Jones Hall

Emailed by Goldstar, my ticket supplier, to get tickets for the evening show, early. I was instructed in said email, to go to Jones Hall Will-​Call to pick up. They recommended anytime before the show (8pm), but after 9am, that day. The email indicated the earlier, the better. I arrived, after 30 minutes in downtown Houston traffic, at 140pm. I was told, by the young lady working the will call window, that they were only dispensing matinée tickets. That I would have to «just come back later, about thirty minutes before the show, to get it.» That would be 730pm. It was at that point, 1:42pm. I do not live downtown, or close.
I informed her that I received an email from the ticket company, Goldstar, to come get tickets anytime after 9am. She shrugged. «Well, I don’t know what to tell you.»
I asked for «a manager or anyone I can speak with,» and again, she shrugged and said, «maybe he can help.» She pointed to the man at the first will call window. I walked over and asked him if I could pick up my tickets. He said no, not until a few minutes before the show I was attending. I informed him of the email, and that my colleague came two hours earlier than I, and was able to get her ticket without issue. He asked my last name, and printed the ticket.
I should not have had to cite an email, speak with several agents, and essentially beg for tickets that I was specially instructed to come get, and that I paid for.
Returned for the 8pm show. It was great. I only regret the struggle to get my ticket. Perhaps Jones Hall and Goldstar should have a uniformed response to patrons of the theatre. If tickets are unavailable until showtime, Goldstar should not instruct otherwise, or at least, Jones Hall should be made aware. I emailed Goldstar and I was told that they did in fact make Jones Hall aware that they sent said email. IDK who or why the ball of communication was dropped, but it was and patrons shouldn’t have the burden of its weight.
The elevators in the theatre, archaic, entirely too slow. Lavatories, are too far removed. Ushers, on every floor, should have access to play bills. I had to walk all the way from the balcony to the main entrance on the first floor, to get a playbill. I asked an usher at the balcony level, before I walked all the way back to the entrance, whether she had play bills, and she, seemingly, did not speak English.

I love this theater, because there is no such thing as a bad seat. I went to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater here, and it was great. The facility is really nice and clean. There is a lot of space outside of the theater, and inside of the theater. There are a lot of places to buy drinks and food, and I would say that it’s reasonably priced. I love the fact that there are seated cafes all around, for people to mix and mingle during the intermission of the show.
There was a bonus performance going on in the lobby, which was pretty cool. The staff was very friendly, and it wasn’t hard to find a seat. The bathroom were clean, and plentiful. I was able to see the stage really well, considering I didn’t have a top dollar seat. The sound was good, and overall I had a great experience. I also like the fact that is connected the the theater district parking. Jones Hall, I will be back!

I come here every year to see the Houston Symphony and I came here recently for the Blue Man Group. I really like how big it is and how it was designed. I’m just not a big fan of the small seats and since I was sitting high up there was not a lot of leg space. Otherwise this place is pretty legit. The staff is very friendly and it’s very clean inside. Just make sure you get there early enough to get inside the parking garage and get to your show on time!

Jones Hall is a nice venue to see the Houston Symphony perform. It is centrally located in the middle of the theater district, within walking distance of several restaurants to enjoy before or after the performance.
Pros :
Comfortable Seating — the chairs recline!
Friendly ushers & staff.
Beverage and light snacks are available in the lobby before the performance & during intermission, but you cannot take drinks into the Hall.
Acoustics are great, and the performance was wonderful.
The Hall itself has a ton of character — be sure to soak up the atmosphere once seated.
Cons :
Restrooms were small and hard to locate — ask an usher.
Intermission was very short, and due to the long lines at the restroom, made it nearly impossible to enjoy a cocktail in the lobby or visit the gift shop.
Temperature inside the Hall was terrible — instead of it being too cold, it was miserably hot!
Lights on during the performance among the audience should have been dimmed further — it was too bright & likely contributed to the heat problem.
Overall, this was a great experience and I would recommend seeing a Symphony performance or a concert at this Hall to anyone, just be sure to wear layers in case the temperature is not quite right.
Cheers!

My mother had recently undergone surgery, and was in a wheelchair. Being a novice to the venue, I didn’t know how to order wheel-​chair accessible area tickets. Keo very quickly and efficiently changed our tickets to an area Mom could sit easily. So professional and courteous!

I’ve been a symphony subscriber for a few years now and Jones Hall is a great location. Built in ’66 and clad in Italian Marble this MCM building spans an entire city block and would cost upwards of $ 60M in construction today.
I don’t really care for the pops symphony schedule but the classical is quite good with a descent selection every year. Subscriptions are super cheap if you subscribe early!

I love coming here! Being practically a native Houstonian I have been a regular patron of the arts here in Houston and I have to say I think we have one of the best theatre arts districts in the country! Jones Hall has been here forever and is a great place to experience the symphony or concert. We are attending an event for the Houston Symphony Family Concert series with the theme being Ghostbuster and Ghouls on this Halloween day and we are just waiting for the start of the program; so I thought I’d jot down a few of my thoughts.
We are sitting in the orchestra section of the hall and it’s a great spot to experience a show! The facilities are fairly good here but my only complaint is a trip to the restroom can be rather daunting. So make sure you give yourself enough time before the show starts!
The parking is about $ 10 in the lot right next to the hall and this I would recommend as it connects directly to the hall via a tunnel so if it’s ever raining like it is today you avoid getting soaked! It is an easy in and out!
Ah…the ghouls and ghosts are congregating! Will continue review after the show!
What a great show! Lots of great energy and a fantastic dance troupe! Later in we discovered that one of the dancers on stage was the daughter of a good friend of mine from college who we bumped into afterwards!
The music was fabulous and they had all the kids who dressed up in costume march across the stage which was so much fun for the kids!
What a great way to spend Halloween!

Great venue for the Houston Symphony and SPA events. Been here on a number of occasions and never a disappointment. Also enjoyed their catering services when I organized receptions for my university.

Best Venus in Houston. I came here to see Bill Burr… Which he killed it! Great experience can’t wait to visit again.

This is a great venue for theatrical shows. The facilities are clean and well-​maintained. Just be prepared for drinks to be pricey!

We came here to see Bill Burr and made the the mistake of parking in the parking garage. It takes forever to get out after the show so I would advise showing up early for your event and finding street parking (street parking free after 6pm). The venue is very nice and perfect for a lot of different kinds of performances. We ended up showing up late but the ushers were helpful in escorting us to our general seating area. It was pretty easy to get by people when walking down the aisle because the aisles are wide enough without the person sitting down having to get up which makes it convenient for both parties. The sound setup is great, was able to hear clearly. Seats we’re comfortable too which is always nice. Overall a great venue.

I am a huge fan of live musical performances so I was thrilled to come here. It was my first visit here ever to see The Rat Pack is Back with my dear Hubby and over all I had a great time. I love the building. It’s huge with several levels. The walls were tiled with huge slabs of travertine stone all over which gave a nice touch. I like that every level has bars on each with snacks and there is even food service on one of the levels. It was a little confusing finding my seat (way up in mezzanine). We climbed a few stairs only to find ourselves in a dead end someplace. Once we found our seats I loved how much leg room is between the seats on the mezzanine. If you have to get up your neighbors do not have to twist and turn to let you out. The staff that I had the pleasure of interacting with were all very professional and helpful. One staffer apparently had observed us struggling to take a selfie and popped up out of nowhere to give us a hand and take a snapshot for us.
I would recommend that if you can afford to sit on the floor to do so since the view from mezzanine is not the best but for me it was not bad; I still enjoyed the performance. It is true that finding the restroom did require trips down a several stairs. And there was quite a long line during intermission. Food is a little expensive (12.00 for a grilled panini with what tasted like real potato chips… Not the pre-​packaged kind) but I expect that for this type of event so it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. In my opinion drink prices seemed comparable with most other places I have been to in Houston.
Over all I loved it and will be back for future performances.

This is a review for the building itself… it’s a shame that the Houston Symphony can’t have a better hall…
Jones Hall has subpar acoustics and doesn’t amplify sound too well. However, seating is plenty and the seats are pretty comfortable and slide back and forth!
There are three floor with different viewing options. Sound doesn’t rise that well to the upper floors.

Everything is nice and fancy but the experience itself– meaning AUDIO, is bad. The acoustics makes it very hard for people towards the back to hear without issue. They need to fix that.

Best way to get into the parking area is through capitol, parking lot #4. Puts you right under the Theater. I’m a big fan of Jones Hall, I feel like they did an awesome job with the design and acoustics of the place. Last show I saw was the Broadway sing a long by the Houston Symphony and it was amazing, so much fun! The conductor, Robert Franz, I believe was great! Had an awesome time and I am just so happy to have such great talent in Houston!

This is a nice theater. I like the décor and the swinging seats are useful when letting people walk by you after you have been seated. The light setup for the show I attended was really robust and neat.
My biggest and only complai, t is that the signage and such from the parking garage was not easy to navigate to the theater from. My friend and I struggled trying to figure out where to go which stairs to take and doors to navigate through. It seemed that signage was easier for the other theaters and from attending events at Wortham I can attest to this but Jones Hall could use more navigation assistance from the garage.

I parked just across the street and with the rainy weather in Houston right now I was incredibly happy to find that we could walk underground and pop up right by Will Call. Once we entered Jones Hall, I found that the ushers and staff were prompt in anticipating our needs (read: we’re lost), they were happy and helpful and set our experience at Jones Hall off to a pleasant start.
We sat in row CC and still had great line of sight to the stage and the orchestra we were watching. The seats are comfortable and you’re able to slide back in them to allow you to scoot back to allow a fellow patron to walk through the row without you having to stand up.
Absolutely I’ll come again to Jones Hall. The upcoming events advertised through digital print before the show and via poster visible on the walk from the parking lot to Jones Hall were varied and interesting.

The acoustics in Jones Hall are fantastic! I’ve been here for various symphony concerts, and I’ve had seats pretty much all over the concert hall; each time, I’ve enjoyed the experience!
I was even here for a Radiolab event a couple of years ago, and again, no matter where you are in Jones Hall, your ears are in for a treat!
I, now, associate Jones Hall as a place of peace and tranquility. I have yet to have a poor experience here. AND, there’s food offered during intermission now instead of just drinks. Even better!

I have been to many performances here and have always had a good time. The sound is good and there’s not really a bad seat in the house. It could use some renovating. The seats are looking worn and don’t get me started on the bathrooms! You practically need a map or GPS to locate them. It’s ridiculously inconvenient.
I recently attended America’s Test Kitchen Live. Prior to the show they had a very entertaining performance by Percussion One. What a talented group! They did a clever percussive based show with a kitchen theme. America’s Test Kitchen was interesting. I wasn’t sure what to expect seeing a single person instead of a show, but it was interactive and fun. I look forward to attending more shows this season.

Note that this is a review for the hall, not the symphony or any other act performing at Jones.
What makes a great concert hall? Three things: (1) aesthetics; (2) functionality; and (3) performance enhancement.
As for aesthetics, Jones has some things going for it. The architecture is fairly interesting, if a little dated. I’m not sure I love the huge monolithic concrete wall, but the curve and flow is nice. Inside is a bit more successful with a lovely installation hanging from the ceiling reminiscent of a school of fish. The actual concert space is very nice as well, richly appointed and appropriately luxurious.
Minus one star for functionality. To get to the restrooms in this building, you have to traverse a number of stairs to the deepest bowels of the building, where a long line will undoubtedly greet you (whether you are male or female). Way too few bathrooms for the size of the hall. The entrance and exits are similarly too small. Bottlenecks are common at all points in the process. Getting the tickets, getting in the door, getting to your seat, and then the reverse process as well. Granted all concert halls have some sort of issue with mass exodus, but many other halls I have been in (Wortham right across the street, for example) have addressed this issue more effectively.
Finally, minus one star for performance enhancement. Jones ranks fairly low in the acoustics department compared to other major halls in major cities housing major orchestras.
All in all, it’s a fine place to get some culture and enjoy some music.