The word palagi means “always” in Filipino, and in 2024 it was the most-played song in the Philippines — a quiet love letter TJ Monterde wrote for his wife KZ Tandingan that became, improbably and completely, the country’s defining popular anthem for the year. That’s the story the In Between tour carries into Texas this summer: not simply a concert, but a marriage made visible on a stage, the couple’s complementary artistic identities — his intimate acoustic-pop songcraft, her powerhouse R&B voice — given room to breathe before the Filipino-American communities across Houston and the Gulf Coast who have been streaming “Ikaw at Ako” and “Dating Tayo” since before Billboard took note. TJ Monterde and KZ Tandingan play Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land on Saturday, June 20.
About TJ Monterde
Born in Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines on December 30, 1989, Titus John Dabuan Monterde started at sixteen as a radio jockey before going viral on YouTube in 2011 with self-penned compositions. He signed with Galaxy Records, a PolyEast Records subsidiary, and released “Ikaw at Ako,” which became a signature song and a generational touchstone for Filipino listeners at home and abroad. His 2023 single “Palagi” — the love song written directly for Tandingan — topped both the Billboard Top Philippine Songs and the Philippines Hot 100 year-end charts for 2024, earning him the Billboard Philippines #1 Song of the Year award. Billboard and Spotify confirmed him as the most-streamed OPM artist on the platform that same year. The catalog he brings to a live show includes “Dating Tayo,” “Mahika,” “Tulad Mo,” and “Palagi” — songs that function less as hits than as shared memory for the audience that will fill this room.
About KZ Tandingan
Kristine Zhenie Lobrigas Tandingan — known internationally as Asia’s Soul Supreme — rose to national prominence after winning the inaugural X Factor Philippines in 2012, a competition she announced herself in with audition performances of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and The Fugees’ “Ready or Not” that reportedly stopped the judges cold. Her career since has moved across borders in a way that few Filipino artists manage: she competed on China’s Singer 2018, the country’s most-watched reality singing competition, and became the first Filipino artist to headline a sold-out solo concert at Dubai World Trade Center Arena. Her accolades include 7 Awit Awards, 3 Wish 107.5 Music Awards, and 2 Myx Music Awards. She married Monterde on August 28, 2020. What she brings to the In Between stage is the complement the concept requires: a voice that moves from ballad to belt to gospel-inflected soul, a range that earns the word “powerhouse” without making it sound like a press release.
The In Between Tour
The In Between tour launched in February 2026 with a four-night sold-out run at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Manila — the Big Dome, as Filipinos call it — making the couple the first dual artists to achieve that record at the iconic venue. The North American leg opened at Palladium Times Square in New York on March 14, moved to the Copernicus Center in Chicago on March 20, and swung west to Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, on June 12. The Sugar Land date on June 20 closes out the U.S. run.
Venue
Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land sits 22 miles southwest of downtown Houston at 18111 Lexington Blvd, Sugar Land, TX 77479. The facility is configurable between 1,900 and 6,400 seats and operates under ATG Entertainment. Past headliners at the venue include Sting, John Legend, Bob Dylan, Marc Anthony, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, and Dave Matthews. Doors open at 6:00 PM CT. The show begins at 7:00 PM CT.
Tickets
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, with prices ranging from $30 to $814. The box office can be reached at 346-815-0540. For more upcoming shows in the area, see our Houston concerts guide.