Concert News

The Black Crowes and Whiskey Myers bring 2026 tour to Austin

The Black Crowes will play at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas on August 9, 2026.

Photo by Errol Colandro

Rock bands The Black Crowes and Whiskey Myers will embark on a co-headling Southern Hospitality Tour in 2026, which will include a stop at Austin's Moody Center on Sunday, May 17.

The majority of the tour including Austin's stop will feature The Black Crowes — led by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson — as well as Whiskey Myers, but not every date includes Whiskey Myers. In Austin, they'll also be joined by opening act Southall.

The 41-city tour will kick off in Austin and end in Mountain View, California.

The Black Crowes celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2024, having formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1984. They wouldn't release their first album until Shake Your Money Maker in 1990.

Their first two albums — The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion followed in 1992 — made them a staple of early '90s music thanks to hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," "Remedy," and more.

After one hiatus and one "breakup," the Black Crowes have been back together since 2019. This tour will be in support of their new album, A Pound of Feathers, set for release on March 13.

Whiskey Myers will showcase songs from their most recent album, 2025's Whomp Whack Thunder, as well as fan favorites from its catalog. Press materials call the group from Palestine, Texas, "one of the most uncompromising bands in music today."

They've been around since 2005 and new audiences discovered them in 2018 when they appeared as themselves in the TV series Yellowstone.

Tickets for the tour will be available starting with an artist presale on Tuesday, February 3 at noon; fans can sign up for the presale at theblackcrowes.com. Fans who sign up for the artist presale will unlock an exclusive new recording.

Additional presales will follow, including a Citi presale and Mastercard presale beginning on Tuesday, February 3, at noon.

The general on-sale begins on Friday, February 6, at 10 am at LiveNation.com.

Southern Hospitality North American Tour Dates

May 17 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
May 19 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
May 21 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
May 23 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
May 24 – Birmingham, AL – Coca-Cola Amp
May 26 – Brandon, MS – Brandon Amphitheater
May 27 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater
May 30 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
May 31 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 2 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
June 4 - Augusta, GA - Bell Auditorium
June 6 – Charlotte, NC – Truliant Amphitheater
June 7 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
June 9 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
June 10 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
June 12 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
June 13 – New York, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
June 16 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 17 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheatre
June 19 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
June 20 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
July 17 – Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Music Center
July 18 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
July 21 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
July 22 – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater
July 24 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
July 25 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
July 28 – Shakopee, MN – Mystic Lake Amphitheater
July 30 – Kansas City, MO – MORTON Amphitheater
August 1 – Colorado Springs, CO – Ford Amphitheater
August 2 – Denver, CO – Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
August 4 - Lincoln, NE - Pinewood Bowl Amphitheater
August 6 - Tulsa, OK - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
August 8 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 9 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
August 12 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
August 13 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 15 – Phoenix, AZ – Mortgage Matchup Center
August 17– Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Bowl
August 19 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
August 20 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre

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Movie Review

Robotic acting slows down AI courtroom thriller Mercy

Photo courtesy Amazon Content Services

Chris Pratt in Mercy.

It seems like every other movie set in modern times being released these days includes either a reference to or a plot revolving around artificial intelligence. In the real world, the benefits of the technology compete with its downsides, but when it comes to movies A.I. is almost always seen as a threat, including in the new film Mercy.

The audience is thrown headlong into the slightly futuristic story involving LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt), who finds himself strapped in a chair in a sparse room, being told that he is on trial for killing his wife. Turns out he’s in a court dubbed “Mercy,” which is overseen by an AI judge named Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson). By the rules of the court, Raven has 90 minutes to provide reasonable doubt of his guilt, or he will be executed on the spot.

Raven is in a multi-pronged quandary: Not only does he believe he’s innocent despite a trove of evidence pointing to his guilt, but he’s also the poster boy for the law enforcement side of the equation, having arrested the first man who went to Mercy. Anger and disbelief for Raven turn into acceptance, which then turns into him tapping into his detective skills, scrutinizing every shred of evidence the court provides him in a desperate attempt to save his own life.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Marco van Belle, the film is a relatively propulsive thriller despite having a so-so story and even worse acting. The film is told in real time (with a few fudges here and there), so the concept alone of a man trying to prove his innocence in a short amount of time provides good intrigue. Bekmambetov’s use of digital elements as Raven scrolls through files or calls potentially exculpatory witnesses like his partner, Jaq Diallo (Kali Reis), keeps the film visually interesting.

On the other hand, the swift viewing of videos and documents by Raven, not to mention the high degree of cooperation by Judge Maddox, opens up more than a few plot holes. The filmmakers try to explain away a few leaps in logic by having Raven falling off the sobriety wagon the night before, but they can only use that excuse for so long. They also have the AI judge experience technical glitches along the way, errors that seem to point toward a wider conspiracy until they’re completely forgotten.

More than anything, it’s difficult to get over the wooden acting of Pratt and the misuse of other usually reliable actors. Pratt has no real presence, especially when he’s confined to a chair, so any emotion he tries to conjure up comes off as contrived. Ferguson is done no favors by a role that shows only her upper body and has her alternating between robotic and oddly sympathetic. Reis earned an Emmy nomination for True Detective: Night Country, but has little to do here, a fate that also takes out Chris Sullivan as Raven’s AA sponsor.

If you’re okay with turning off your brain for a little while, Mercy can be an enjoyable watch. But if you find yourself scrutinizing why characters make the odd decisions they do, or the wishy-washy way the film approaches AI in general, then you’re likely to find the whole thing lacking.

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Mercy is now playing in theaters.

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