Few children of superstars ever seem to get out from under the cloud of their famous parents, but jazz legend Nat King Cole's daughter Natalie has certainly carved out her own space in modern popular music. And while she burst onto the scene in 1975 with Aretha Franklin-style R&B hits like... More >>

Chase Hamblin churns out buttery melodies the way some people sweat, which has made him one of the most beloved Houston roots artists, able to grab fans from all age brackets. The older folks get wowed by his old-school Kinks charm, and the younger folks get their power-pop fix. A new album,... More >>

If you have been missing Dallas's Polyphonic Spree, then 2012 could be your year. With new music in the offing — including a Christmas record due in the fall — the 21-member-strong Spree is gearing up to bring smiles to audiences again. Leaders Tim DeLaughter and Julie Doyle formed... More >>

No doubt you have already heard Estelle's British coo on this side of the Atlantic, attached to the dulcet voices of Kanye West or Rick Ross. West and Estelle's "American Boy," detailing a humorous culture clash, was easily one of the most earworm-ready singles of 2008. Whereas American R&B... More >>

The brash phenomenon of Trombone Shorty and his infectious, wildly eclectic, New Orleans-spawned "supafunkrock" (as it's been lately dubbed) rolls on with the recent release of For True. Arriving a year and a half after his major-label debut (Backatown) rocketed Shorty (a.k.a. Troy Andrews) to... More >>

The transformation of Wales's Los Campesinos! from a sprightly indie-pop group into something far more wicked and weird has been a gradual one, but thankfully the band hasn't lost its penchant for writing catchy, clever songs. The prodigious, Cardiff-based band is touring in support of an... More >>

If you took Eminem in 2000, at the height of his post-Marshall Mathers LP artistic zenith, fed him a handful of Adderall and made him grow his hair into a 'do that would make Win Butler jealous, you get Yelawolf, Alabama's newest musical savior, but with about ten pounds of added muscle, and... More >>

Bleu Edmondson’s voice is a scratchy, airy gasp, a far cry from the nasally singing of most of today’s country artists. With influences ranging from Bruce Springsteen and Robert Earl Keen to Lyle Lovett and the Rolling Stones, Edmondson hasn’t looked back since he got his... More >>

Dale Watson is a person whose sole interest is creating, recording and performing authentic country music, and his fans can clearly hear it. His authenticity is such that at first listen, besides the quality, his songs sound like they’re from another time. Songs like “My Baby Makes... More >>

Poor Pilate's 2011 album creeped up on us over a few weeks, but once it fully latched into our brain, each spin got sweeter and sweeter. The eponymous self-release from the newly minted quartet made good on the promise of their live shows with such like-minded groups as Finnegan and the... More >>

It's a safe bet that all ambient instrumental rock after the turn of the century will inevitably be compared to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Rós. Even compelling acts such as This Will Destroy You will be subjected to such lazy comparisons. In this case, the association isn't... More >>

Appropriately for someone who grew up idolizing the Beatles and spent quite a bit of time in England in the '80s, La Porte native Freddie "Steady" Krc's sound has always been as much the pub-rock power-pop of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds as Texas twang. More >>

After too many haircut jokes (thanks to movies like The Wedding Singer) and lineup changes to count, A Flock of Seagulls is still airborne. Founder Mike Score, an actual former hairdresser, is the sole remaining original Seagull, and his Liverpool-formed group deserves to be listed among... More >>

While their moniker conjures images of what Satan might prefer to drink for breakfast, Jucifer's sonic presence is a veritable smorgasbord of delicious and confounding sounds. Frontwoman Amber Valentine wields as much versatility in her elastic vocal presence as she does in her wall-of-sound... More >>

A passionate city like New Orleans needs a passionate rock band like Cowboy Mouth. Steered by Dash Rip Rock alum Fred LeBlanc, a singing dynamo of a drummer who pushes his kit as far to the front of the stage as he possibly can, the band has cultivated a steadfast Gulf Coast following largely... More >>

Sheila Marshall is more than just beautiful. In fact – through song, of course – she’ll be the first to tell you that she ain’t your baby. The native Houstonian blends rock and country like they were meant to be, with conviction and an ability to transition from a love... More >>

If you like your punk rock with a good shot of country, and a lot of people ‘round these parts do, only Social Distortion can match the Supersuckers’ potent blend of twang and venom. Eddie Spaghetti and his forked-tongue henchmen first crawled out of Tucson nearly 20 years ago, making... More >>

The sweet strains of melodic death-metal invade Warehouse Live this week as Finland's Children of Bodom hit Houston on their ongoing tour behind last year's Relentless, Reckless Forever. The band formed in 1993, but debut LP Something Wild didn't hit until 1997. The album nonetheless set the... More >>

Big K.R.I.T., a Mississippi rapper born Justin Scott, is one of the latest in a crop of hailed would-be saviors of rap with the power to satisfy both casual fans, Internet rap nerds and picky critics. But the twist with K.R.I.T. is that — unlike other twentysomethings in the same position... More >>

Reptar makes it look easy. Y'know, the whole "band" thing. The whole build a fanbase, tour, release albums... all that. But the way that the fast-rising dance-pop band's career has evolved seems so by the book that it seems a little off. Reptar is one of the rare acts that's followed a... More >>

Former Moscas and Chango Jackson bassist/singer/songwriter Tino Ortega fronts this good-timing, thought-provoking American cumbia band. Over the Colombian-born genre’s 4/4 infectious hiss-clomp-hiss-clomp beat Americanized with wailing rock guitars, Ortega mixes his own songs of devilish... More >>

An oilfield salesman by day, Steve Krase works out his inner demons at night playing harp in front of a big, honking blues band, the In Crowd. A longtime member of the Houston Blues Society and supporter of all things blues in Houston, Krase played harp in Jerry Lightfoot’s band for years... More >>

If you were a fan of the Squirrel Nut Zippers in the '90s, have a severe addiction to HBO's Boardwalk Empire or just prefer the Roaring Twenties to the Über-Depressing '10s, then Austin's White Ghost Shivers are more than likely about to be your favorite band. This vaudeville-informed... More >>

For years, James McMurtry has been singing the stories of hard-drinking, vaguely murderous itinerant boyfriends; hard-drinking, unhinged women; kids with hard-drinking parents; and, occasionally, guys who might just be doing all right. With a sense of humor much drier than his novelist father... More >>

If the world is looking for another Don Williams, Max Stalling pretty much fits the bill. Stalling has stockpiled a clutch of songs that recall the Gentle Giant while cultivating an easygoing, good-ol'-boy-with-a-brain style that hones in on that Western-ish sweet spot between country and folk.... More >>