HOUSTON, TX (December 20, 2024) — The Houston Symphony’s 2025 Summer Sounds lineup of concert specials now includes Jamaican icon Shaggy’s “Mr. Symphonic” show, an orchestral concert that pays tribute to the rich tapestry of reggae music, featuring Shaggy’s most beloved hits, with Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke conducting the Houston Symphony, June 14, 2025 at Jones Hall.
Created and curated with Houston Symphony Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke, this ground-breaking symphonic program explores the beginnings of Mento, Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae to modern Dance Hall. Featuring arrangements by David Serkin Ludwig, the multi-GRAMMY Award-winning Shaggy, his dynamic band, conductor Steven Reineke, and the Houston Symphony present a survey of Jamaican popular music including Shaggy’s own culture-changing contributions such as “It Wasn’t Me,” “Angel,” “Mr. Boombastic,” and more.
For tickets to all of the Houston Symphony Summer Sounds performances, presented by Stella Artois, including Mr. Symphonic: Shaggy with the Houston Symphony, as well as Jaws, Disney and Pixar’s UP, and The Music of Journey, please call or text 713.224.7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org.
Houston Symphony’s 2025 Summer Sounds Series
Mr. Symphonic: Shaggy with the Houston Symphony
Steven Reineke, conductor
Shaggy, vocalist
Saturday, June 14, 2025 @ 7:30 p.m.
Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
Jaws In Concert
Friday, June 20, 2025 @ 7:30 p.m.
Jones Hall
615 Louisiana St.
Disney and Pixar’s UP In Concert
Saturday, June 21, 2025 @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 22, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Jones Hall
615 Louisiana St.
The Music of Journey
Brett Havens, conductor
Juan Del Castillo, vocalist
Saturday, July 26 @ 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The Hobby Center’s Serafim Hall
800 Bagby St.
About SHAGGY
Born Orville Richard Burrell and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Shaggy got his start as an MC in New York City’s burgeoning dancehall scene soon after moving to Brooklyn in his teens. Not long after serving four years in the U.S. Marines (including two tours of duty in the Middle East as part of Operation Desert Storm), he inked his first record deal and quickly scored a global crossover smash with “Oh Carolina.”
As the only diamond-selling dancehall artist in music history, Shaggy, managed by Martin Kierszenbaum/Cherrytree Music Company, has sold more than 40 million album units to date, in addition to landing 8 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and 7 albums on the Billboard 200 (including 4 in the top 40). He has received 2 Grammy Awards and is among the top 3 streamed reggae artists of all time on Spotify.
Facebook: @Shaggy
Instagram, TikTok & Twitter: @direalshaggy
About Houston Symphony
Under Music Director Juraj Valčuha, the Houston Symphony continues its second century inspiring and engaging a large and diverse audience in Houston and beyond through exceptional musical performances, and creating enduring impact in the Houston community. One of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, the Symphony held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an operating budget of $40.7 million, the full-time ensemble of professional musicians presents more than 130 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Traditionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musicians also offer nearly 600 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, senior centers, and churches, annually reaching nearly 200,000 people in Greater Houston in addition to Jones Hall.
After suspending concert activities in March 2020, the Symphony successfully completed a full 2020–21 season with in-person audiences and weekly livestreams of each performance, making it one of the only orchestras in the world to do so. The Houston Symphony remains committed to livestreaming its 2024-25 Season to a broad audience in over 45 countries and all 50 states, one of few American orchestras dedicated to transmitting live performances to a sizeable audience outside its home city through this technology. The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, Telarc, Virgin Classics, and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category. The Symphony’s most recent recordings include a Pentatone release in January 2022 of its world premiere performances of Jimmy López Bellido’s Aurora and Ad Astra, and a Naxos release in July 2023 of its world premiere performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel.
Media Contacts:
Eric Skelly: 713.337.8560, eric.skelly@houstonsymphony.org
Blake Steele: 832.930.4065 x120, blake@theckpgroup.com