Plan ahead and mark your calendars with our top picks for live music in Houston for August 2017.
Also in August 2017
Top 13 Plays & Arts Performances
This Week
We’ve got plenty of excellent shows and concerts to help you plan out your music experience with our tips for live music this month.
Top 10 Live Shows to See in Houston: August 2017
- James Taylor in Concert at Toyota Center | Tuesday, August 1 – Legendary folk singer-songwriter James Taylor hits the stage to play hits like “Carolina In My Mind” and more with special guest Bonnie Raitt at the Toyota Center in Downtown. Inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Taylor has sold more than 100 million albums. His distinctive style of guitar-playing has set a precedent to countless young musicians that have aspired. An institution to American music in her own right, Bonnie Raitt will join Taylor on this intimate and memorable night. Tickets start at $66, but you may find cheaper or better seats on TicketNetwork’s online resale market. 7:30pm.
- Dead Rock Star Sing-A-Long Club Concert at Rec Room | Thursday, August 3 through Saturday, August 12 – Rec Room Arts presents its own twist on the summer musical with an annual performance that pays tribute to beloved musicians who have recently passed away. This year’s show honors the musical genius of George Michael and Sharon Jones. Audiences can expect an upbeat theatrical concert with some of Houston’s best singers. Everyone will receive a songbook at the door and are welcome to sing along if they please. This upbeat musical eulogy is part concert, part theater, and a total celebration at the Rec Room. Tickets are $20; $15 with a student ID. 8pm nightly.
- Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey in Concert at Toyota Center | Friday, August 4 – Multi-platinum-selling, multiple Grammy Award-winning music icons Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey hit the stage for a concert filled with decade-spanning hits at the Toyota Center in Downtown. The two will tour together for the first time ever for one of the most anticipated events of 2017. The All The Hits Tour will bring together two of music’s biggest selling artists of all time. With over 320 million combined albums sold, their upcoming “All The Hits Tour” marks the first time the two musical behemoths have hit the road together. The megastars will be joined by Tauren Wells who opens the show. Tickets start at $39.95, not including ticket fees, but you may find discounted tickets. Click here to check for discounted tickets. 7pm.
- Waxahatchee in Concert at White Oak Music Hall | Sunday, August 6 – Katie Crutchfield, also known as the pop punk band Waxahatchee, hits the stage at White Oak Music Hall on the Near Northside with openers Palehound and Outer Spaces. The 25-year-old Alabama born musician developed a soft indie-folk sound while growing up in a lake house near Waxahatchee Creek, about 40 miles south of Birmingham. Crutchfield incorporated her entire self into her songs with lyrics that capture her breakups, recklessness, and obsession in past relationships. Tickets are $15. 7pm.
- Washed Out in Concert at White Oak Music Hall | Friday, August 11 – See the synth pop band Washed Out, the brainchild of musician Ernest Greene, perform songs off their latest album Mister Mellow on the Near Northside. On Mister Mellow, Greene’s first fully immersive multimedia album, the band playfully guides the listener through the highs and lows of this often ridiculous struggle of the quarter-life crisis, and shines a light on the humor in this paradox. Two years in the making, the album moves further away from the synthesizer-heavy sounds of the recent Washed Out releases and to a more band-driven sound. Tickets start at $18.50. 8pm.
- Lil Yachty in Concert at Warehouse Live | Saturday, August 12 – See the Atlanta-based bubble gum rapper Lil Yachty play songs off of his latest album, Teenage Emotions, at Warehouse Live in EaDo. The artist calls his style “bubblegum trap” and his songs feature sampled sounds ranging from Mario Bros, Charlie Brown, the theme from the cartoon Rugrats, and the startup sound of a Nintendo GameCube console. Lyrical themes in his works include clouds, cotton candy, and scenes from Pixar films. The 19-year-old rapper’s style has also been described as mumble rap. Tickets start at $29.50. 6:30pm.
- Rod Stewart & Cyndi Lauper in Concert at Smart Financial Centre | Saturday, August 12 – See two of music’s most acclaimed artists and powerhouse live performers, Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper when they take Sugar Land by storm at Smart Financial Centre. Awarded nearly every industry award and honor for their incomparable catalog of hits and activism, among them Grammy and American Music Awards, two inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the ASCAP Founders Award for songwriting and a knighthood for Stewart; and an Emmy and Tony Award for Lauper. Tickets start at $94.50, but you may find cheaper, better, or hard-to-get seats on TicketNetwork’s resale website. 7:30pm.
- Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble in Concert at Walter’s Downtown | Monday, August 14 – Vocalist of the indie band Stereo Lab, Laetitia Sadier, hits the stage at Walter’s Downtown with opener Heather Trost. Find Me Finding You, the new album from Sadier’s new group called the Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble, strikes new mellow chords while touching on familiar themes true to her lush electronic past. Explore new sound combinations with Sadier at Walter’s in Downtown. Tickets are $12. 8:30pm.
- Deep Purple & Alice Cooper in Concert at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | Friday, August 18 – Get ready to sing your praises to the gods of rock and witness history in the making as Deep Purple, Alice Cooper and special guest The Edgar Winter Band take the stage of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, pioneering rock band Deep Purple made up what came to be known as the “unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal” in the early to mid-’70s, with chart-topping hits on both sides of the pond like “Smoke on the Water,” “Highway Star,” “Space Truckin’” and “Hush.” A larger-than-life performer and master showman, Cooper combines hot heavy metal melodies (“School’s Out,” “I’m Eighteen”) with true theatricality. His energetic stage shows often incorporate horror-movie imagery, stage blood and more in a feast of the macabre. Tickets range from $18 to $135, but you may find limited discounted tickets. Click here to check for limited discounted tickets. 6:30pm.
- Betty Who in Concert at White Oak Music Hall | Saturday, August 19 – Catch pop act Betty Who with openers Geographer and Jackson Haris at White Oak Music Hall. With a delightful nineties superstar fixation, and singing and songwriting prowess befitting of her stadium ambition, Betty Who commands the dance floor. As both a writer and multi-instrumentalist, Who paints musical pictures with heartfelt honesty; drawing on everything from her childhood classical training at Michigan’ s Interlochen Center of the Arts to a lifelong Joni Mitchell and Carole King obsession. Expect an energetic show from an artist with a poignant and personal perspective on pop music. Tickets start at $20; VIP tickets are available for $99 and $199. 8pm.