumental artist, but – to use the words of Bob Eucker –
“this guy can get it out of the sand trap like nobody’s fuckin’ business!”  Presale tickets for the saxophonist / top-ranked celebrity golfer’s appearance on Sunday, February 10, at the Smart Financial Centre are available now, and the great unwashed will be able to purchase ducats on Friday.

While it may seem kind of strange to buy tickets for a concert that is over a year away, that’s what is going on with Doja Cat’s performance scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Toyota Center.  Her “Tour Ma Vie” will promote the forthcoming album Vie, with the artist presale today, the Live Nation presale on Thursday, and the general sale on Friday.  As you might imagine, VIP packages are available as well.

Concerts This Week

It’s a busy week for shows in Houston, starting with Wet Leg on the lawn Thursday at the White Oak Music Hall, part of the band’s “North American Moistourizer” tour.  Wet Leg began as a duo former by frontwomen Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, who released the single “Chaise Longue” in 2021 and won a Grammy after millions of online views and listens.  If the line “Is your muffin buttered? / Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?” from “Chaise Longue” sounds familiar, that’s because it is a quote from the film Mean Girls.

Suicide Boys will play Toyota Center on Friday.  Lyrically, these guys hit a number of hot buttons in the world of psychology: suicidal ideation, depression, and God knows what.  The Boys might well benefit from a checkup from the neck up, as Kinky Friedman used to say. 

 After performing a mix of styles (singer-songwriter, rock, electronic) in their early days, the Lumineers eventually settled into an Americana / neo-folk groove, and prosperity followed.  You can catch them at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Friday.  ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: In its early years the band used a number of handles, including Free Beer and Cheek 6.  The current name arrived when a club emcee became confused and introduced them as another band, who went by the name of Lumineers, and it stuck. 

 Soooo, we’ll get to see how Keith Urban is bearing up after his wife, Nicole Kidman, filed for divorce when he performs at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Saturday.  The gossip has been swirling over the past week regarding Urban’s rumored fondness for guitarist Maggie Baugh, who recently played with Urban’s band at his gig in Chicago.  In other news, Kidman just debuted a new hairstyle at Fashion Week in Paris, so it sounds like the situation is really getting serious here.

Michael Schenker is many things: mercurial, flaky, and one hell of a guitar player.  While Schenker’s older brother Rudolf has steadily led the Scorpions for 60 (!) years, the younger Schenker has done two stints in that band and three in UFO.  The story is that he was asked to replace Randy Rhoades in Ozzy Osbourne’s band but couldn’t come to terms regarding his requested fringe benefits, which supposedly included the use of a private jet.  Schenker will play at the White Oak Music Hall on Sunday, and my guess is that he will arrive by bus.

 A question that used to be asked in show biz circles when an act’s mass appeal was called into question was, “Yes, but will it play in Peoria?”  So let’s apply the query to a mixture of prog-ish metal, costumes, face / body paint and a general horror movie vibe.  In the case of Mudvayne, a band comprised of guys from Peoria, the answer is a resounding “yes.”  You can catch them at the Bayou Music Center on Monday.

The post Houston Concert Watch 10/8: Keith Urban, Lumineers and More appeared first on Houston Press.