The Houston Rodeo Desperately Needs More Female Headliners
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has been averaging only two female performers a year recently. We'd like to see that change.
Few events in Houston are as anticipated as the annual drop of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s entertainment lineup. A multiyear effort goes into crafting the lineup every year, and rodeo organizers recently told us that putting together such a complicated puzzle includes many factors, from listening to industry whispers to surveying the general public and rodeo stakeholders.
While there are usually some expected inclusions—think frequent fliers like Brad Paisley and Chris Stapleton—each drop comes with a few surprises. In 2023, the big one for many was the inclusion of pop-punk prince (and the more annoying half of America’s most obnoxious celebrity couple) Machine Gun Kelly. The year before, it was “Livin’ La Vida Loca” crooner and walking Y2K time capsule Ricky Martin. This year, the big surprise for many was Nickelback, arguably one of America’s most hated bands.
The biggest surprise for us? That would be the rodeo’s general omission of female performers. In 2022, only two female singers, Maren Morris and Gwen Stefani, were included. Same story in 2023, when only Lauren Daigle and Ashley McBryde made the cut. While we had our fingers crossed for some female empowerment ahead of this year’s announcement, we were disappointed to see that again only two female singers—this time Carly Pearce and Lainey Wilson—were included.
Curious about why this continues happening, we reached out to the rodeo for some answers. Brittany Cooke, the rodeo’s director of entertainment and concert production, told us that a variety of factors are at play, including the busy schedules of most entertainers.
“We always strive for a unique lineup and work each year to ensure there is a diverse group of artists at the rodeo, which does include multiple female artists during our 20-day event,” Cooke told us in a statement. “We strive to have a lineup that mirrors the vibrant community here in Houston. We are thrilled to be able to have both Carly Pearce and Lainey Wilson this year. Wilson recently won a Country Music Award for Entertainer of the Year and Pearce won Female Vocalist of the Year in 2021. We know each of these talented artists will have fantastic shows.”
While we are also thrilled about seeing Pearce and Wilson perform, we can’t help but wish they were sharing the stage with a larger group of women. Despite our annoyance, we’re a forward-thinking bunch, so we decided to make things easier for the rodeo next year by putting together a list of female performers that we would love to see on future, more gender-diverse lineups. Here are some of our suggestions.
It's high time Beyoncé's little sister had her big-stage moment.
Solange
While Beyoncé is the Knowles sister who receives most of the buzz, we think Solange is of equal—albeit divergent—artistry. In 2022, the dancer-turned-multidisciplinary-artist made history after becoming the first Black woman to compose a score for the New York City Ballet. She’s also shown a lot of love to her hometown through the years. In 2019, for the release of her fourth studio album, the indie-tinged R&B maven held a series of screenings for an accompanying art film at various locations in Third Ward. We’d love for the rodeo to show her equal love by giving her a slot on the stage next year.
The Chicks
In 2002, The Chicks (then known as the Dixie Chicks) were the opening night act at the rodeo. They haven’t performed at the event since. Their absence probably has a little something to do with the fact that they were canceled by many country music fans one year later, after lead singer Natalie Maines made remarks critical of President George W. Bush while onstage in London. After an unfairly long break, the band has finally been released from purgatory. In 2020, they released their first album in 14 years, and they’ve spent the past couple of years doing a successful tour. Will we see them onstage at the NRG Arena soon? We sure hope so.
You can never have too much Kacey Musgraves. Let's have her back at the rodeo again soon.
Image: Debby Wong/Shutterstock.com
Kacey Musgraves
Here at Houstonia, we like to describe Kacey Musgraves as the Lana Del Rey for horse girls—refreshing, ethereal, and with a penchant for making anthems for people of troubled mental health. Although she opened the rodeo in 2019, we’d love to see her come back for an encore, especially if she ends her performance again by riding off on a horse. Actually, could she do the entire performance on horseback? We know it’s pretty soon to have her back again, but an entire pandemic has happened since her last time here. The 2019 rodeo feels as ancient as the Battle of Hastings.
Megan Thee Stallion
There are few performers from Houston who have given the city more love than Megan Thee Stallion. The H-Town Hottie got her start in Houston, and, despite her stardom, she hasn’t forgotten her hometown. We’d love for her to do something similar at the rodeo to Bun B’s All American Takeover, but with all-female acts.
The pandemic forced the cancellation of Lizzo's big rodeo debut in 2020. She needs to be invited back ASAP.
Image: Ben Houdijk/Shutterstock.com
Lizzo
We think it’s “about damn time” the rodeo reinvite Lizzo, who was meant to perform in 2020 but never got to because of COVID. She could potentially gift us with a rare flute solo—which we’re hoping Lizzo would use as an opportunity to do a Fat Tony–style homage to “Neon Moon” or another country classic. Although Lizzo has spread her wings since rising to stardom, she still has a soft spot for her hometown, as indicated by her recent creation of a music scholarship at her alma mater, the University of Houston.
Shania Twain
Although Shania Twain is going to start her third Las Vegas residency this May, the performances thankfully end in December, meaning her schedule will be open enough for her to land a spot on the rodeo’s 2025 lineup—or at least that’s what we’re hoping. If the queen of country pop music (sorry Swifties, it’s the truth) ends up on the lineup next year, we will definitely make sure to “come on over” with all of our friends—ticket sales, think of the ticket sales.
Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire, who we like to refer to here simply as “mom,” has a long history of performing at the rodeo. McEntire, who first hit the stage at the rodeo in 1984 at the age of 28, marked her 18th appearance in 2014. We miss our mom, and we’d love to see her come back next year for an arena-wide “Fancy” singalong. We already have our red dresses at the ready, so we’re really just waiting on y’all (aka the rodeo booking team) to help make this magical moment happen for us.
