What’s on in Houston this week

Where to go in Houston: events, concerts, games and shows worth your night

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and one of its most complete for a night out: a full-time opera, ballet and symphony in a downtown theater district second in size only to Broadway’s, three major-league teams, a rodeo that fills a stadium for three weeks, and a music scene spread across a city with no zoning and no early closing. Below is where to go in Houston for a night out, with addresses, and what tends to be on when.

Concerts and live music in Houston

White Oak Music Hall (2915 N Main Street) in the Near Northside, indoor rooms and a lawn stage, is where the touring indie and hip-hop plays; the House of Blues (1204 Caroline Street) downtown and the Bayou Music Center take the mid-sized tours; arena shows play the Toyota Center (1510 Polk Street) and the stadium shows NRG Stadium. The Continental Club on Main Street, the Heights’ bars and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, forty minutes north, fill the calendar.

Houston nightlife: Montrose, Midtown, the Heights and EaDo

Montrose is the bar and queer district, Midtown the clubs, the Heights the neighborhood bars and patios, and EaDo, east of downtown, the newer venues and breweries. Bars close at 2 a.m. Houston is a driving city; rideshare from Montrose to downtown is ten minutes.

Theater, opera and ballet in Houston

The Wortham Theater Center (501 Texas Avenue, houstonfirst.com) is home to the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet, two of the best companies in the country, September to June; Jones Hall (615 Louisiana Street) holds the Houston Symphony, and the Hobby Center the Broadway tours. The Alley Theater on Texas Avenue produces its own season, and the Miller Outdoor Theater in Hermann Park stages free performances all summer.

Sports in Houston

The Astros at Daikin Park downtown from April to October, the Rockets at the Toyota Center from October to April, the Texans at NRG Stadium on fall Sundays, the Dynamo and the Dash at Shell Energy Stadium. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, three weeks in late February and March at NRG, puts a concert after every rodeo night and is the biggest ticket of the year.

Museums and galleries in Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1001 Bissonnet Street) is free on Thursdays and among the largest in the country; the Menil Collection in Montrose is always free, with the Rothko Chapel a block away, and the Contemporary Arts Museum holds the new work. The Museum District has nineteen museums within walking distance of each other.

Houston festivals and events by season

• Winter: the Rodeo and its concert series from late February, and the Rockets at full tilt.
• Spring: the Art Car Parade in April, FotoFest in even years, and Astros opening day.
• Summer: Free Press Summer Fest’s successors on the bayou, the Miller Outdoor Theater season in Hermann Park, and Pride in June.
• Fall: the opera, ballet and symphony seasons opening in September, Texans Sundays, and Día de los Muertos in the East End.

Things to do in Houston tonight and this weekend

The listings above are the live version of all this: every concert, show, game, club night and exhibition on in Houston tonight, tomorrow and this weekend, with times, prices and tickets, updated every hour.