Wednesday Address Concerns Over Show At Ken Paxton Venue

12:28 PM EDT on September 16, 2026

Last month, the Houston venue White Oak Music Hall hosted an event from Ken Paxton, the far right extremist who is currently running for Senate in a much-watched Texas race. The same night that Paxton spoke at White Oak Music Hall, Meet Me @ The Altar and Leisure Hour had a show in a different room of the same venue, and they were not happy to learn that they'd be sharing that space. In response, Sweet Pill moved their Houston show to another venue. Later this year, Mannequin Pussy and Wednesday's Bitch Cabal tour is scheduled to stop at White Oak Music Hall, and Wednesday have something to say about the venue.

In a social media statement attributed to themselves and Mannequin Pussy, Wednesday say that they looked into moving their show, scheduled for Nov. 12, to another venue but that the city didn't have another spot that could accommodate the gig. Here's what they've written:

Several Wednesday and Mannequin Pussy fans have reached out in recent weeks to make us aware of the situation at White Oak Music Hall and Ken Paxton. First off, fuck Ken Paxton.

We have been involved in numerous behind the scenes discussions to figure out our options for the show. We're going to be entirely transparent with you: There were no viable venues who could take on the show at the capacity we currently have: 1,400 tickets which sold out within a few weeks.

White Oak is one of the ever waning number of independently owned venues in our country. The only other options for venues in Houston that could accommodate the amount of tickets we have sold are corporate owned which feels like a lateral move morally speaking. We have also heard from members of the local community that these alternate venues participate in the same kind of activities for which we seek accountability from White Oak Music Hall.

Our only alternative option would have been to cancel the show entirely and not perform at all in Houston. This does not feel like a fair option to the thousands of fans who are excited to see our bands perform together nor do we want to cancel a show that we are both so excited to play and has the potential to do real good for the Houston community.

After several discussions with White Oak Music Hall they have agreed to donate their facility fee to organizations of our choosing and have dropped their merch cut for the evening so that we can match that donation.

We will also be moving the show to the larger, outdoor amphitheater which will provide more opportunity for fans to attend and for us to raise more dollars to support the Montrose Center and the Houston Immigrant Legal Services Collaborative.

We feel strongly that the decision by the owners of White Oak Music Hall to host Ken Paxton should not be another opportunity for Republicans to divide our community and steal a space that should rightfully belong to the music fans who have built their entire business. We intend to use this show as an opportunity to bring the community together in opposition to this guy, and all the fascists that belong to his ilk.

We also hope y'all are able to grant us grace in this frustrating and difficult situation.

-Mannequin Pussy & Wednesday

In the aftermath of the Ken Paxton event that White Oak Music Hall hosted, the venue described itself as "a neutral forum open to all individuals and organizations" and Paxton's appearance as a "rental event." In any case, Paxton will have either won or lost his election by the time that Mannequin Pussy and Wednesday come through town. Also, we know that the photo above is out of date and that MJ Lenderman isn't in Wednesday anymore, but we already used the only recent press pic of the band yesterday, when Wednesday announced the deluxe edition of their great 2025 album Bleeds.

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