Anderson Fair

The Rocks Off 100: Kimberly McCarver, Missouri City's Meadowlark

Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Sometimes a hunch will pay off. Kimber ... More >>

Aimee Bobruk Is "Two of a Kind" All By Herself

Austin's singer-songwriter darling Aimee Bobruk will be in town at Anderson Fair this weekend, and to herald her arrival, she recently recorded a fantastic music video for her tune "Two of a Kind." It's a simple yet fetching throwback to the days of silent film, with Bobruk playing both her feminine ... More >>

Houston's Top 10 Unsung Music Venues

There's no other way to say this except to say it: Houston has a lot of music venues, a lot of music venues, but most of the high-profile shows around here get routed into a handful of places. This happens for any number of reasons, most of them financial: Very few promoters in town can afford to pu ... More >>

Here Come the Trishas, Texas' 4-Part Harmony Queens

Does anyone else miss the Dixie Chicks? Is it even OK to say that in Texas? We hope so, because a week or two ago Rocks Off stumbled across "Tonight the Heartache's On Me" again and have been on a serious Chicks kick ever since. But as the song says, that trio is a long time gone at this point. The ... More >>

Meet the 2012 HPMA Showcase Nominees: Matt Harlan

Rocks Off reached out to the artists playing this year's Houston Press Music Awards showcase Sunday, August 5, and asked them to introduce themselves. Here's what they sent back. Catch up with the other showcase nominees and see our the rest of our HPMA coverage Rocks Off: When and where was your ... More >>

Hot Band Alert: Lumineers Light Up Fitz Tonight

A few times a year, word of mouth about a band spreads at an unusually rapid pace. You can almost track the buzz in real time. First you hear a murmur or see a headline on some music blog this band or that one might be good, then somebody you know tells you they think you would like them. Then you s ... More >>

Duct Tape Messiah Redux

Part of a storied singer-songwriter scene, former Houstonians Gurf Morlix and Blaze Foley were living in Montrose during the Urban Cowboy craze but were not impressed. In fact, according to Morlix, they worked so much they "hardly ever had a night off, and if we did we certainly weren't going to dri ... More >>

Lyle Lovett

What We Are Thankful For This Year

Like most years, 2011 has been...complicated. We've heard some great music, seen some killer shows and lost some amazing people. We also nearly lost one of our own. That's how it goes in this world and it's why the things we are thankful for take on added meaning as the year begins to wind down. Th ... More >>

Crusty Texan Bounces Watch The Throne From Amazon's Top MP3 Album Spot

Now Kanye has something else to cry about.​Proving once again that old age and treachery beats youth and skill every time, grizzled Texas singer-songwriter emeritus Guy Clark has knocked Jay-Z & Kanye West's Watch the Throne from the top MP3 albums sales spot on Amazon.com. Employing the same ... More >>

Blessed

Anderson Fair alumna Lucinda Williams returns to Houston.

Final Four Visitors: Ten Alternative Places to Visit in Houston

You can skip the Beer Can House​So, you've made it to town for the Final Four and you are shocked to find out there are no tumbleweeds, we all aren't walking around in 10-gallon hats and the area surrounding downtown and the medical center is not filled with strip malls and urban decay. Welcom ... More >>

John Fullbright: Woody Guthrie Sells A Lot Of Hamburgers

johnfullbrightmusic.com​John Fullbright, playing a writers-in-the-round with Jess Klein tonight at Anderson Fair, looks like the kid at the grocery store sacking groceries or gathering carts from the parking lot. The innocent look masks an old-soul singer-songwriter and one of the hottest youn ... More >>

For the Sake of the Song: Sanitized, Still Essential

​No discussion of Houston music history is complete without mentioning Montrose folk venue Anderson Fair. The list of performers alone is staggering, but there's more to the old spaghetti restaurant than just the people who've graced the stage, and that's what documentary For the Sake of the S ... More >>

For the Sake of the Song

PR maven Sarah Gish celebrates a decade of success

Open Tab: Things Are Changing, Holmes

Pull up a chair, start a tab and order a round of shots, because this is Rocks Off's weekly roundup of the goings-on in the Houston bar scene. Ups and downs, openings and closings, we will cover it all. Hit us up with any hot tips at craig.hlavaty@houstonpress.com. Craig Hlavaty​During our t ... More >>

Dream of Life Offers An Intimate Look At The Newly Widowed Patti Smith

​Dream of Life, the 2008 documentary about Patti Smith, opens with Smith's own narration of the many loved ones she's outlived over the years. Among those names are her husband, MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith; her brother Todd; and controversial photographer and close friend Robert Mapplethorpe. ... More >>

Documentary On Anderson Fair Gets Thumbs-Up From Hollywood Reporter

​For the Sake of the Song , the documentary on Montrose's legendary Anderson Fair, is about to make the festival rounds; this week it had its world premiere at SXSW.The influential trade publication Hollywood Reporter reviewed the Austin showing and was enthusiastic, which is always a good thing.T ... More >>

Anderson Fair Documentary Premieres At SXSW; Hits Houston Worldfest April 10

​ One of the cinematic highlights of SXSW was yesterday's world premiere of For The Sake of The Song: The Story of Anderson Fair. Produced by Houstonians Bruce Bryant and Jim Barham, the film documents the forty year history of one of the most storied Texas music venues. The old spaghetti rest ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Old Home Weekend at Anderson Fair

Two alumni of Houston's fabled folk scene return to Anderson Fair this weekend. Vince Bell lives in Santa Fe, N.M., these days, but he will always be associated with the heyday of the Houston folk scene and Anderson Fair. Mentored by Townes van Zandt and Guy Clark, Bell had a major influence on Lyl ... More >>

Tonight: Songwriting Legend Mark Germino at Anderson Fair

​Veteran Nashville songwriter Mark Germino will be making a rare Houston appearance tonight at Anderson Fair. The last time Germino played there, no less a fan than Steve Fromholz drove over from Austin to catch the show. A songwriter's songwriter, Germino is one of the most revered writers in the ... More >>

Tonight: Anderson Fair Vet Vince Bell at Brazos Books and Under the Volcano

​Vince Bell's Houston roots go way, way back. When Anderson Fair opened its doors in the early '60s, Bell was one of the troubadours who not only played the joint, he also lived in the Montrose. If you can believe him, he ate so many of his meals at the club that he often refers to Anderson Fair i ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: A Brief Chat With Mickey Clark

Unless you were around here almost 30 years ago and traveling in the music scene, Mickey Clark probably means nothing to you. But the inside liner sleeve on Clark's new album, Winding Highways, is the Anderson Fair music calendar for March 1980. Nanci Griffith and John Grimaudo both had two-day ... More >>

Lucinda Williams, with Buick 6

Tonight: Dustin Welch at Under the Volcano

Playbill: Mark Germino at Anderson Fair

Weekend Music: Skyrocket!’s in Flight

Weekend Music: Carry On, Wayward Sons

The Houston 100: From Harry Choates to Johnny Preston

Lomax’s Weekend Round-Up

Mark Germino

Playbill: Albert & Gage

Dana Cooper

Made of Mud

New Year's Eve Guide

Where will you be hoppin' when the ball is droppin'?

Bar Brawl

Fighters duke it out in no-holds-barred cage matches

Albert and Gage

At Anderson Fair (Moonhouse)

The Queen Bee

Pam Kelly hopes to get a Buzz going about local music

Pop Goes the Bastard

Unlike the UK, Houston resists the urge to commit plagiarhythm

Local Rotation

Local Music Reviewed

Static

Static

Press Picks

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Lounge Act

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Swamp Thang

Big Band, Big Press Kit

Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones! (Yawn...)

Press Picks