Today: Two Cool Open Houses, At SugarHill & Steamboat

It’s Saturday, February 28th, and it’s a cold-ass day outside, I know (for Houstonians, anyway), but there’re at least two reasons to get out of the house, even still. I know the title above makes it look like I’m talking about a couple of ski resorts, but no, this is actually about two of H-town’s coolest musical-type places throwing their doors open to the public.

The biggie, of course, is recording studio SugarHill, who’re having their First Annual “House of Hits” Open House this afternoon from 2-5PM. I’m not sure about all the fun stuff scheduled, but there’ll supposedly be free beer (from awesome local breweries Karbach, 8th Wonder, & Buffalo Bayou), free food, door prizes, food trucks, and “studio activities,” whatever that means, plus some guitar and amp demos courtesy of Rockin’ Robin.

And, obviously, you get to roam around inside this city’s most storied recording studio (running for 70 years as of this year), which is no small thing in itself. I’ve been in there a few times over the years, and it’s pretty amazing. The studio’s at 5626 Brock, down near Third Ward…

A bit later in the day, then, there’s the second open house, over at Steamboat Ampworks, otherwise known as “The Place I Fantasize About Making Me a Custom Amp (Someday, When I Win the Lottery).”

It starts at 8PM tonight, and not only can you hang out and see what it’s like behind the scenes at the amp-making shop, but it’s also an album release party for band {The Glenious Alien Landscape} — not real familiar with ’em, but I’m told they’re odd and jazzy/funky, and the name’s definitely entertaining, so there you go. I think this one’s BYOB, but still, you get to ogle some sweet, sweet guitar amplifiers. The address is 1505 Gano, for those without the ability to Google.

There you go; get out and about, alright?