It’s beginning to look a lot like touring season in the music industry. This week we’ll be greeted by bands who haven’t played here in a long time, most notably stoner rockers Sleep. There’s also sets from acts like SWMRS, Curren$y, Los Lobos and more while Kiki Maroon brings back her burlesque festival and a ton of locals perform all over our city. Houston, here’s how to navigate the next seven days.

Wednesday you can begin at Warehouse Live in the ballroom for the rap of Brooklyn’s Desiigner. This guy has blown up and his live shows are known to be crazy. Here in support of last year’s popular album New English, this should be a show worth checking out. California rapper Rob $tone will be on as direct support with a set from Ski Mask the Slump God on prior. The all ages show with doors at 7 pm will get opened by 16yrold with tickets between $23 and $25.

If you’d like to see a funny social experiment live, then you could head to The Secret Group to catch 7 Minutes in Purgatory with Ian Abramson. The show is basically comics performing in front of a camera in a soundproof room, so there’s no way for them to know if their jokes are landing or not. I’ve seen the show before and it’s a trip with doors at 7 pm and the all ages event has tickets between $12 and $15.

Over in Mandell Park, one of Houston’s best kept secrets, Hearts of Animals, will perform. I’d hope with appearances all over town over the years, a set at the first Day for Night, and a list of stellar albums that you’d have heard of this band.  If you haven’t, then you should know that their 2024 album Another Mutation is one of the best albums you might not know about and their latest single, “Cat Karma” from last year, keeps in line with their stellar sound. Things get going at 7:30 pm and the all ages show is 100% FREE.

Over at Crumbville Texas on Elgin, the Damn Gxrl series will host a set from Peru’s Maria Chavez. Known for creating immense sets on the decks, her DJ sets alone are worth making it out for and she doesn’t stop in town often. The R&B soul jams of Houston’s Peyton will provide direct support while the DJ sounds of yazzaspazza will open things up. The all ages show has doors at 7:30 pm with a measly $5 cover.

Turnaways. Photo: Danny Larrea

Upstairs at White Oak Music Hall you can get your punk fix when CJ Ramone swings by to play. Having to replace Dee Dee in the late ’80s wasn’t a task that many could do, but CJ was definitely a great candidate for the gig and as a member of the famed punks, he added a new life to the Ramones.  His solo stuff is catchy and his live shows are full of energy. His latest release, American Beauty from this year, is energetic and fun, too. Houston’s Turnaways will bring their intensity as direct support and openers for the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $13 and $15.

Later at The Secret Group, you can get down with Emily Snow at her birthday bash. DJs, penis balloons, burlesque and more will all be on hand. The last party she had at the venue got dirty, so just be warned for the 21 & up event with doors at 10 pm with a $5 cover.

Thursday at Improv, Houston comic Ali Siddiq will celebrate 4/20 in style with two shows called 420 Live From the Greenroom. Siddiq is easily one of the brightest and funniest comics coming from Houston since Bill Hicks, and his last album Damaged Goods from last year is a riot. There’s no word of host and feature act, but that should change. The two 18 & up shows have doors at 3 pm and 7:15 pm, both with tickets between $17 and $27.

It wouldn’t be 4/20 without the annual Warehouse Live set from New Orleans’ rapper Curren$y. This guy has been busy with a slew of releases last year and the latter being Andretti 12/30. Atlanta’s J.I.D will be on as direct support while Houston’s Dice Soho will perform prior. The raging hip hop madness of Houston’s BILLYRACXX will go on beforehand and make it hard for anyone to follow. There’s also sets from Soupmakesitbetter, OG Ron C & The Chopstars, Yobi Yobz, Bruce Waine, and Brody Musesick for the all ages show with doors at 5 pm for the Munchies food truck event, and the concert has doors at 7 pm with tickets for $40.

Satellite Bar will have the Reefer Radness 4/20 Celebration with a headlining set from Houston’s Soul Creatures. Metanoia, Positive Disturbance, Free Radicals, The Skatastrophics, and Let Me Remember will all be on hand to celebrate getting lifted as well. The all ages show has doors at 5 pm and a $10 cover.

Libby Koch. Photo: Nicola Gell

Mucky Duck has an intriguing show with four acts under the name Double Date Night.  The show featuring two duos gets headlined by Houston’s Libby Koch & Chuck Hawthorne. Koch, an emerging artist that could easily become the next queen of Americana, will play tunes from her latest album Just Move On while Hawthorne will bring his soft country from Silver Line to life. The country goodness of Brant Croucher and the sweetness of Lainey Balagia will perform beforehand for the 21 & up show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $20 and $22.

On Friday you could get going at Discovery Green for Circo Avenida. Contortionists, acrobats, and more circus acts will be on hand for your delight. The family friendly event gets going at 7 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

If you’d rather get some Tex-Mex blues in your life, then you could head to the Heights Theater to catch East LA’s Los Lobos. Here in support of their 2024 album Gates Of Gold, this five-piece usually throws a pretty amazing live show and catching them in such an intimate setting should be great for any fan. The Afro-Latino rhythms of Kansas City’s Making Movies will be on hand as direct support and openers for the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets for $28.

Tom Segura. Photo: Robyn Van Swank/3Arts

If you want to laugh until it hurts, then you should head to Improv to catch the always hilarious Tom Segura. Here in town for a limited run of shows, Segura has been on a roll since his 2024 album Completely Normal. Since then he’s blown up appearing all over the globe and taping the funny as hell Netflix special Mostly Stories. Segura is definitely an act you don’t want to miss and these shows should sell out fast. The performances are all 18 & up with two shows Friday with doors at either 7 pm or 9 pm. There’s also two shows Saturday with doors at 6:15 pm and 8 pm or a show Sunday with doors at 6:45 pm, all with tickets between $29 and $50.

Jandek. Photo: Corwood Industries

Over at Hamman Hall on the Rice University campus, the elusive Jandek will perform. Part of the KTRU 50th Anniversary series, what Jandek will do will be a mystery to everyone. If you somehow don’t know Jandek, he’s released somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 albums and DVDs since 1978, usually made up of dissonant folk and blues, often with spoken word lyrics. The hook here is that Jandek rarely performs and the likes of Ben Gibbard, Kurt Cobain, and Mike Watt are all considered big fans of his work. The all ages show has doors at 7 pm for the 100% FREE concert.

At Near Northside Studios you can catch an impressive group exhibition, I Tried Really Hard. Art from Mark Armes, Eyesore, Bret Shirley, Jonathan Paul Jackson, LIMB, Blake Jones, Meredith Richey, Darcy Rosenburger, Traci Lavois Thiebaud and so many more will be on view. The all ages evening gets going around 8 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

Satellite Bar will host the indie rock of Boston’s Pile. Quite possibly one of the better indie rock bands going today, these guys put on an impressive and energetic live show. Here in support of their newly released album A Hairshirt of Purpose, these guys are not to be missed. The intense math rock goodness from Nashville trio Gnarwhal will be on hand as direct support while Houston’s Ruiners will bring their post punk meets punk energy on as openers. The all ages show has doors at 8 pm with tickets between $10 and $12.

Flower Politics. Photo: Courtesy of Flower Politics

Rec Room will bring back another edition of their Tiny Bar series with a set from Houston’s Flower Politics. Earlier this year I wrote about the latest release from Flower Politics’ latest album, New Beginnings, as I found their approach to bedroom pop invigorating, and the fact that they’ve dropped over twenty releases in three years shouldn’t be lost on anyone. The show has doors at 9 pm and a TBA cover.

Rudyard’s will have the return of the psych blues doom stoner rock of Portland’s Black Pussy. While the band has had all sorts of drama over their name, they’re pretty amazing to catch live and they’ll be here in support of their latest release Power, due out in May. The old school Houston rock of HogLeg will be on as direct support while Pinche Gringos will open the 21 & up show with doors at 9 pm and an $8 cover.

Substance. Photo: Josh Robicheaux

Substance will headline their 7” album release over at Rito’s Bar. I don’t know if you know the band, but their songs are short and fast punk and their lead singer usually ends up writhing on the floor after the first song. In other words, they put on a great show. San Antonio’s Sex Ray Vision will be on as direct support while the hardcore of McAllen’s Narb will go on beforehand. Sets from Crawler and Shallow will also take place at the all ages show with doors at 9 pm and an $8 cover.

If you’d rather get your dance on, then you could make it over to Boondock’s for another edition of BLACKOUT. The long running series is always a great place to get your groove on, especially this edition featuring a performance from NYC’s Riobamba. Visuals from Leckie, the entire Blackout crew on hand to drop sets, and more should be your signal to head over to the 21 & up show with doors at 10 pm and a TBA cover.

On Saturday, things should kick off with you heading to Cactus for an in-store signing from Bun B. Bun will be there as part of the Record Store Day festivities, signing copies of the UGK classic Hard To Swallow, which will be available on vinyl for the first time. There should be a line, if not for any other reason than that Bun is awesome and he always draws a crowd. Things get going a 1 pm, but I’d get there early if I were you.  

Bayonne. Photo: Dustin Cohen

On the Rice University campus, the 26th Annual KTRU Outdoor Show will take place. Celebrating 50 Years of KTRU, the show with a headlining set from Chicago’s Jamila Woods. The soul singer really puts plenty of flavor in her live sets and her 2024 single “Blk Girl Soldier” should be enough reason for you to attend. Chicago rapper Saba will also be on hand while Houston-born Austin transplant Bayonne will go on beforehand. Bayonne is one of the most passionate performers you can see and 2024’s Primitives is difficult not to love. Houston’s Free Radicals will also be on the bill, as will the indie pop rock of Houston’s Rose Ette. Sets from Steve Cox’s Beard and David Morgan & Charles Moon will kick things off at the all ages and 100% FREE event that gets going around 2 pm with more information available here.

Kiki Maroon will bring her Bayou City Burlesque & Circus Arts Festival back to the ballroom at Warehouse Live. Alongside a slew of locals like Ms Yet, Honey Moonpie, and Maroon herself will be acts like Tucson’s Don’t Blink Burlesque and Portland’s dainty daredevil Juliette Electrique. In fact, there’s so many more performers that it’s almost impossible to name them all. Contortionists, sideshow acts, burlesque performers and so much more will be on hand at the one night only festival. The 18 & up show has doors at 7:30 pm and tickets between $20 and $75, and the last ones have sold out in the past.

The Wheel Workers. Photo: Allison McPhail

Over at The Secret Group you could get all of the melodies when Austin indie rockers Quiet Company return to perform. This four-piece has become known for their fun live shows and their latest release, Transgressor from 2024, is their strongest to date. The energetically fun indie rock of Houston’s The Wheel Workers will be on as direct support while Denton’s Criminal Birds open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm with tickets between $12 and $15.

Of course, the stoner rock of Northern California’s Sleep will be on hand downstairs at White Oak Music Hall. Coming back from the proverbial dead, this trio makes sludge heavy songs that are intense and immense to see live. Austin’s American Sharks will be there as direct support and the instrumental metal of Austin’s Eagle Claw will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm with tickets for $25.

Continental Club has the indie rock of Houston’s The Glass. Making interesting and almost orchestral sounds, this five-piece is worth checking out, as their latest single “Miracle” is pretty solid. The jazz rock fusion of Houston’s Phrolic will open the 21 & up show with doors at 10 pm with a TBA cover.

SWMRS. Photo: Alice Baxley

Sunday you could get your pop punk or rock fix, depending on how you see it, when California’s SWMRS swing by Walter’s to perform.  Here in support of last year’s Drive North, these guys are becoming very popular and well known for their energetic live set. The angst driven band also features the son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, if that matters. The Police meets The Cars sounds of Kentucky’s White Reaper will be on as direct support while the garage pop of LA’s No Parents will open the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $15 and $17.

Upstairs at White Oak Music Hall, Austin’s Mobley will bring his infectious electro pop to town. This guy mixes in hints of R&B to get a sound that’s hard to deny, and his latest EP with Houston’s Catch Fever, Dreamers is pretty great. The cinematic electronica of Hescher will be on beforehand while the chillwave jams of Houston’s George West will open up the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $8 and $11.

In the ballroom at Warehouse Live you could get your laughs in for the Guys We F@#KED: The Experience. The show, which is a live version of the anti-slut shaming podcast of the same name, should be pretty hilarious to catch in person. One of the top weekly downloaded podcasts in the country, this should be a great show for any fan of the show or the two hilarious comics who present it, Krystyna Hutchinson and Corinne Fisher. The all ages show has doors at 7 pm and tickets between $22 and $25.

Monday you can head to Walter’s for the always fun antics of Peelander-Z. The New York based Japanese punk band never disappoints live, performing in full costumes and playing with incredible energy. Their latest album, Live at Red 7 from 2024, is pretty rad, though not as great as the crazy band is in person. There’s no word of support or openers, though that should change for the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $10 and $12.

The Garden. Photo: Epitaph Records

Tuesday the neo-punk of LA based twins The Garden will swing by Walter’s to drop a set. These guys have made music for a long time, they both modeled for Yves Saint Laurent, and their live shows are a mixed bag. Anyone who sees them says it’s definitely an experience like no other and their latest album Haha is something different entirely. The enigmatic hip hop of Houston’s Fat Tony will be on hand as direct support and opener for the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $13 and $16.

That’s about all that’s happening around town this week. No matter what you decide to do, remember that acting like an idiot and not getting home safely does no one else any good. So drink like an adult and get home as safely as possible.  

A native Houstonian and a 23 year resident of the Houston Heights, artist and organizer Mitch Cohen holds the magical talents uniting those who create to help make lasting events. Someone who has been diligent in his own work, mastering a multitude of creative forms, Cohen has handled his art career with knowhow and humor. Known for his work with Houston Vintage Festival, White Linen Night in the Heights, as well as with the First Saturday Arts Market (now in its 13th year), he rounds up both talent and a supportive audience in order to help our cultural scene thrive. A similar concept to the monthly event in the Heights has expanded into another arts district that has been booming for the past few years with Cohen aiding The Market at Sawyer Yards. Cohen spoke with Free Press Houston to explain his own personal background and how he became involved with artistic event planning.

Free Press Houston: You have an excellent viewpoint on how artists often portray their first encounters with art. How did you find that you had a great hand for creating visuals?

Mitch Cohen: I always shake my head when I read an artist’s biography that begins with a statement something like, “I’ve been an artist since I could hold a crayon.” Weren’t we all artists as children? I will always remember that in second grade, my teacher singles out my renderings of famous historic figures like Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln to the class as good examples of art. I quickly became known as the “best artist” in class. Later that same year I learned all about curse words and demonstrated with my newfound fame by illustrating in pencil, the definition of the word “shit.” Turns out that was an easy way to get out of school early too. Regardless, I’ve thought of myself as an artist ever since, although my rendering of the Benjamin Franklin looks like a balloon with a bad haircut to my adult eyes.

FPH: What are some of the nontraditional ways you were creative in your college days?

Cohen: My higher education experience was, for lack of a better word, fleeting. I excelled in the art classes I took, but quickly devolved into a post-high school, free-to-be-me party animal. Despite my lack of academic interests at the tender age of 18, I still found ways to be creative. I sold t-shirts with a cartoon I created that I called “Studley,” designed album covers for friends — I was at the best music school in the south, University of North Texas State. It wasn’t until I finally came home that I really learned a thing or two about art.

Mitch Cohen, “Hello!” 2024

FPH: What are some of the influential moments that impacted your art practice?

Cohen: The biggest influence on me as an artist came from what I thought would be a summer job after dropping out of college. I went to work as an apprentice sign painter at a billboard company. I literally was taught how to paint anything they gave me, cars, baseball bats, giant cleavers even, with artist oils, and of course all the methods for sign painting. I was the youngest in the field and a fast study. I loved it. I was admonished by my colleagues for painting too fast and making them look bad!

Around 1989, I was recruited by the editor of University of Houston Downtown’s newspaper, a former high school friend, to draw the weekly editorial cartoon and my own strip. I learned the value of consistency, and fast. Unbeknown to me, the second year editor entered my work in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Press Association’s annual competition — and my cartoon won 1st place over universities and colleges from 13 states. When I found out Matt Groening was a judge my ego grew nearly to the size of my second grade proportions before being deflated by the “shit” demonstration. This led me to my next big influence — it was time to return to school.

To increase my value at the sign companies I took what I would guess was Houston Community College’s last class in graphic design sans computers. My instructor, artist Sharon Hendry, must have shown great patience with my short attention span and penchant for incorporating my cartoons into all of her assignments.

It’s ironic that two of my biggest skills that are mostly forgotten arts now, sign painting and traditional graphic design, then shaped the next 15 years of my life. About two years after leaving the sign painting business, I started painting faux and decorative finishes. I said yes to every job and taught myself how after. The first big job, which included restoring and duplicating a 130-year-old mural, was published in a national design and antiques magazine and our career was set.

FPH: What made you want to get into organizing artists and events?

Cohen: After ten years of painting decorative finishes, I was restless. I volunteered with the Houston Heights Association’s business committee in 2024 and was organizing art crawls in the neighborhood. I think several influences hit me at once: the desire to showcase all the artists in one space, the recently opened Farmer’s Market at Onion Creek, and a well traveled friend that kept insisting I replicate the common markets he’d visited around the world. I’d hosted several successful art receptions at bars, too, and was convinced I could pull of a monthly art market, though I had little to go on. There was nothing like that in Houston at the time and no one I knew had heard of such thing.

I definitely learned from my mistakes, I’m lousy at failing. I just figure out a new way to do something, and keep going. My tenacity is what helped the market succeed, of that I’m certain. I took the advice participating artists gave me and in turn, they supported my efforts in those early years. By 2024, when I changed my market’s name to First Saturday Arts Market, we were on a roll.

There was never a time where I decided to organize events or artists, opportunities knocked and I answered propelling me further in the direction of “event coordinator.” I’ve loved every minute of it, there’s a rush about creating something that brings so many creatives together in one place and then seeing the public accept it as part of the great big artist landscape Houston supports.

First Saturday Art Market.

FPH: Tell me about your Art Market endeavor and how it has evolved over the years:

Cohen: First Saturday Arts Market has definitely evolved over the years, from a mixed art and craft show to a curated fine art and fine craft show. The most profound change was when I asked the artists themselves to help me curate the show. A little background first:

The market began as the Yale Street Arts & Flower Market on March 6, 2024. Visualizing a combination art and flower market never got off the paper as no flower vendor was willing to give up their busiest day of the week for a fledgling market place. I was not very discriminating about the art that was shown at the market either and items that I would consider to crafty today were much more prevalent then. As word spread and the applications started piling up, I started getting pickier. The first medium I asked for help on curating was jewelry. I liked the results and by 2024 I had developed a system to curate incoming applicants.

The success was amazing and almost immediate. The price points began to rise and a buying audience looking for quality art increased. In just a few years, we had established ourselves as a go to place to purchase fine art in Houston. More and more of the artists attending were recognized in other shows, too.

I did not kick anyone out, there are still a few that may not have made it in the show today if they were new. However the atmosphere is definitely inspiring and creative and demands that everyone bring their best, and they do.

There was an element of the art world that I felt I was missing out on. First Saturday Arts Market found its niche audience and is still doing well. There were a large number of applicants getting turned down that I thought should be represented that were not quite a good fit for the art market.

In 2024 I had my ah-ha moment when I was invited to present a market to Sawyer Yards, one of the largest creative campuses in the nation. My pitch was a folk art market that combined specialty foods, and the niche market of artisans that I already knew were out there. The people have been coming and the first show we did in January was an absolute success.

The Market at Sawyer Yards is what we’re calling it and it’s located between The Silos on Sawyer, Winter Street and Silver Street Studios on the newly paved over former rail-line. Shows are currently only on second Saturdays coinciding with the open studios. I’ll only allow about 10% fine artists in that show. With 300 fine artists in the surrounding studios, the folk art and food is the perfect combo to draw in a big diverse audience. My goal is to make this market a folk art destination. Houston so needs that.

FPH: How has your interaction with the community affected your work?

Cohen: My interaction with the arts community has truly been a humbling experience personally. There are many unbelievably talented people in this city. I have only recently started pursing painting again after many years of dabbling every so often. The biggest influence from artists would be their encouragement not to give up, just keep going.

Community is ironically what I never expected to see come out of my efforts to create a market. I thought when I got started hosting these shows that I was providing a service for artists to reach the pubic, and I did. A community of artists also came out of my efforts. The artists are friends, they socialize and encourage each other. Many have launched businesses that help and promote other artists such as web and graphic design, marketing and a few galleries. I’m a little thick headed I guess because I’m always surprised when an artist thanks for me for their success. I hope I never get used to that.

FPH: Especially in times like these, how do you see art and positive cultural events helping us move forward and grow in understanding?

Cohen: One of the things that I love about Houston is that our vast and diverse cultures all living in the same place. There is no group more welcoming of other cultures and ideas, from my observations, than the arts communities. My shows are as diverse as our awesome City of Houston and I mean politically, too. Perhaps because my shows are only for one day, opinions of the outside world rarely make an appearance.

I’ve never allowed political groups at my shows, I don’t think that’s the place for them. We’re there to showcase our art, tell you our stories behind it and create good will and good times, not sway public opinion. That’s not to say you won’t find opinions where perhaps it has always come up first, in the art itself. To me, an art show is the perfect place to inspire community; unity and healing.

First Saturday Arts Market is located at YogaOne Studios (540 W. 19th St.) and is open year-round on the first Saturday of each month from 11 am – 6 pm. September through May and from 6pm -10pm from June through August. The Market at Sawyer Yards takes place every second Saturday of the month from 11 am – 5 pm at 1502 Sawyer. Admission is free at both markets.

This week brings in a number of unique arts events, including a new exhibition at The Menil Collection and the first installment of an experimental music series at The Station Museum of Contemporary Art.

Tuesday, April 11

Screening — CORE Artists-in-Residence Short Films at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

From 7 to 8 pm, join the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (1001 Bissonnet) for a free screening of several short films from 2024 CORE artists-in-residence, including Felipe Steinberg, Sondra Perry, Yue Nakayama and Shana Hoehn. A panel discussion led by critic-in-residence Ruslana Lichtzier will follow after the screening.

Wednesday, April 12

Performance — Station Sound Series at The Station Museum of Contemporary Art

Starting at 6:30 pm, The Station Museum of Contemporary Art (1502 Alabama) hosts the first of a series of experimental sound and music performances. For this installment, artists include Collin Hedrick, Edison Carhuaricra, Briefcase Brad, Tsuyoshi Anzai, Megan Easely and Gerritt Wittmer. You can expect dynamics to run the gamut from electronic, ambient and industrial to field recordings, noise and drone.

Thursday, April 13

Hedwige Jacobs, “Drawn to the Inside,” 2024

Opening Reception — Hedwige Jacobs: Drawn to the Inside at The TANK Space

From 6 to 8 pm, The TANK Space at Spring Street Studios (1824 Spring) will host the reception for Hedwige Jacobs’ installation Drawn to the Inside. The installation presents a window into an interior space covered floor to ceiling in Jacobs’ massive, hand drawn, woven patterns, creating a unique perspective into the artist’s meticulously crafted world. The exhibition is on view through April 23.

Performance — A Conversation with Sol at Rice Gallery

From 8 to 9 pm, the Transitory Sound and Movement Collective premieres a new collaborative experiential work A Conversation with Sol at Rice Gallery (6100 Main). Multimedia and sound artist Lynn Lane will present a new work that combines sound art, music and dance to pair with the current installation, Sol Lewitt’s Glossy and Flat Black Squares.

Friday, April 14

Exhibition Opening — Between Land and Sea: Artists of the Coenties Slip at The Menil Collection

The Menil Collection (1533 Sul Ross) presents Between Land and Sea: Artists of the Coenties Slip, a selection of early work by Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, Lenore Tawney, Chryssa, Robert Indiana and Jack Youngerman. The featured artists were among a group of creatives living and working during the late ’50s and early ’60s in the old seaport at the lower tip of Manhattan called the Coenties Slip, an area distinguished by its views of the Brooklyn Bridge and proximity between land and sea. Featuring 27 aesthetically unique works, the exhibition is tied together with the artists’ desire to create distinct abstract pieces. The exhibition will be on view through August 6.

Closing Reception and Discussion — Ryder Richards: There’s no “I” in “Win” at BLUEOrange Contemporary

From 6 to 9 pm, BLUEorange Contemporary (1208 West Gray) is hosting the closing reception for Ryder Richards’ solo exhibition There’s no “I” in “Win.” Richards theorizes the ideological stance of social signaling through truck modification, hunting, and partisan language. Richards will discuss the concepts behind the works, which he realizes using his knowledge of precarious labor politics and modern American culture.

Saturday, April 15

Orna Feinstein, “Tree Dynamics #141,” 2024

Closing Reception — Orna Feinstein: Asherah at Anya Tish Gallery

From 3 to 5 pm, Anya Tish Gallery (4411 Montrose) will host the closing reception for Houston-based artist Orna Feinstein’s exhibition Asherah. The exhibition features new multi-dimensional monoprints and large-scale installation by the Israel-born artist. Feinstein’s process-oriented work draws heavily from the inherent geometry found within nature, most notably trees, and the idea that each tree and its forms are as unique as the prints she produces.

Discussion — Debra Barrera: Menina at Moody Gallery

At 3 pm, Moody Gallery (2815 Colquitt) presents a talk by Texas artist Debra Barrera as she discusses her current exhibition Menina. The artist will reflect on the collection of photographs, drawings and sculptures inspired by the lavish rooms and opulent decorations of Barrera’s childhood home. The exhibition is on view through May 13.

Discussion — five missing objects: 2017 CORE Exhibition at Lawndale Art Center

In conjunction with the acclaimed CORE Program at Glassell School of Art at the The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Lawndale Art Center (4912 Main) will host five missing objects, a presentation by critic-in-residence Ruslana Lichzier, reflecting on five historical cases spanning from the time of Pompeii’s eruption to the advent of “alternative facts.” Lichzier will explore the ignorance and desire related to knowledge production based on these events and the implied dynamics of what is missing from each.

With audio and visual installations, dance performances, theatrical productions, and performance lectures by artists from across the world, CounterCurrent has truly set itself apart from the city’s arts festivals. The annual event — organized by the University of Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts — includes a comprehensive schedule for patrons to experience world-class arts programming like never before.

While a large portion of the festival takes place at the Midtown Arts & Theater Center (MATCH), the festival takes place at locations across the city like The Brandon, Post HTX and the Eldorado Ballroom.

With such impressive programming scheduled for the festival between April 18 and 23, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to the festival’s can’t-miss events.

Ten Tiny Dances

Ten choreographers present ten short dances over the span of an hour, all executed in a 4′ x 4′ stage. Ten Tiny Dances showcases a mix of artists from varying disciplines, including contemporary and ballet dancers and choreographers, and is known to be a festival favorite. Co-curated by Nancy Wozny, editor-in-chief of Arts + Culture Texas, the performance takes place on April 19 at Post HTX (401 Franklin) at 8 pm and free tickets are available online.

Snow White

A theatrical adaptation of an experimental novel by the late postmodern novelist Donald Barthelme, The Catastrophic Theatre presents Snow White, a contemporary take on the classic tale. Snow White is tired of being a bored housewife to seven men, who “only add up to the equivalent of about two real men.” She spends her days drinking screwdrivers, reading communist literature and waiting for her prince. Reworked for stage with the notes of Barthelme, the production will be hosted at MATCH-BOX 3 on April 20, 21 and 22 at 8 pm with free tickets available online.

Stories of Refuge. Photo courtesy of the artist

Stories of Refuge

This video installation leads viewers on the story of three Syrian refugees who fled the country to seek refuge in Munich. One narrowly survived a sinking ship, another walked with their children from Syria to Turkey, and the third was smuggled in a truck. Each refugee was given a discreet camera to record what it was like to live one day in their lives in a refugee camp. The installation, which itself is fitted out with bunkbeds so that the audience can feel as if they are living what they are seeing, will run at MATCH Gallery (3400 Main) from April 18 to 23 from noon to 8 pm each day.

Camp Pause

Follow the stories of four Palestinian refugees with this fully immersive experience. Films are projected onto the four walls of a gallery with each following a single person. Headphones in the center of the room provide audiences with one of the four stories told by the refugees, yet with view of all of them at once. The entire space allows the viewer to experience a moment in the Rashidieh Refugee Camp on the coast of Lebanon. The installation will run at The Brandon (1709 Westheimer) from April 18 to 23 from noon to 8 pm each day.

Ghana ThinkTank

At last year’s CounterCurrent, the Ghana ThinkTank posed the question, “What’s your Houston diversity problem?” The response was largely related to cultural and ethnic identity, and now think tanks in India, Iran, Indonesia, Morocco, Gaza, Serbia and Germany are looking for solutions to Houston’s problems. Through one-on-one conversation and installations, the Ghana ThinkTank will introduce audiences to the journey of our city’s diversity problems from here to the think tanks and back again. The Ghana ThinkTank will be traveling throughout Houston during the run of the festival, check the CounterCurrent website for location updates.

Simulacrum. Photo: Erik Berg

Simulacrum

Incorporating elements of kabuki, flamenco and contemporary dance, this interdisciplinary performance is the work of Argentinian-born Daniel Proietto, trained in kabuki, and 76-year old Shōji Kojima, who moved from Japan to Spain to become a master of flamenco. The two award-winning dancers present a two-hour performance created by Norwegian company winter guests and its choreographer Alan Lucien Øyen. Performances take place through April 18 to 20 at 7 pm each day at MATCH-BOX 2 with free tickets available online.

Movement V: Ballroom

A site specific sculptural and sound installation at the Eldorado Ballroom (2310 Elgin), which has served the Third Ward as a legendary venue for blues and jazz players from the 1940s through the 1970s, artist Kevin Beasley presents Movement V: Ballroom. Exploring cultural, personal and historical contexts, Beasley will feature sixteen sculptural works to amplify the sounds produced by visitors’ movement, as the installation exists only with the movement of people and their physical engagement in the largely darkened space. The installation will be on view from April 18 to 23 from noon to 8 pm each day, and Beasley will also perform and engage with the installation on April 22 at 8 pm.

Illusions of Urbanscape. Photo: Harry Gamboa Jr.

Illusions of Urbanscape

This performance lecture from Chicano artist-activist Harry Gamboa Jr. revolves around the myth of contemporary society based on the artist’s experiences in Los Angeles and “its subtle layering of codes, rules, and visual markers that contribute to making a sophisticated living space for millions of people.” He will discuss the many works he’s directed with his current performance troupe, Visual Vérité, as well as works he produced with a group of young Chicano artists in the ’70s and ’80s. The performance will take place at the Quintero Theatre at the University of Houston on April 20 at 6:30 pm and free tickets are available online.

Farmhouse/Whorehouse

Using test, song, costume, film and projections, Lili Taylor performs Suzanne Bocanegra’s most recent lecture on life at her grandparents’ farm in La Grange, existing across the road from the Chicken Ranch, also known as “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” “Through the lens of the farm and the brothel, a story emerges that considers the invention of the pastoral in art, the homesteading movement, hippie communes in the 1960s and the idea of the prostitute in art and theater.” Taylor will perform at MATCH-BOX 1 on April 21 at 7 pm and on April 22 at 3 and 7 pm with free tickets available online.

Thanks to the hard work of the visual artists — including Björk, United Visual Artists, Golan Levin, NONOTAK, Shoplifter, Tundra, Robert Seidel, Damien Echols, AV&C + Houzé, Michael Fullman of VT Pro Design, Ezra Miller, Alex Czetwertynski, Various Projects, LIMB + Eric Todd, Children of the Light and Jon Durst — as well as the dozens of musical acts, Day for Night facilitated a distinctive environment that blends gallery culture with festival culture.

Special thanks to Generations, Onstage Systems, LD Systems, Gensler, The City of Houston, and all of the attendees. We’re honored to have such an inspired crowd and appreciate your patience as we work tirelessly to plan the 2024 event. We hope this video gives you insight into the efforts put forth by our industrious crew and all that went into making Day for Night 2024 possible.

Video cut by Mark Armes. Music by Austin Smith.

Day for Night is excited to present their full weekend schedule and now offers a limited number of single day passes to the festival, taking place December 16, 17 and 18 in Houston, Texas.

With our full weekend schedule released, you can now plan every moment to make the most of your Day for Night experience.

Saturday’s schedule brings in an opening set by Welcome to Houston on the Red Stage, followed by Thundercat, Banks, Nick Murphy (Chet Faker), ODESZA and a two-hour closing set by Aphex Twin. The Green Stage opens with a performance by Buoyant Spirit, before performances by Chelsea Wolfe, Lower Dens, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Blood Orange, DJ Windows 98 (Win Butler from Arcade Fire) and closes out with Run The Jewels. Herman Kolgen opens up the Blue Stage, followed by Tobacco, Clams Casino, Oneohtrix Point Never, a soon-to-be-announced artist, John Carpenter and closes with a nearly three-hour set by Soulection that runs until 2 am. The Yellow Stage features an opening performance by Splendid Emblem prior to performances by Tee Vee, MNYNMS, -Us., From Beyond, Spit Mask, Daughters, Fat Tony, HevIn and closes with a set by SG Lewis.

Sunday’s schedule on the Red Stage starts with an opening set by Nothing before performances by Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Marcel, Rami and Bachar Khalife, Kamasi Washington, Squarepusher, Little Dragon and a closing set by Kaskade. The Green Stage opens with a performance by Vacation Eyes, followed by Ariel Pink, Lightning Bolt, Blonde Redhead, RZA feat. Stone Mecca Rider, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Butthole Surfers and a stage-closing set by Travis Scott. Mary Lattimore & Jeff Zeigler open up the Blue Stage prior to performances by S U R V I V E, Matmos, Mykki Blanco, Liars, SOPHIE, Arca and closed out with a two-and-a-half-hour DJ set by Björk that ends at 2 am. The Yellow Stage launches with a performance by Kult Dizney, followed by sets by DAED, Jock Club, Anklepants, Maramuresh, Night Drive, Futurelix, Jerk and closes out with the Wild Moccasins.

In addition to the release of the full schedule, a limited number of single day passes are also available starting today. Buy yours now and check out the schedule at www.dayfornight.io.