A weekly gig is about the best way for guitarists to hone their craft, and Houston's Paul Ramirez has done just that Wednesday nights at the Continental Club for more than a year now. It pays off in Sex With a Dragon, his debut CD that throws in a little Santana and New Orleans R&B into... More >>

Out of a Third Ward blues guitar school that has now graduated to the great beyond Albert Collins, Johnny Clyde Copeland, Johnny Guitar Watson and Joe Guitar Hughes, Little Joe Washington is the last man standing. And he’s hardly standing still: He’s also pedaling his Schwinn from... More >>

Now celebrated in 42 states, Juneteenth really belongs to Texas, because it commemorates the day in 1865 the U.S. Navy sailed into Galveston to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, thus signifying the end of the Confederacy around these parts. It wasn't long before Juneteenth meant one of the... More >>

Another great double bill at UH-Downtown’s free Thursday-night concert series, this one pairs two of the more popular new-ish bands actively gigging in Houston right now. The Suffers entwine Kam Franklin’s diva-worthy vocals around a groove-heavy and enticing blend of ska,... More >>

Robert Plant’s new project is already on the short list of most awkwardly named bands to visit Houston this year. (Does it have to be “Robert Plant Presents”?) Still, the recent Austin transplant gets a pass because, well, it’s Robert Plant on a theater tour. His Web... More >>

Break out the feathers for your hair, Ke$ha and Pitbull are coming to town. Daleee! From Pitbull's frenzied dance tracks to Ke$ha's penchant for bathing in glitter, there should be plenty of interesting elements to the show. Just make sure to brush your teeth with a bottle of Jack before you... More >>

Even with Houston’s considerable African immigrant population, concerts by African artists remain rare outside iFest and the odd SPA event. That alone makes Saturday’s show sponsored by Spinlet, a San Francisco-based company that offers digital distribution to emerging West African... More >>

Ironically, Bret Michaels’s stint as front man for ’80s glam-rock band Poison is probably one of the lesser-known roles he’s played as a celebrity to this point. In his post-Poison years, he’s become much more than the guy busting out “Every Rose Has Its... More >>

Legendary hardcore act MDC is an essential group in punk-rock history. Starting in Austin as the Stains before relocating to San Francisco and then Portland, MDC (or “Millions of Dead Cops”) has made a name for itself as one of the rawest, most politically charged bands in a genre... More >>

Though he’s not quite a household name, Leon Russell’s gospel-soaked style has infiltrated so much rock and pop of the past 40 years it’s practically a genre of its own. The Lawton, Oklahoma, native has been a go-to keyboardist, songwriter and partner in crime for almost too... More >>

Two of Houston's finest, Slim Thug and Paul Wall, the People's Champ, are headlining the first day of the Spring Board South Music Festival. Only the second year since its inception, the Spring Board South Festival features not only the former Swishahouse artists, but a huge showcase of local... More >>

There aren’t many places inside the Houston city limits where you can see a guy dressed up like a goth George Washington nursing a dirt cheap Long Island Iced Tea and shadow-dancing, but such is the reality at “Classic Numbers” every Friday at well, Numbers off Westheimer. The... More >>

Dallas native Patrice Pike was given a ukulele at age 15 and later moved to Austin, where she currently lives. She preserves the mindset of a real Southern belle in her songs, which prompted Billboard to call Pike “one of the finest up-and-coming contemporary rock singers in America.” More >>

Solo bluesman John Egan sings in a tone that suggests someone is constantly walking over his grave, and his lyrics are loaded with bad mojo like nature gone haywire and apocalyptic visions. All he needs live is his National Resonator, one of those shiny silver guitars that sting and snarl. More >>

DJ Sun isn't hard to find. He has a residency most evenings out of the week, either solo or with the crew from his long-running Saturday-night KPFT show Soular Grooves. As affable as he is industrious, in 20 years Sun has become a soft-spoken cornerstone of the Houston music community, often... More >>

We got to partake in the pleasure that is the Hideaway on Dunvale for steak night one Tuesday, and it included the magical blues stylings of Rick Lee & The Night Owls. Lee and his band do ZZ Top, Bobby "Blue" Bland and B.B. King covers. We also witnessed the man playing his axe with the leg of... More >>

Who doesn't love Mr. Barry Manilow, with that fabulous catalog of adult contemporary hits. From "Mandy" to "Copacabana," he's the quintessential singer-songwriter, touting a career that has spanned decades, during which he's earned himself an accolade list a mile long. Known as the "Justin... More >>

Friday nights at this two-story West Gray watering hole, the upstairs space turns into the most drunken and debauched karaoke party of the evening, if not the week. Lone Stars are sold by the bucket and the bar slings out cheap mixed drinks to coax even the most dedicated wallflower into... More >>

Every Thursday, Houstonians of all drinking ages twist and shout through Beetle's three-hour magical mystery happy hour set. Covering every single stop along the Fab Four's pop odyssey, the weekly event has a devoted following, which means the Continental Club's dance floor can get crowded. Get... More >>

Free Radicals is both Nick Cooper's revolving-door ensemble that at any given moment could be playing free jazz or Latin funk, and also Cooper's ongoing testimonial to how much he digs being a member of the Houston music community. He has so much experience at this point that he has very much... More >>

Calling a mélange of Gulf Coast musical styles a “gumbo” is a cliché, so we’ll call what Nick Gaitan whips up for his Umbrella Man project a “caldo” instead. It’s a tasty H-Town stew, equal parts blues, Tejano, swamp pop, rockabilly, ska,... More >>

Mr. Dale Watson is almost a monthly regular here, and his tales of drunken, truck-driving woe are great chaser for anything that the bar can throw out at you. His burly voice screams Texas, and he never shies away from hanging with fans. Buy the man a Lone Star and shake his damned hand. He's a... More >>

Every Glover Gill song tells a story. Like a good book or movie, it grabs you at the beginning, sinks its hooks into you near the middle and gives you at least one good surprise before coming to an end. And without the vocals or lyrics, either. Quite the scholarly musician, Glover Gill studied... More >>