parties

Football Stars, Media Bigshots Turn Out to Open New Upscale Heights Watering Hole

Daniel Ortiz
Football Stars, Media Bigshots Turn Out to Open New Upscale Heights Watering Hole

Lauren Leal, New Orleans Saints and former University of Houston defensive end Payton Turner, Dalton Witherspoon, Davis Beal

TEXAS FOOTBALL STARS were among those who turned out to celebrate the grand opening of a new Heights area hot spot.

Former Houston Texans players Earl Mitchell and Darryl Sharpton made the scene, along with New Orleans Saints defensive end and former UH Cougars standout Payton Turner. They gridiron group joined media personalities Maggie McKethan, Lauren Leal, Marco Torres, Kayla Dalati, Riel Samantha Huang, Christina Autry, Magda Hernandez, Tiffany Haagen and Chandler King.

“A lively and well-heeled crowd gathered at Houston’s newest social gathering hub, The Heights Social, to celebrate its opening,” gushed a rep for the new watering hole. “Located on the popular W 20th Street strip, the suave and sophisticated bar treated guests to cultivated cocktails and a selection of offerings from its elevated kitchen menu.”

A DJ spun as signature espresso martinis and hibiscus palomas, both available on tap, poured. Under a huge, crystal-dripping chandelier, colorful custom Champagne carts made the rounds, as well.

Heights Social jones an increasingly bustling Houston Heights strip, hoping to elevate the ice-house/sports-bar vibe there. It boasts W 20th Street’s first fully indoor bar and features a full kitchen, TVs, 46-foot LED wall, Happy Hour specials, martinis and cocktails on tap, and tableside champagne service during weekend brunch, the rep said.

Former Houston Texans defenders Earl Mitchell, Darryl Sharpton

Samantha Huang

Kyndal Lilly, Tiffany Haagen, Victoria Fuselier

Ford and Casey Scott, Reina and Shan Patel

Taylor McDaniel, Mechelle Tran, Crystal Del Toro

Russ Roberts, Darby Rosen, Henry Garcia

Andrew and Christe Konopotski

Brandon Huynh, An Le

Angela Boudreaux, Taylor Schaff

Kayla Dalati, Samuel Mitchell

Magda Hernandez, Melissa Mizerik

Crystal Del Toro, Taylor McDaniel, Mark Monsma, Stan McCorkle

Parties
art

New Artist-Run Gallery Rises and Hits the Ground Running with Diverse Group Show

Sarah Sudhoff (photo by Katy Anderson)

SINCE THE 1970s, Houston’s cultural scene has only grown richer and more diverse thanks to the DIY spirit of its visual artists. As an alternative to the city’s major museums (which are awesome) and commercial galleries (again, awesome), they show their work and the work of their peers in ad-hoc, cooperative, artist-run spaces — spaces that range from the traditional white cube interiors, to private bungalows, to repurposed shipping containers.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

Houston’s Grammy-Nominated Music Org Gets ‘Bach’ to Basics with Concert and Book Release

Matthew Dirst (photo by Jacob Power)

FOR FANS OF early music — an often scholarly lot who aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves — bad-boy Baroque-era painter Caravaggio certainly nailed something in his dramatic 1595 painting, “The Musicians.” (Simon Schama talks about this in his TV series The Power of Art.) One look at his masterpiece, and you feel as if you’ve stumbled upon and surprised a roomful of dewy-eyed musicians, their youthful faces swollen with melancholy, with the lutist looking like he’s about ready to burst into tears before he’s even tuned his instrument. So no, you certainly don’t need a Ph.D. to enjoy and be moved by the music of Handel, G.P. Telemann, or J.S. Bach, but a little bit of scholarship never hurt anyone. Knowing the history of this music may even deepen your appreciation of it.

Keep Reading Show less