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Back in the ‘70s, Las Vegas was about as unhip as things could get. Well, that is, unless you went all Hunter Thompson, driving into town with a head full of acid in a Cadillac land yacht with the idea of causing as much confusion and destruction as possible.
By the early part of Richard Nixon’s second term, the glory days of the Rat Pack were long gone, and Las Vegas had lost any sense of “ring-a-ding-ding.” No, fifty some-odd years ago, Las Vegas was a place that catered to bourgeois conventioneers and tourists. Folks who were thrilled to see acts like Wayne “Mr. Las Vegas” Newton, Liberace, Neil Diamond, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Donny and Marie Osmond, Barry Manilow and Paul Anka. Not to mention Sigfried and Roy, in their salad days before the latter became an hors d’oeuvre.
But these days, we seem to be experiencing a similar paradigm, i.e. Las Vegas being populated by relatively well-heeled sixty-ish and seventy-ish vacationers who are willing to shell out big bucks to see the big bands of yesteryear. Recently announced acts booked for Vegas residencies in 2026 include the Eagles, Styx, Santana, Def Leppard, Foreigner and Chicago.
It was bound to happen, but somehow it seems sad to see the wild-ass hell raisers of our (well, at least my) youth playing in such safe and conventional venues. I am reminded of Joan Cusack’s line from the film Grosse Pointe Blank. When asked what it was like attending her high school reunion, she answered, “It was just as if everyone had swelled.” Indeed.
Ticket Alert
A passel of shows at Toyota Center has just been announced. On Saturday, April 4, it’s ‘80s hitmakers New Edition headlining a bill that includes Boys II Men and Toni Braxton. Meet and greet / photo opportunity packages are on sale now along with various presales, and the general sale is set for Friday. Demi Lovato’s “It’s Not That Deep” tour – her first in three years – rolls into Houston on Monday, May 25. Curiously, no presales are listed, but you can get to clicking Friday morning at 10 a.m.
Florence + The Machine (Really? We can’t just say “and”?) is booked at Toyota Center on Tuesday, May 5, as part of the band’s “Everybody Scream” tour in support of the album of the same name, which drops on Friday. Tickets go on sale next Wednesday, November 5. The “R&B Lovers” tour, which boasts a lineup including Keith Sweat, Joe, Dru Hill and Ginuwine, will be at Toyota Center on Saturday, June 6, and tickets are on sale this Friday.
As for other venues in town, the White Oak Music Hall will host Echo and the Bunnymen on Wednesday, May 27. The lads from Liverpool have gone through a bunch of band members since the group’s formation in 1978, and these days it’s only original members Will Sergeant and Ian McCulloch leading the charge, backed by various touring musicians. Tickets for the Houston installment of the “More Songs to Learn and Sing” tour are on sale as we speak.
Concerts This Week
In recent years, appearance on a talent-based reality show has become a pathway to stardom. In the case of Canadian performer Tate McRae, it was “So You Think You Can Dance” (produced by the same folks as “American Idol”) that pushed her into the popular consciousness in 2016. McRae embarked on a singing career soon after, releasing a number of singles and a couple of EP’s, followed by three albums. Her most recent effort, So Close to What, reached No. 1 in the U.S. and in several other countries around the world. You can see what all the fuss is about on Saturday at Toyota Center.
Lainey Wilson canceled her scheduled appearance at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion last month, citing the recommendation of her vocal coach. Evidently, all is now well with the country chanteuse’s vocal cords, and the postponed show will commence on Saturday.
Fans of a certain age and a certain bent will be excited to know that the B-52s (no apostrophe, dammit!) and Devo will co-headline a show on Sunday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The billing makes perfect sense, in that both bands emerged and about the same time (around 1980) with material that was nothing like anything else on the radio. Lene Lovich, who was also freaking people out around then, will open.
It would seem that Leon Thomas’ “Mutts Don’t Heel” tour is selling well, since the R&B artist’s gig scheduled for Tuesday at the House of Blues has been moved to the Bayou Music Center. All tickets for the House of Blues show will be honored at the new venue. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: Thomas began his performing career on Broadway, appearing in “The Lion King” and “The Color Purple.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
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Tom Richards
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