{"id":131733,"date":"2026-01-21T10:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/131733\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T10:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:18:09","slug":"houston-concert-watch-1-21-rodney-crowell-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/131733\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Concert Watch 1\/21: Rodney Crowell and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

The annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show opened yesterday in Anaheim, CA.\u00a0 It\u2019s a five-day event that gives manufacturers of musical equipment and related products an opportunity to present their latest wares and gives music business types an opportunity to get ripped and hang out with those of their own kind.\u00a0 Lots of well-known musicians will be there, either to perform or to hawk products that they endorse.\u00a0 This year\u2019s list includes Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Mike Dirnt (Green Day) and Houston\u2019s own Laura Lee (Khruangbin).<\/p>\n

While searching online for the exact dates of this year\u2019s show, I came across the question \u201cCan Regular People Attend NAMM?\u201d\u00a0 No, they cannot.\u00a0 Nor should they.\u00a0 Unless you are obsessed (and I mean fanatically obsessed) with guitars, keyboards, drums and the like, this shindig is not for you.\u00a0 If you consider yourself \u201cregular\u201d or \u201cnormal,\u201d stay away.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if you are the sort who can debate the virtues of different transistors (e.g. germanium vs. silicon) used in fuzz boxes, you will feel right at home.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like any other convention.\u00a0 Lots of rock and roll fashion statements, some nonstandard hair styles, many sunglasses indoors, and a higher percentage of people wearing leather pants than you might see elsewhere.<\/p>\n

And did we mention loud?\u00a0 With over 1,800 exhibitors and 4,000 brands represented, the volume level can rise in a hurry as the battle for attention gets intense.\u00a0 For the past several years, NAMM officials with decibel meters have been strolling around the premises to monitor sound levels emanating from the display booths. \u00a0Everyone knows the rules, but every year a number of folks say \u201cscrew it\u201d and crank things up to 11.\u00a0 But hey, what\u2019s a rock and roll gathering without a bit of \u201cstick it to the man\u201d and \u201ckick out the jams\u201d thrown in for good measure?<\/p>\n

Ticket Alert<\/p>\n

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I must confess that hearing anything by Air Supply causes me to twitch involuntarily, owing to a couple of years working in the K-Lite (\u201cLight Rock with Less Talent\u201d) radio format during the late \u201880s.\u00a0 Be that as it may, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their musical partnership, which began when the two singers met while performing in a touring company of Jesus Christ Superstar in Australia.\u00a0 Tickets are on sale now for Air Supply\u2019s concert on Friday, April 10, at the Smart Financial Centre<\/a>, with meet and greet packages available.<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s favorite rapper, Pitbull, will hit the road later this year for a tour christened \u201cI\u2019m Back!\u201d\u00a0 Has he been away?\u00a0 In any case, Pitbull will perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion<\/a> on Friday, May 22, with Lil Jon opening.\u00a0 Presales begin next Wednesday, January 28, with the general sale on Friday, January 30.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, we received word that guitar whizzes Joe Satriani and Steve Vai would be teaming up for a tour this spring.\u00a0 Now, another two-guitar extravaganza has been announced, in this case a tour pairing Paul Gilbert (formerly of Mr. Big) and Greg Koch (like Gilbert, a \u201cguitarist\u2019s guitarist\u201d).\u00a0 You can catch them at Warehouse Live <\/a>on Thursday, May 28.\u00a0 If you play guitar and need some inducement to practice, this concert should do the trick.<\/p>\n

John Mellencamp has always been a prickly kind of guy.\u00a0 Case in point: twice in the past couple of years, Mellencamp has chastised audiences for not being quiet and paying attention during his concerts, going so far as to cut one of the shows short.\u00a0 In that instance, he was telling a story between songs when an audience member shouted out, \u201cPlay some music!\u201d\u00a0 To which Mellencamp replied, \u201cWhat do you think I\u2019ve been doing, you cocksucker?\u201d \u00a0Maybe it has to do with those years when he was known professionally as \u201cJohnny Cougar.\u201d\u00a0 That experience could make a guy bitter. Tickets are on sale now for his performance at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion<\/a> on Thursday, August 8, so be on your best behavior and consider yourself warned.<\/p>\n

Concerts This Week<\/p>\n

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Colter Wall will play two (count \u2018em!) nights \u2013 tonight and Thursday \u2013 this week at the Bayou Music Center<\/a>.\u00a0 In a shrewd move, the Canadian singer-songwriter has managed to extend his marketing reach by making some of his songs available for film and television.\u00a0 To date, his tunes have appeared in the movies Hell or High Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, along with the shows Dog the Bounty Hunter, The Peripheral and Yellowstone.<\/p>\n

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The Mucky Duck will host a couple of shows featuring beloved Texas artists this week.\u00a0 On Thursday, it\u2019s Rodney (\u201cThe Houston Kid\u201d) Crowell with Sam Baker<\/a>, followed on Friday by Alejandro Escovedo<\/a>.\u00a0 Either? Both? Take your pick \u2013 you can\u2019t go wrong.<\/p>\n

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When compared with other progressive country \/ outlaw artists, Ray Wylie Hubbard always had the distinction of being one of the most eccentric.\u00a0 And I mean that in the best possible way.\u00a0 While some of his contemporaries wrote only about beer, dance halls and getting stoned, Hubbard crafted songs with a sly, often satirical or comic, slant.\u00a0 The best known of these is, of course, \u201cUp Against the Wall, Redneck Mother,\u201d but a deeper exploration of his catalog will be rewarded with gems like \u201cSnake Farm\u201d and \u201cScrew You, We\u2019re from Texas.\u201d\u00a0 Hubbard will perform on Friday at the Heights Theater<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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On Saturday, the Josh Abbott Band will bring its country stylings to the House of Blues<\/a>.\u00a0 Abbott formed the group while he was a grad student at Texas Tech, recruiting several members of his Phi Delta Theta fraternity to play gigs with him.\u00a0 And you thought frats were only good for keg stands and beer bongs!<\/p>\n

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During the jazz fusion scare of the 1970s, guitarist Al Di Meola established his reputation as a player with incredible technique and speed on both acoustic and electric guitar.\u00a0 He successfully managed to combine jazz, rock and Latin music in a mix that was, while kind of a wank-fest, still tasteful and always inventive.\u00a0 Catch him on Saturday at the Heights Theater<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article appears in Private: Jan 1 \u2013 Dec 31, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show opened yesterday in Anaheim, CA.\u00a0 It\u2019s a five-day event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56484,56485,56486,56487,56488,56489,575,56490,56491,226,56,58,57,47893,56492,56493,2989,56494,56495,56496,56497,56498,56499,56500,56501,22895,56502,47897],"class_list":{"0":"post-131733","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-air-supply","9":"tag-al-di-meola","10":"tag-alejandro-escovedo","11":"tag-billy-corgan","12":"tag-chad-smith","13":"tag-colter-wall","14":"tag-concerts","15":"tag-green-day","16":"tag-greg-koch","17":"tag-homepage","18":"tag-houston","19":"tag-houston-headlines","20":"tag-houston-news","21":"tag-joe-satriani","22":"tag-john-mellencamp","23":"tag-josh-abbott","24":"tag-khruangbin","25":"tag-laura-lee","26":"tag-mike-dirnt","27":"tag-namm","28":"tag-paul-gilbert","29":"tag-pitbull","30":"tag-radney-foster","31":"tag-ray-wylie-hubbard","32":"tag-red-hot-chili-peppers","33":"tag-rodney-crowell","34":"tag-smashing-pumpkins","35":"tag-steve-vai"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}