When will concerts and shows come back to Houston?
HOUSTON - Texas re-opening 100% is welcome news for Houston-area performing arts venues.
So when will you be able to see a show or go to a concert again?
Deals to make shows and concerts return to Houston are being worked on right now.
"We’re looking forward to getting back to business. I think we’ll have a strong season and a very busy late fall season. September, October, November should be very good for us," explains Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion President Jerry MacDonald.
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After more than a year of sitting empty with no performers and no audience now that they’re close to holding another concert, you can almost hear the cheers coming from Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.
"It’s great news for the Pavilion, great news for our industry which has been devastated," adds MacDonald.
A private fundraiser concert on Saturday featuring Cory Morrow has been the Pavilion’s only concert since October 2019, costing the venue millions.
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"Over 98% of our revenue was lost in 2020," MacDonald says. Shows at Cynthia Woods will likely get started with regional acts. "We think we can get something put together by June."
But according to MacDonald, nationally known names like Dave Matthews, Jimmy Buffet, Nine Inch Nails, or Chance The Rapper likely won’t get booked until fall because musicians schedule dozens of dates at a time and with other states still shut down tours can’t happen now.
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This day also marks a milestone for area theatre.
"Today is the day that the rodeo closed a year ago and we shut down our production of Pure Country that was just starting rehearsal. I believe our losses this past year have been about $11-million," explains Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) Artistic Director Dan Knechtges.
"We had to lay off a lot of our support staff. All of our support staff and principal staff had to take a pay cut," says Main Street Theater Artistic Director Rebecca Udden.
Main Street also suffered the devastating loss of an employee. Their School Bookings Coordinator Martha Oviedo died from COVID-19. "That was really heartbreaking for us," says Udden.
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Main Street and TUTS have their first shows scheduled since closing due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
"We have Rock of Ages that is scheduled in August and we’re hoping that will be the very first thing back at the Hobby Center," says Knechtges.
"Our youth theater may put on a performance in June. Our adults are going to be performing starting in August with a small production, small cast production and then our regular season will open in October. Oh, we are so looking forward to it," adds Udden.
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"We’re really, really excited to get back into rehearsal and back into the theatre. So please buy a ticket and come down and see us. It will be totally safe," smiles Knechtges.
TUTS and Main Street will both have virtual and in-person kid summer camps.