B.B. King

Friday Night: B.B. King at House of Blues

B.B. King House of Blues January 11, 2013 "An abbreviated hour with a legend is still very magical, even if it doesn't live up to expectations." -- me, October 2011 There is no dispute, Mr. Riley B. King embodies the blues moreso than anyone has ever embodied anything, ever. He was born in Mississ ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend

Down Warehouse Live, January 11 Long-running sludge daddies Down are still riding high from last year's six-song EP, Down IV Part I - The Purple EP, and rightfully so. The effort was one of 2012's best releases, making it onto plenty of year-end lists and satisfying Down fans' hunger for new materi ... More >>

B.B. King

6 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: Dinosaur Jr., Some Stones, Big K.R.I.T., Optimo Radio, etc.

Dinosaur Jr. Friday, Fitzgerald's Dinosaur Jr. may be one of the most underrated indie-rock acts of the past 25 years. They weren't as sexy as Pearl Jam or as populist as Nirvana, but the music dripping from the instruments of the criminally-unsung J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph has ... More >>

Big K.R.I.T.

Freedom Over Texas

Six-String Pawn Stars: Top 10 Famous Stolen Guitars

Tom Petty got a real kick in the balls late last week when he discovered that his vintage blond 1967 12-string Rickenbacker and his Gibson SGTV Junior had been stolen from a California soundstage where the Heartbreakers had been rehearsing for an upcoming tour. Three other vintage guitars owned by b ... More >>

Rocks Off's Ultra-Hip Rodeo Concert Guide: ZZ Top

Date: March 8 Name: ZZ Top AKA: "ZZ Fucking Top" Genre: Tube snake boogie

Rap Boom Reload: Coming Up

Houston has some new rap possibilities

Friday Night: B.B. King at the House of Blues

The blues is a funny ol' gal. By definition, the musical genre is a projection of the sadness and melancholy caused by a broken heart, or the lament of a "just can't catch a break" life. Yet the sold out crowd at the House of Blues on Friday night exhibited the exact opposite of sadness and downtro ... More >>

Say My Name: Bands Named After Actual, Real People

Punk Rock Elite​This Friday would have been Z.Z. Hill's 76th birthday, but the popular Texas bluesman passed away in 1984 from a heart attack. Most people only know who the late soul crooner is through his connection to ZZ Top. The moniker of that little ol' band from where we are sitting righ ... More >>

What A Houston Blues "Walk Of Fame" Could Look Like

Lightnin' Hopkins marker photo by Matthew Keever​It was a real pleasure for Rocks Off and Lonesome Onry and Mean to bring you this week's Houston Press cover story, "Old School," but it was also bittersweet. Not to put too fine a point on it, but none of these people are getting any younger - ... More >>

Old School

Musicians in their 70s and 80s are keeping Houston's traditional blues scene real.

Top 5 Mother-In-Law Songs Besides "Mother In Law"

neworleans.comFormer owner Betty Fox at New Orleans' Mother-In-Law Lounge​Q: What is the ideal weight for a mother-in-law? A: About 2.3 pounds, including the urn. Rocks Off has more or less been content with bachelorhood our entire life, so we have no idea what having a mother-in-law is lik ... More >>

Rocks Off's Favorite Non-2010 Music Of 2010

Editor's Pick: It was probably Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne, same as last year. So how about Nirvana's In Utero, which I dragged out of mothballs when we did our article about Nevermind's anniversary in September. In Utero fried my hair all over again, and then got me thinking about the band's cover of ... More >>

Top 10 Honorary Texas Musicians

West Vita​Right here, right now, and in print all damn week, you can read the Houston Press' interview with perhaps the hottest new band on the South 40, San Antonio's Hacienda (above). Whether or not they go on to become a South Texas Kings of Leon - Hacienda is also three brothers and a cous ... More >>

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 >>

Trade Martin: Stopping The "Mosque At Ground Zero" In Song

Every day Rocks Off trolls the tubes of you in search of videos to share. If you have something that you think deserves to be video of the day, send a link to jef_rouner at yahoo dot com. ​Now, your daily VJ has been told by the nice people whose checks pay for his daughter's daycare that he ... More >>

Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010

The greatest of guitar greats dazzle during a two-hour film documentary

Discount iFest Tickets Through KPFT; GaGa On Sale Next Friday; Husk Blows Away; Free Ani D Tickets & Poster Show

Courtesy of iFest.org​The 40th anniversary of iFest is coming up next weekend, and this year music from the Caribbean will be spotlighted, with headliner and President of Funkadelia George Clinton (right; no relation to that other President). KPFT is also turning 40 this year, and for a limited ti ... More >>

The Musical Minds That Made Booker T The Soul Man He Is Today

​How good a musician is Booker T? Along with the rest of the MGs, the house band of seminal soul imprint Stax who had several instrumental hits of their own besides backing Stax's powerhouse roster (Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding...) throughout the '60s, the Memphis-born m ... More >>

Ghosts of Washington Avenue

Noise goes whistling through the scenester artery's music venue graveyard.

“Live in Texas” Photo Exhibit

Web exclusive!

Aftermath Extra: The Best Concerts of the Year, Part 9

[Note: This is the final installment of Aftermath's survey of memorable 2008 concerts - the ones he attended and reviewed (mostly, but not always, by him) anyway; kudos to Valient Thorr, Ice Cube, Dr. Dog, Son Volt, Journey/Heart, Wilderness, the HPMA showcase and many other ... More >>

The Year in Albums

Aftermath: B.B. King at House of Blues

Photos by Mark C. Austin   B.B. King deserves a break. If the genial Buddha of the blues, now 83, would rather spend the bulk of his two-hour set bantering with the sold-out crowd about Viagra (groan) and the wayward ways of womankind instead of, you know, singing and playing, he's earne ... More >>

B.B. King Sure Has a Lot of Friends

Is there anyone who doesn't love B.B. King? If you're talking about the 83-year-old bluesman's fellow musicians, the answer is a resounding "No!" King has probably sat in with with more players (and vice versa) than anybody else save perhaps Willie Nelson, with whom of course King has teamed up co ... More >>

B.B. King

B.B. King

Tonight: Michael Hardie and Milton Hopkins at Red Cat Jazz Cafe

Houston’s Golden Horn Is Silenced: Calvin Owens, R.I.P.

Blues Clues at The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club

Ring in the Holidays at Charles Brown Blues Fest

Diane Schuur

A jazz diva swings with the University of Houston Jazz Orchestra

Guitar Shorty’s Birthday Party

The bluesman spends his b-day on stage

B.B. King, circa 1970-something

Guitar Shorty

Guitar Shorty performs Saturday, January 13, at the Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, 5731 Kirby, 713-523-9999.

Guitar Shorty

Bringing Home Baby

Homeboy made good John Rando debuts a charming love tale

Playbill

Blowing His Own Horn

Rotation

More Blues Than You Can Use

Flower Power

A once-slumbering syndicated radio giant empties its vaults

Rotation

Static

Rotation

Sound Check

Still King

Harmonica Half-Pint