New York City has given the world the Beastie Boys, Jay Z, Notorious B.I.G. and hundreds of other remarkable musicians. Los Angeles has seen the creation of The Doors, Red Hot Chili Peppers, N.W.A., and several other artists. Chicago is the birthplace of Chance the Rapper, Earth Wind and Fire, Disturbed, and the list goes on. And Houston? "Screwston" has seen it all, from Paul Wall to Bun B, ZZ Top to Kenny Rogers, and Queen Selena to Queen Bey herself. Houston's no stranger to musical talent and ambition.
NYC is home to the Governor's Ball and Panorama, LA hosts FYF Fest and Hard Summer, Chi-Town serves as the setting for Lollapalooza and Spring Awakening and plenty more. And H-Town? Houston hosts festivals from Free Press in the summer to Day for Night in the winter, as well as Open Air bringing its hard-rock festival to Houston for the first time and the EDM Halloween event of Something Wicked. It's safe to say that we aren't going to be short on music festivals anytime soon.
So with Houston being home to so many talented musicians and exciting festivals, why aren't people - especially residents of the city itself - taking its music scene seriously? Maybe it's because the vast majority of us aren't going out and supporting the bands that truly captivate the city of Houston, and that's the local bands performing all across town.
Before you buy that ~$60 ticket to platinum-record-selling artists at NRG Stadium (R.I.P. Reliant) or the Revention Music Center (R.I.P. Bayou), consider spending that money on a ~$10 ticket to see a local band at Fitzgerald's or Walter's, and spend the rest of that money on a couple drinks and a t-shirt to further support the band. At these venues, you won't find Jon Bon Jovi or Nicki Minaj (hopefully), but you will find amazing local acts like King Finn and Point Blank Society.
Imagine catching Travis Scott performing at a club years before "Antidote" was even a thing, or experiencing Destiny's Child (then called Girls Tyme) back in the early 90's when Beyonce was singing at her mother's salon. Houston's biggest names rose from our very neighborhoods, and our generation of musicians are just waiting for you to go out and hear them play.
Houston's music scene is only as good as the local bands we support.
Much like the city's cultural presence in the nation as a whole, local musicians aren't going to make it anywhere without our support. Maybe one day, we'll hear a familiar-sounding song on the radio, find out it's from a band we saw perform at a beaten-up hole-in-the-wall, and say, "Oh yeah, I saw them before they were cool." Your friends will just envy you for being such a hipster, and that band will surely thank you.
