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Saturday, August 30, 2025 — Houston, TX

Arman Saxena

A&E 8/26/25 10:17pm

Thresher’s guide to arts and entertainment in Houston

By Arman Saxena

New to the city? Unsure how to spend your time procrastinating on homework? You’re in luck — Houston is a playground if you know where to look, and most of it is an easy metro ride or short commute from campus. Here’s a starter pack of spots that deliver fresh air, brain food and the occasional “wait, this is in Houston?” moment.

A&E 8/26/25 10:06pm

Thresher’s Lollapalooza report: Who ruled Grant Park?

By Radhani Kapoor and Arman Saxena

Chicago’s Grant Park ran on pure dopamine this weekend — surprise debuts, late-but-worth-it arrivals, confetti, fireworks and at least three mass sing-alongs an hour. From Joey Valence & BRAE road-testing new indietronica to A$AP Rocky cracking open his vault, T-Pain turning the field into karaoke and Olivia Rodrigo summoning Weezer, Lollapalooza felt like a live-wire mixtape. Doechii built a universe, TWICE made history and Sabrina signed off with a superstar-cementing finale. Here’s what actually lived up to the skyline.

A&E 8/26/25 10:02pm

Review: Quadeca rises from the sea fully-formed on “Vanisher, Horizon Scraper”

By Arman Saxena

The first notes you hear on Quadeca’s newest album “Vanisher, Horizon Scraper” are from Chico Buarque’s seminal Brazilian classic “Construção”. By opening this project with that sample, the former “Bad Internet Rapper,” notorious for getting in a beef with fellow internet personality KSI, seems to be saying that the project his audience is about to hear will be as ambitious as Buarque’s classic.  

A&E 8/26/25 10:01pm

Review: “GOLLIWOG” is another billy woods masterpiece

By Arman Saxena

billy woods' “GOLLIWOG” is a magnum opus, a rare rap album that blends trenchant political critique with intimate reflections on trauma. It is a visceral exploration of post-colonial oppression and the psychic residue it leaves behind. woods doesn’t just create a narrative about history; he immerses the listener in its emotional weight, making this album a haunting meditation on survival, loss and resistance. 

A&E 8/2/25 10:35am

A Texan’s Lollapalooza survival guide 2025

By Arman Saxena

Unfamiliar with public transit or walkable streets? Terrified of skyscrapers taller than any medical center building? Fear not. This lifelong (for all intents and purposes) Texan was technically born in the Chicago area and is here to keep you alive, hydrated and — ideally — in possession of all your belongings during Lollapalooza. Grant Park opens its gates July 31 through Aug. 3 for Lollapalooza’s annual marathon of music, heat and inevitable port-a-potty searching. Pack your reusable bottle, channel some “Culture of Care” and hit the rail.

A&E 8/2/25 10:34am

7 lesser-known artists to check out at Lollapalooza!

By Arman Saxena

Grant Park’s headliners will draw the masses, but the real bragging rights come from catching tomorrow’s favorites before your roommate has added them to the group Spotify. There are so many great artists performing, and if you float from stage to stage, you just may find your next musical obsession. Here are some possible contenders: 

A&E 7/16/25 9:42pm

Summer indie staples serenade House of Blues on Peach Pit and Briston Maroney’s “Long Hair, Long Life” tour.

By Arman Saxena

A crowd gathered at House of Blues Houston on June 18 to hear the upbeat bedroom pop that got many of them through high school. Titled the “Long Hair, Long Life” tour (see the band members), this collaboration between Peach Pit and Briston Maroney felt like a time capsule to 2017: a setlist teeming with both original songs and music from their latest albums, “Magpie” and “JIMMY”, and an unspoken dress code of cargo shorts, graphic T-Shirts and backward caps.

A&E 6/19/25 9:25pm

Top 10 songs of the summer so far

By Arman Saxena

Finals have wrapped, campus has emptied out and our playlists have exploded with fresh releases. From 10‑minute punk epics to sun‑drenched disco revivals, the early‑summer drop has been generous. Here are 10 tracks — in alphabetical order — that have ruled my headphones since the last textbook closed.

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