This Week’s Best Concerts | Houston Press

According to Keith Richards’ son Marlon, the Rolling Stones may have an album of new material ready to go by the end of the year. As reported by Record Collector Magazine, the younger Richards indicates that the Stones have been working in the studio with producer Andrew Watt, who helmed their 2024 album Hackney Diamonds, a record that represented the band’s first collection of new material in almost two decades.

It is heartening to hear that the Stones still have some creative coal left in the furnace. Regardless of what the final product may sound like, the fact that these old guys are still making new music is more than impressive.  The Stones who are still standing are raging against the dying light and exhibiting an admirable unwillingness to go gently into that good night.

Not that there is any indication that the Stones are about to individually or collectively keel over.  I’m speaking metaphorically here.  As we saw last year at NRG Stadium, they can still get the job done and even throw in a few surprises in the process. So I can’t wait to see what the lads come up with this time around.

And Marlon would seem to be an unimpeachable source, as he was part of the Stones Touring Party since he was an infant, later acting as his father’s majordomo and keeping some of the leeches away from Richards the senior. Nothing like being told to “fuck off” by an eight-year-old.

Ticket Alert
If you missed out on getting tickets for the West Texas Exiles at the Mucky Duck on Saturday, September 27, there is good news. A second (late) show has been added on the same night, but tickets are going fast.

Singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Ben Kweller will perform at the Heights Theater on Tuesday, November 11, touring in support of his latest release, Cover the Mirrors. Tickets are on sale now.

It’s never too early to start planning for New Year’s Eve, I suppose, so if you don’t already have plans, a show for your consideration is Treaty Oak Revival at Toyota Center on Wednesday, December 31. Treaty Oak, “the rock band with a country accent,” has come a long way since getting its start as a cover band in Odessa around 2018. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Mariah the Scientist (so named because she was actually studying to be a pediatric anesthesiologist before deciding on a career in music) will perform at the Bayou Music Center on Saturday, April 4. Presales are in progress, with the general ticket sale on Friday.

Concerts This Week
Man, what a week for shows in Houston. We will begin with Samantha Fish at the Heights Theater tonight. Fish is on tour in support of her latest album, Paper Doll, which exhibits her continued growth as a performer and songwriter. For more information, see the Houston Press interview with this blazing guitar player.
It may seem like a long time until we get to St. Patrick’s Day, but guess what? It’s only six months away! To celebrate (and why not?) Houston’s Celtic rockers the Blaggards will play a “Half Way to St. Paddy’s Day” show at Under the Volcano tonight. As an added inducement, the Volcano is offering half-price Guinness and Irish stew. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a blaggard is “a person, usually a man, who is not honest or fair and has no moral principles.”
There are a couple of big shows at Toyota Center this week, the first being a concert from singer-songwriter Benson Boone on Thursday. Boone made some serious noise on Tik Tok in 2021, racking up 1.7 million views before signing a fat record deal. On Saturday, Toyota Center will welcome chanteuse Laufey (pronounced LAY-vay), who cites Frederic Chopin, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Chet Baker as some of her primary musical influences. Not too shabby.
Groundbreaking rapper Lil Wayne will perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Thursday. How much of a badass is Lil Wayne? His hometown of New Orleans declared in 2024 that “Lil Wayne Day” will be celebrated each year on February 6 and 7.
Country mega-star Lainey Wilson is also at the Pavilion this week, performing on Saturday. Wilson was raised in Baskin, LA, where she grew up on a musical diet of Buck Owens and Glen Campbell, demonstrating that her parents brought her up right. On Sunday at the Pavilion, it’s an intriguing double bill featuring Leon Bridges and Charley Crockett, two artists who are both traditionalists in their respective genres (R&B and country) and both spent time forging their careers in Texas.
Jim Lauderdale is well-known as a songwriter, having penned tunes recorded by George Strait, Elvis Costello, the Chicks, Vince Gill and Patty Loveless. But let’s not forget that he is a most engaging performer in his own right. Catch his act on Tuesday at the Mucky Duck.