art
Vincent Valdez: Just a dream. . .
Museum of Contemporary Art Houston, through March 23, 2025
The San Antonio-born master’s artwork spans more than 20 years and includes new and previously unseen works. Valdez, who divides his time between Houston and Los Angeles and works in a variety of mediums, is best known for his drawings and paintings that explore fading memory, social justice, and American history. Depicting everything from a modern-day Ku Klux Klan rally to a friend’s military funeral procession, these paintings will leave a lasting impression.
concert
charlie crockett
ACL Live, Austin, Moody Theater, December 31st
New Year’s Eve comes a few months after the San Benito native released the $10 “Cowboy,” an ode to hustle culture he wrote while on tour. In songs like “Good at Losing” and “Solitary Road,” Crockett (autobiographically) plays the role of a lonely showman striving for his big break. Seeing him bring that hopeful energy to the stage will be a fitting echo of 2025.
book
Sweet Vidalia by Lisa Sandlin
Little and Brown and Friends, December 3rd
The year is 1964 in Texas. When 57-year-old Eliza Kratke discovers that her late husband had another family and left her with debt, she must rebuild her life. After selling her car and renting a house, she registers for business class and checks into the hotel “Sweet Vidalia”, where she joins a community of young residents. The fourth novel by the Beaumont-born author of Birdboys is an uplifting portrait of a resilient woman who discovers her own strength.
film
night bitch
Searchlight Pictures, December 6th
Directed by Marielle Heller, the film stars Dallasite Scoot McNairy as her husband and A-list Amy Adams as her mother. The mother is a woman who struggles with domestic life and begins to believe that she turns into a dog at night. McNairy’s secret to this dark comedy is to create characters that feel authentic yet let his co-stars shine in a film about loneliness, identity, and unconditional love.
Image credits: Eaten (USA) and So Long, MaryAnn: Vincent Valdez, photo: Paul Salveson. The Rope (after Marsden Hartley): Vincent Valdez, photo: Peter Mollick. Vincent Valdez: Provided by Vincent Valdez
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