Free Press Houston has bit its tongue for too long. 

For 12 years we have refused to do a ‘Best Of’ issue out of fear that recognizing anything good would cause Dallas people to move here. However, the talent in Houston has become too thick and we are sitting on far too much booze to not throw a wicked party.

So the time has come for FPH to put to the public a quasi-democratic poll which determines the very best of Houston art, music, culture, and food, and without further ado, we bring you Free Press Houston’s Sammy Awards.

Poll participants will have the opportunity to vote for nominees from our editorial board’s list OR to write in their own nominees as their vote selection. And when all of the votes are in and the process is complete, we are topping the whole damn thing off with the most super-deluxe celebranza of the year on September 25th. No bullshit, no bananas. This event will be one-part awards show, one-part concert, one-part complimentary booze (included in ticket price), and all-parts party. The show will be hosted by none other than Bun B the Trill OG himself, and awards will be presented byJuan Carlos, Katherine Whaley, Paul Wall, Mathew Knowles, and a host of other Houston notables. Also, there will be musical performances by Paul Wall, The New Mercies, Josiah Gabriel, Bun B, BLSHS, Annika Chambers, and Free Radicals featuring Harry Sheppard.

As an opening component of the Sammy Awards we are holding a competition among our most esteemed bartenders to create the quintessential Houston cocktail. New Orleans has the Sazerac, New York the Manhattan, San Francisco is known for the Fernet, yet Houston has no such cocktail. A veritable who’s who of prominent Houston bartenders will be competing for the perfect concoction that best represents our fair city. Drink competitors include Hal Brock, Brandon Young, Roy Mata, Justin Burrow, Leslie Ross, Lindsay Rae, Travis Tobey, Sheridan Faye, Ryan Rouse, and James Watkins. Attendees will vote to determine who gets the claim to fame of inventing Houston’s very own signature cocktail. We have a few surprises up our sleeve, so keep your eyes peeled. And get this: Your ticket includes complimentary booze. Also, everyone who attends gets something FREE. You like free stuff, don’t you?

Free stuff includes:

Concert Tickets-The Growlers, Drake VS Lil Wayne, The Beach Boys, and more

Festival Passes- Fun Fun Fun Fest, Untapped Festival, Free Press Summer Festival

Plus gift certificates, t-shirts, posters, fun doodads, and tons more

Tickets are very limited, so get yours now.

Thursday, September 25 @ 7pm

Silver Street Studios
2000 Edwards St.
Houston, TX 77007

To purchase tickets now, click here.

Grown-up drinks included in the ticket prices for 21+ attendees. 

Limited tickets/space available so buy yours today.

Questions? Holler: [email protected]  

HOUSTON! You have waited long enough! The Free Press Summer Festival lineup is here! Check out the lineup, ogle these photos, watch the video and get pumped for the summer.

Photo from fpsf.com Bun B fpsf 2026

OFFICIAL FREE PRESS SUMMER FESTIVAL 2026 LINEUP

*Jack White *Vampire Weekend *Zedd *Ms. Lauryn Hill *Above and Beyond *Wu-Tang Clan *Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros *Dwight Yoakam *Childish Gambino *Deftones *Cage The Elephant *The Kills *Die Antwoord *Big Gigantic *Chvrches *DMX *The 1975 *tUnE-yArDs *Laidback Luke *Rebelution *Washed Out *The Naked and Famous *Adventure Club *Drive-By Truckers *Lord Huron *Ying Yang Twins *Sky Ferreira *J. Roddy Walston and the Business *First Aid Kit *Mariachi El Bronx *Paper Diamond *King Kahn & The Shrines *Flatbush Zombies *The Oh Hellos *Wildcat! Wildcat! *Shakey Graves *Poolside *Robert DeLong *The Orwells *Anamanaguchi *Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors *The Chain Gang of 1974 *William Fitzsimmons *Destruction Unit *White Sea*Uh Huh Her * Jana Hunter * The Tontons *Syd Arthur *Lizzo *Benjamin Booker *Bagheera *Wild Moccasins *Ishi *Feathers *Fistful of Soul *Yung Slutty *Eagle Claw *Venomous Maximus *Wild Party *Carnival Talk *Driver Friendly *BLSHS *The Caldwell *Pleasure 2 *Children of Pop *Los Skarnales *New York City Queens *De’Wayne Jackson *Make *Another Run *Gracie Chavez *Pinkish Black * Dead Roses *Grand Old Grizzly *Ill Liad

We hope you enjoy this years FPSF as much as we have enjoyed putting it together for you. We are excited to celebrate our 6th year with all of you again!

With all this Duck Dynasty controversy, we decided to set out to scientifically determine whether the vagina is truly more pleasurable than the anus. Our results were astonishing!

By Andrea Afra
Illustration by Blake Jones

There’s a ton of great restaurants in our town and while we don’t like choosing favorites, here are some of the FPH Staff’s local picks from our most memorable meals around town this past year.

Mala Sichuan Bistro- 9348 Bellaire Blvd
I get the Dan Dan Noodles– they’re kind of spicy, but they’re good. It’s like a traditional noodle dish, simple, and I get it either vegetarian or with beef. -Oz Galindo

Uchi- 904 Westheimer Rd.
I eat the same garbage all the time, but I had a really good meal at Uchi. They had this thing called a Ham and Eggs roll- it’s a sushi roll with pulled pork in it that you dip in egg yolk. -Mark Armes

Vinoteca Poscol- 1609 Westheimer Rd
I always get the bresaola because it’s made in house, and I order the cheeses as per the waiters’ recommendation because they always know what they are talking about. And I usually go for one of their specials because they’re always amazing. -Shadi Jam

Oishii- 3764 Richmond Ave
One of my favorite places to go is Oishii– I always get the sashimi and vegetable tempura. It’s always fresh, never has a weird taste to it, and they give you big portions for very little money. -Mariam Afshar

Asia Market- 1010 W Cavalcade St
I was sick a couple weeks ago and needed spicy soup, stat. Asia Market’s Tom Yum is a panacea for most non-belly related ailments. It’s temperature-hot and spicy-hot, tangy with a kiss of sweet. You can really taste the love, which is a must in a get-well-soup. -Andrea Afra

Pepper Tree- 3821 Richmond Ave
What are those little things called? Those little sesame-bean-balls, like the red bean chocolate or whatever. Those. -Blake Jones

Mezban Pak Indo Cuisine (and killer buffet)-6655 Harwin Dr #108
Everything was good. I can’t even remember what all they had, I just filled my plate with everything. -Ryan Ottea

H-Town strEats Food Truck- twitter.com/Htownstreats
I’m totally sneaking two picks in here. I was super-impressed by H-Town strEats back in February at the Lone Star Bazaar. Not only was the food cheap and ready fast, it was damn good. I had the deep-fried avocado taco and these steak nachos that have to be eaten to be believed—tender, masterfully marinated beef over these thick double-fried tortilla chips, held together by actual nacho cheese. Ridiculous. -Andrea Afra

Roost- 1972 Fairview St.
It was the braised short ribs on top of lentils. What I love about (chef) Kevin Naderi’s food is that he makes Middle Eastern influenced food without it being Middle Eastern. He takes the flavors of where he’s from and brings them here. I’ve never seen a hunk of beef on top of a pile of lentils anywhere.   -Dutch Small

Brasserie 19- 1962 W Gray St.
I had the grilled octopus appetizer and the rainbow trout Almondine, but secretly I ate some of (BF’s) steak…That. Was. Amazing. (I don’t eat steak/meat, that’s off the record.) -Ariana Katechis

Phoenicia (West)- 12141 Westheimer
I really liked the fried anchovies at Phoenicia on the west side. I didn’t know if they’d be good. They’re just like the ones in Lebanon—deep-fried so much you can’t even taste the bones. It was pretty dope. -Omar Afra