Bill Withers

Har Mar Superstar Brings Bye Bye 17 to Mango's Tonight

Har Mar Superstar hits Mango's on Wednesday night a week before his newest album, Bye Bye 17, hits physical and digital shelves. The collection of songs are heavily-influence by vintage soul and R&B, but still have his cheeky, lovelorn swagger going for them. He recorded the album in Austin at Pub ... More >>

The Best Shows In Houston This Week: Rihanna, Suzanna Choffel, Wavves, etc.

Rihanna Toyota Center, April 15 Rihanna has combined her athletic stature, formidable vocals, down-for-whatever attitude and some alarming life choices to become a flashpoint pop star, a lightning rod for controversy that even Lady Gaga would have trouble rivaling these days. Musically, the Barbado ... More >>

Today's 10 Most Predictable Acts to See In Concert

There's nothing quite as soul-crushing as a disappointing concert. We've all been there; shit rolls downhill the minute the dude behind you dumps his beer on your girl's shoes, or the security bro doesn't find your umpteenth "Freebird" request to be quite as funny as you did. It'll ruin the night wi ... More >>

The New Crusaders

TSU restarts its jazz program, tapping into the talents of the fabled Joe Sample and kids looking for a place to play.

5 Bands George Clooney Likes

Boy, the Houston media is in a tizzy about George Clooney today. The King of Hollywood is in town this evening as part of the "Brilliant Lecture Series" at the Wortham Center. (Celebrity With a Cause Alert: Clooney, who will be interviewed by Houston socialite Lynn Wyatt, will probably discuss his a ... More >>

The American Bandstand (Extended) Hot 100

Somehow it's hard to believe that Dick Clark was only 82 years old when he died after suffering a "massive heart attack" Wednesday morning in Santa Monica, Calif. (Since I managed to survive one myself, I've noticed that anytime someone dies of a heart attack, it's always "massive."). Despite his yo ... More >>

Old School

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

The Best Tony Hawk Video Game Soundtracks

​It sounds like heresy to most older folks, this writer included, but for about the past decade, a lot of younger gamers have been discovering punk rock, ska, and classic and indie hip-hop through the Tony Hawk series of skateboarding video games. The idea may be repellent to those of us who r ... More >>

Last Night: Jimmy Buffett At Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Photos by Jay Lee​Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion May 5, 2011 See more changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes in our slideshow. Blowing through the jasmine of our mind, Aftermath once got it in our head somehow that Jimmy Buffett wrote "Margaritavill ... More >>

Neil Diamond's Top Six Pop-Culture Moments

​Happy Birthday to the undisputed "Jewish Elvis," Mr. Neil Diamond, who can make a grown man weep with a few bars of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," swiveling his hips and swaying his hair while wielding a deadly acoustic guitar. Diamond turns 70 years young today, and he seems to only be get ... More >>

Meridian: A Retrospective Of Better Days

Mark C. AustinKings of Leon at Meridian, 2006​The Meridian Saga seems to have ended, after close to a year of weirdness and shady business dealings. In the past twelve months it went through overhauls, new management, lockouts, changes in image, mild scandals, and even a name change. Remember ... More >>

Hollywood Ain't No Sunshine in Bill Withers Documentary

Still Bill, the documentary about soul legend Bill Withers (not the Tarantino movie), was released on DVD this week. The filmmakers spent eight years documenting the life of the Thoreau-quoting, piano-playing, philosophizing bluesman, who had immense success with a string of R&B and pop hits bu ... More >>

Rick's Picks For iFest's Second Weekend

Ed. Note: Here are Houston International Festival Director of Peforming Arts Rick Mitchell's choices for can't-miss acts for the festival's second weekend, spread over five categories. Rick should know; he books all the artists. Rocks Off will follow with a few more picks of our own a little later o ... More >>

Aftermath: Booker T's Rock-Solid Soul And Farm-Fresh "Onions" At Wired Live

Photos by Brittanie SheyThat's right, Booker T also plays guitar.​ Booker T has had a hand (well, two hands) in crafting so many pop, soul and R&B staples that the hardest part of his pre-concert routine must be making out his set list. Where do you put "Green Onions"? How many of the dozens o ... More >>

Booker T

Hustlers Brass Band

Hustlers Brass Band's Big Top Residency Begins Tonight

Jay Lee​ Dismal weather getting you down? Short days got you singing the blues? Are you hungry for some free red beans and rice and funk-drenched brass-band jams? Got five bucks? Then get on down to the Big Top tonight and/or every Tuesday through the end of the year for the Hustlers Brass Band's ... More >>

Aftermath: Lucero's Iron-Plated Soul and Douchebag Fisticuffs at Meridian

Photos by Groovehouse / Click here for a slideshow​ As we enter the second-to-last month of what was been an alternately amazing and confounding year for music, Aftermath has been thinking a lot about recurring themes we have encountered over the past twelve months. Seeing a rock and roll sh ... More >>

Aftermath: Taylor Hicks' Supper-Club Soul Patrol at Warehouse Live

Craig Hlavaty​Monday night's Taylor Hicks show left Aftermath with way more questions than answers, mostly of the existential variety rather than the musical. Our minds were blown, and not in the same "Oh man, I finally got to listen to Zaireeka the other night" kind of way that the Soul Patrol ma ... More >>

That Other Rumble in the Jungle

Documenting an epic concert in Zaire, Soul Power puts on quite a show.

Five Ways to Improve 107.5 the Eagle

Paging the Purple One... the Eagle Needs You!For Houston music commentators, picking on the sorry state of the city's commercial airwaves is even more fun than sportswriters must have making fun of the Astros. But on the rare occasion a new format does come along - even if it's hardly "new" - it sti ... More >>

Maryland Bang

Meet Rye Rye, Baltimore's latest rap sensation.

Memorial Day Rockers, Part 2: The Navy

The U.S. Navy has an equally strange list of famous musician alumni as any other branch: Two musical laughingstocks and a titan of mournful soul were former midshipmen.

Summer of Salvation

The Terminator is back. Plus lots of other movies we can't wait to see this season.

The Man with the Golden Horn

Photo by John Nova LomaxMilton Martin downtown on the corner of Main and McKinneyMilton Martin spends his days blowing his soprano sax from his wheelchair in the bright sun at the corner of Main and McKinney, hard by the assemblage of broken dreams and frustrated town planning that is Main Street Sq ... More >>

Aftermath: Shinyribs at Under the Volcano

Live Shots: DJ Eleven

Chico Hamilton

Juniflip, Believe, 6th Ave. Romp, Heritage

Retro Fits

Roll Bounce skates on its '70s vibe

Playbill

Rotation

Bully Boys

A Sharp Right

In When We Were Kings, Ali delivers the performance of a lifetime