Austin (Texas)

Yee-Haw! Arlington, Fort Worth Make "Most Redneck Cities" List

Arlington and Fort Worth are two of the ten most "redneck" cities in the country, according to a highly scientific study by a California-based real estate blog called Movoto. Contributing blogger Natalie Grigson, an Austin native who boasts of her hometown's "open-mindedness," selected the cities ... More >>

Austin Is Overrated, Try Houston Instead, Says Most Insightful Travel Writer To Ever Grace The Web

We -- to be frank -- had absolutely no idea who David Landsel was...until we opened an e-mail to discover that he is the single most insightful, knowledgeable, trenchant and trustworthy travel writer to ever be on the web. Why he has no multi-platform empire of his own -- why he's not the Martha St ... More >>

Big Boys: Texas Punk Pioneers Find a Fresh Towel With LP Reissue

Big Boys, the hugely influential Texas punk band that, among other things, inspired two Austin music festivals, have been getting some big press lately thanks to the reissue of their first full LP earlier this month. Industry Standard/Where's My Towel, a record born from Big Boys' frustrations with ... More >>

The Complete SXSW Overflow Festival 2013 Guide: Week 2, Part 1

Ready for another week of the SXSW Overflow Festival 2013 at Super Happy Fun Land? Check out the first half of the second week's musical acts! MONDAY, MARCH 18 Embers in Ashes: Their single, "Then You Came," connects a metallic, thrashing chorus to a surprising series of mildly sung verses. 6 p.m. ... More >>

Sad You Aren't at SXSW? Here's What You Could Be Missing...

Awwwww, I know it is a shame you aren't here with us at SXSW in Austin. I can only imagine the aching and longing in your heart for walking aimlessly and standing in long lines for no reason, and sweating through your cardigan to see a band you heard on one of the Twilight soundtracks. You don't w ... More >>

Houston Bands Prepare to Invade SXSW

Starting this coming weekend, a slew (yes, a slew) of Houston bands will be invading Austin to take part in SXSW's official and unofficial revelry. Grandfather Child, Electric Attitude, Something Fierce, Bagheera and many others will be playing free day parties, showcases and pop-up festivals. Rec ... More >>

Capsule Stage Reviews: The First Church of Texaco, The Language Archive, True West

Artopia's Bagheera: "Dance Music For People Who Give a Damn About Dance Music"

Bagheera's Aidan Kennedy has opened for M83's Anthony Gonzalez in Austin and warmed up the crowd before a Halloween 2012 Ghostland Observatory gig at Warehouse Live. Now, his group takes on the Houston Press' Artopia party. Rewind: Bang Bangz: A Rare Houston Band Brimming With Mystery When Kenne ... More >>

Houston Turns In Lackluster Performance For Speed Rack 2013

Speed Rack is a series of cocktail competitions that raise funds for cancer research. This year, proceeds are going to SHARE Cancer Support, a support organization for women with breast or ovarian cancer. Last year, Houston's lady bartenders really shined in the competition. The high-speed cocktai ... More >>

The Great Outdoors

Your 2013 music-festival outlook, Texas edition.

Uncle Lucius, Brian Keane

SXSW Releases First Batch of 2013 Performers

Here go hell come, SXSW has just released the first batch of names for the 2013 festival. I know, only a week after Fun Fun Fun Fest and a month since ACL. Did you see the FPSF blog from earlier today? Yeah, time is moving too fast. The big names on the list so far include the Zombies, Alt-J, Akro ... More >>

Last Night: Ghostland Observatory at Warehouse Live

Ghostland Observatory Warehouse Live October 25, 2012 Lasers. Costumes. Queen-like flights of fancy. Ominous, incredibly sassy beats. Lasers. A steadfast, almost militant, devotion to shaking your ass. And more lasers. No one will ever accuse Austin's Ghostland Observatory of ever putting on anyt ... More >>

Ghostland Observatory

Talking to James Moody, Co-Captain of HMS Fun Fun Fun Fest

In Texas, only a few major music festivals cater to the punk and indie subcultures. Houston's own Free Press Summer Fest, Chaos In Tejas, 35 Denton, maybe the free and freaky day parties of SXSW, and Fun Fun Fun Fest, put on by Transmission Entertainment in Austin. REWIND: Fun Fun Fun Fest Releas ... More >>

UT Bomb Threat About Over, Classes May Resume (UPDATED, No Classes Today)

An unusual morning in Austin seems to be coming to a calm end. Students and staff received the above warning today after the University of Texas says it got several calls featuring "a middle eastern accent" warning of bombs on campus and connections to Al-Quaeda. Students mostly milled about the D ... More >>

The 5 Best Shows In Houston This Week: Rosie Flores, Otep, Mission of Burma, Etc.

Rosie Flores, the Austin-based "Rockabilly Filly" and onetime L.A. cowpunk scenester who played the Continental Club with Mike Stinson in late July, circles back around to celebrate her birthday Tuesday at KPFT's monthy free-show series "Troubador Tuesdays" at Natachee's Supper & Punch. Back then, ... More >>

Robert Plant: Former Honeydrippers Front Man, Current Texan Is 64 Today

Today is Robert Plant's 64th birthday, and hopefully the adopted Texan -- he lives near Austin with maybe-sorta-"wife" Patty Griffin -- is spending it the way a good Texan should, covered in barbecue sauce, listening to Lightnin' Hopkins on his turntable and wearing nothing but a pair of cowboy boot ... More >>

ACL Festival Expanding to 2 Weekends In 2013

Rewind: Five years of Rocks Off ACL Fest coverage The Austin American-Statesman is reporting that the Austin City Limits Music Festival will expand to two weekends starting next year, echoing California's Coachella, which presented identical lineups on successive Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this ... More >>

Keep on Truckin': Chi'Lantro BBQ

Chi'Lantro BBQ is a Korean Mexican fusion truck -- the name is the combination of two of the most important ingredients in the two cuisines, kimchi and cilantro, respectively. The truck started in Austin and came to Houston at the beginning of this year. My first encounter with Chi'Lantro was in Aus ... More >>

Brent Grulke, SXSW Music Creative Director, Dies of Heart Attack

Brent Grulke, a former Austin Chronicle music writer and editor who rose to the head of SXSW's Music division, died Monday in Austin. The cause of death was a heart attack following oral surgery, wrote Raoul Hernandez, one of Grulke's successor as the paper's Music Editor, on the Chronicle's Web si ... More >>

'90s Rock Doc "When We Ruled H-Town" Premieres Tonight

Remember the '90s? When it comes to Houston's rock scene, a lot of people don't. Sure, local bands were drawing large crowds to venues like the Axiom, the Vatican and the Unicorn, but much of the music of that era never made it outside the Beltway, and those clubs have been closed down for decades. ... More >>

Ghostland Observatory

Why the HELL Does Houston Not Have an Emergency-Preparedness Flash-Mob Song Like Austin?

Once again, Austin has out-hipped us. We get all the emergency situations they do -- plus hurricanes. But which city has got the skillz to put on a flash mob and write about these things? (Hint: Not Houston.) From tornadoes to dirty bombs and bioterrorism, dancing will solve the problem, it seems, ... More >>

Six Stupid Reasons to Move to Austin, a Mediocre Town

Some mewling mouth-breather named Ed Reed on a blog called Thought Catalog has fallen in love with Austin and listed off six reasons why more Yankees and Californians should move there and join him. And of course, there's an obligatory, misinformed slam on Houston, but more on that later... He say ... More >>

Houston: More Hipster-Friendly than Salt Lake City and Dallas, At Least

Earlier this month Travel and Leisure asked their readers to rank 35 American cities on the quantity and quality of their live music scenes, coffeehouses, microbrews, and independent boutiques. They also asked their readers to quantify more ineffable qualities such as the quirkiness of a city and h ... More >>

Rocks Off's SXSW Survival Tips & Tricks

If you're like us, you've been counting down the days to South By Southwest for months. You've gone over the line ups as they've been announced, watched twitter feeds spring back to life after 11 months of silence, and followed the rumors about all the big names heading to Austin. You've probably m ... More >>

The Best (Fake) SXSW 2012 Rumors So Far

It happens every year: an errant rumor turns Austin and SXSW upside down for a few hours or even days, leading to mass hysteria, mild apathy, and sometimes sadness. At my first SXSW in 2001, I got a "hot tip" that the Beastie Boys were going to join Mix Master Mike at La Zona Rosa for a secret show, ... More >>

9 Cool & Cheap Things To Do This Weekend

Dozens of local rock, blues, jazz, folk and jam acts take over Dan Electro's Guitar Bar in the Heights for the completely free annual South by Due East festival, tonight through Monday. Door times are 5 p.m. Tonight and Monday, 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. DJ duo Ceeplus Bad Knives and Mr. Castillo ... More >>

Nationally Acclaimed Coreano's Food Truck Has Landed in Houston

Coreano's food truck's overwhelmingly tasty offerings made their first Bayou City appearance on Saturday, March 3. The restaurant on wheels, which offers an exciting hybrid of Korean and Mexican ingredients and cooking styles, was recently named the No. 1 food truck in Texas and No. 8 in the nation ... More >>

Mess With Texas Festival Returns To Mess With SXSW

Mess With Texas, Austin's antidote to the crowds of badge-holders clogging the streets and the mile-long lines coming out of showcases during South By Southwest, has returned for 2012 with a lengthy lineup for three days of music, March 15th, 16th, and 17th. This year the festival will be located at ... More >>

Co-Pilot

Scale the Summit

Bartender Chat: Curtis Cunningham of Onion Creek

This week we went over to the Heights to visit neighborhood coffee joint, eatery and bar Onion Creek, one of our favorite spots to perch on a picnic table in the sun and enjoy a good, dark brew, whether it's coffee or beer. Since they're open from 7 a.m. till late, it's good for breakfast, lunch or ... More >>

Balaclavas Sets Out On The Road Again For The Decadent West Coast

Photos by Allison WagonerBalaclavas last July at the Mink​There are tiny bone chips in my right elbow because of a curb in Austin, my inability to maneuver a children's bicycle down a steep hill, and inherent humanity. Back at SXSW '09 on the way to see Balaclavas play their showcase, I smashe ... More >>

Band of Heathens

This Just In: SXSW Announces First Round Of 2012 Showcasing Bands, Including Fat Tony and Something Fierce

Photo By Marco TorresFat Tony at a day show at SXSW '11​Sweet lord, it's not even Thanksgiving yet and South By Southwest is making us excited for March in Austin already. Today the industry festival announced a few bands coming to the capitol city next year, and a few Houston names and Rocks ... More >>

Gimme Some Truth: What Happens When Rabid Fans & Bands Meet

​We have all been there. You may have had a few drinks, you are at your favorite band's show, and you come to find yourself in the vicinity of one of your heroes. Word vomit. Torrential word vomit. But you mean well. "I really think youse guys is great and your albums really means a lots to ... More >>

What "Exhaustion" & Other Cancellation Excuses REALLY Mean

zazzle.com​Shit happens. It's a fact of life. We're willing to bet that every single person reading this blog has at one time taken a sick day or left work unexpectedly due to an emergency of some kind. And while we may see them as rock gods, musicians are people too, susceptible to the same h ... More >>

Not in the Face

Crag Redhawk: Lamely Poses As Tribal Cop in Heart of Austin, Allegedly

This insignia is not rendered in duct tape​One of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes, the Choctaw Indians once controlled most of what is now Mississippi. A remnant remained behind when Andrew Jackson removed the bulk of them to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. We bring you this little histo ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Photo courtesy of Tookie'sAll your honking finally paid off, folks!​It's a busy weekend across the city, from a pub crawl downtown to a flash mob in Clear Lake. But first things first, tickets are still available for the Hats Off to Hospitality gala this Sunday, June 26, at Haven. The gala wi ... More >>

Bright Light Social Hour's Favorite Summertime Jams

Bright Lights, White House: Bright Light Social Hour in front of Obama's DC crib. ​With a sound influenced by Sly & The Family Stone, The Allman Brothers, Daft Punk and Muddy Waters, Austin's Bright Light Social Hour has become one of the city's most prominent party bands. Imagine Foxy Shazam ... More >>

Cover Story: Taking Austitude Down A Peg Or Two

​I love Austin. Really, I do. I was born there. My family has had at least an off-and-on presence there since 1895, when my great-grandfather entered the University as a 28-year-old freshman, and his career with UT continued on to include a stint as registrar and a role in helping found the Te ... More >>

Identity Unknown

The Texas Biennial kicks off in Austin.

Keep Austin Weird: CultureMap to Invade the State Capital

Nothing defines the funky culture of Austin like socialites.​We at Hair Balls have never been much for the socialite set, but we know that there are a fair number of them in Houston, which is why the existence of CultureMap is not really all that surprising. There needs to be an outlet that co ... More >>

Ghosts of SXSWs Past: Justice, Glasvegas, Monotonix...

Craig Hlavaty​This year marks the fourth year Craig's Hlist has covered SXSW in Austin for the Houston Press, from the days when we had to shoot all of our own shows, had neither Facebook nor Twitter, and slogged through the day mostly drunk. It's a far cry from now, when we are glued to our p ... More >>

Rocks Off's Must-See Music Picks For SXSW '11

​As you may have heard, there's a teeny-tiny little music festival going on in Austin later this week. Some of the early birds on team Rocks Off are either already there or well on their way, as a matter of fact. With more than 2,000 artists playing the official part of SXSW alone, trying to ... More >>

VVM Hosts Our First Ever SXSWi Party and You're Invited

​Village Voice Media is pretty legendary for our party and showcase during the music portion of South By Southwest. (Seriously, have you checked out 2011's line-up?) This year, for the first time, we're also hosting a party for SXSW Interactive. The party will take place March 14 from 10 p. ... More >>

DPS Says It's ID'd "Persons of Interest" in Governor's Mansion Arson

DPSThe car in question​The seemingly unbreakable case of the 2008 arson at the Governor's Mansion may be a step closer to being solved. Or maybe not. DPS has just announced they have "a person of interest" in the case and are offering a $50,000 reward for him. Also, they're blaming GOP-hatin ... More >>