Craig Kinsey

Exclusive: Craig Kinsey's "Montrose Boulevard Blues"

Fried Rice: Craig Kinsey's take on Vitiman Water drink recipes

Fried Rice: In the Hot Seat with Debra from Two Star Symphony

The Best Local Songs of 2008, Part 2

"Whiskey Deuce," News on the March: Oh, snap. Bet you thought we'd pick "Moving Pictures." Nope, that's a good one, but there is something a little more memorable track 2 off the country-fied/barber shop quintet's first official EP, Glory Be! "Whiskey Deuce" has pitch-perfect harmonies, two-step-r ... More >>

This One Time at BandCamp

"Whiskey Deuce," News on the March: Oh, snap. Bet you thought we'd pick "Moving Pictures." Nope, that's a good one, but there is something a little more memorable track 2 off the country-fied/barber shop quintet's first official EP, Glory Be! "Whiskey Deuce" has pitch-perfect harmonies, two-step-r ... More >>

Craig Kinsey

A Sideshow Tramp goes solo and gives H-town some props

Best Band Stage Show

A Sideshow Tramp goes solo and gives H-town some props

Bluegrass Meltdown, Montrose-Style

Medicine Show, J.W. Americana and Two Star Symphony have the cure for the Monday-night blahs

The Whole Package

Medicine Show is packed with talent, youth, and charm

HPMA: Guess What? More Winners: Sideshow Tramps, Homopolice & A Dream Asleep, DJ Sun

Chris Gray​ Well, Little Joe didn't sit in with the Flamin' Hellcats, but Scarface sure did. Dude's got some serious Chuck Berry mojo going on. Who knew?Best Tribute Band: Beetle. Thanking a multitude of Houston music royalty. Beetle really is a sight to behold, and about a minute fraction of the ... More >>

Slide Show: Sideshow Tramps and Lots More Summer Fest

Amber Roussel​ Craig Kinsey (left) and Geoffrey Muller of Sideshow Tramps led a foot-stomping hillbilly hallelujah revival at Summer Fest Sunday, inspiring a mosh pit with overstimulated takes on gospel/blues standards like "St. James Infirmary" and "John the Revelator." Lots more where that came ... More >>

Aftermath: Free Press Summer Fest at Eleanor Tinsley Park

Photos by Amber Roussel/ Click here for slideshows from Day 1 and Day 2​ They said it couldn't be done, that no one in Houston would dream of spending two days in the punishing August heat at an outdoor music festival.An anonymous Of Montreal member shows off his tiger style.​Rightfully (somewha ... More >>

Coming of Age

Against long, long odds and punishing heat, Free Press Summer Fest is a hit.

No Turkeys Allowed

Our annual holiday shopping guide to recent local releases

2009 Concert Rewind: Backtracking to Free Press Houston Summerfest

Craig Hlavaty"Hippie Mike" may have been a bigger hit at Summerfest than any of the bands.​ Craig Hlavaty: "The two-day concert reminded us of a fun-size Austin City Limits Festival, with the best bits of Westheimer Block Parties of yore thrown in for good measure, with sprinkles of Houston's ... More >>

Distant Early Warning: Blue October, Felix Da Housecat, Hank III, Les Claypool, Megadeth and Roky Erickson Returns

​Blue October: Sat., May 15. The Showgrounds @ Sam Houston Race Park. "Choo-Choo Soul" With Genevieve: Sat., April 24. Verizon Wireless Theater. Cody Kouba: Thu., March 18. The Firehouse Saloon. Dale Watson: Wed., March 10. The Hideout @ Reliant Stadium. "Dirty Honey" With DJ Brett Koshkin, Ceepl ... More >>

A Few Possible Cures For Rocks Off's Acute "Can't Stay Home" Syndrome

Lev Kuperman/ myspace.com/viaaudio​ Monday night, an obviously delirious Rocks Off found ourselves upstairs at the Mink's Backroom instead of where we should have been, home in bed asleep. We enjoyed high-energy/lo-fi trio Vivian Girls, but at this point we are starting to realize we may have a pr ... More >>

MCM: More Local Music News Than Ice On The Roads

Rocks Off readers, if the cold weather has bogged down your day, we've got just the trick - a slew of local music news hot off the presses. Our soundtrack this week is the folky Sarah Neidermeyer and the Devil, the new album from Horse. It's available now, so give it a listen and maybe even put it ... More >>

MCM: More Local Music News Than Downtown Street Repairs

Rocks Off mines away all week at this mysterious mountain of Internet just to find all the precious local music news we can. ​This week's honorary soundtrack comes courtesy of HasHBrown, who dropped his Relationsh*t EP on Valentine's Day. MCM is sad to say goodbye to Weird Party and, belated ... More >>

Honky Tonk Blood A Macabrely Nice Surprise

Dawn McGee​See more photos from Thursday's premiere in our slideshow. Rocks Off will admit we were skeptical going into Thursday night's premiere of Honky Tonk Blood at the River Oaks Theatre. It's not so much that we thought the idea of a black comedy set in the Houston music scene was dubio ... More >>

Last Shot Of Whiskey Wednesday Is Powerful Stuff

Steve Jansen​Rocks Off doesn't know where you went to school, but Robert Ellis & the Boys' final Whiskey Wednesday at Fitzgerald's last night felt a lot like the prom/graduation party we always wanted to have. With maybe just a little more beer. 'Tis the season. As the ceiling sagged from th ... More >>

Top 10 Musician Tweets About Bin Laden's Death

​Last night, this member of Rocks Off was sitting at a pizza parlor off Ella when he found out that our military killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. It was a monumental moment in time, as we sat back and looked at the past decade and half of our lives, since we learned his name in 1998 with th ... More >>

More Local Music News Than Memorial Day Furniture Sales

What would your Friday be without Magnolia City Mixtape? Pretty bleak, if you're trying to keep up on all the local music here in Houston. Thankfully, we're here to make that last day of the work week just a bit better. Propain launched his music video for the Departure track, "Say I Won't." Dire ... More >>

Upcoming: Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Peter Bjorn & John, Etc.

​Bowling For Soup, The Dollyrots, Sunderland: Fri., Aug. 19. Warehouse Live. Breathe Carolina, Chiodos, I See Stars: Thu., July 28. Warehouse Live. Craig Kinsey, Sara Van Buskirk, Benjamin Wesley: Fri., June 10. Heights Live. The Damned Things: Wed., Aug. 17. House of Blues. The Dead Revo ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "George Gittoes: Witness to War" "Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang" "Musicians Who Make Art" "Nathan Green: Fill the Sky" "Perspectives 174: Re: Generation" "Voodoo Pop: Mary Hayslip and Trey Speegle"

​Bowling For Soup, The Dollyrots, Sunderland: Fri., Aug. 19. Warehouse Live. Breathe Carolina, Chiodos, I See Stars: Thu., July 28. Warehouse Live. Craig Kinsey, Sara Van Buskirk, Benjamin Wesley: Fri., June 10. Heights Live. The Damned Things: Wed., Aug. 17. House of Blues. The Dead Revo ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "Evergreen: Original Contemporary Prints" "George Gittoes: Witness to War" "Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang" "Just Press Print!" "Musicians Who Make Art" "Voodoo Pop: Mary Hayslip and Trey Speegle"

​Bowling For Soup, The Dollyrots, Sunderland: Fri., Aug. 19. Warehouse Live. Breathe Carolina, Chiodos, I See Stars: Thu., July 28. Warehouse Live. Craig Kinsey, Sara Van Buskirk, Benjamin Wesley: Fri., June 10. Heights Live. The Damned Things: Wed., Aug. 17. House of Blues. The Dead Revo ... More >>

Photographic Memory

Robert Ellis heads into the great wide open on his first New West LP.

Capsule Art Reviews: "The Clearing — Joey Fauerso," "Evergreen: Original Contemporary Prints," "Exurb: Input/Output," "George Gittoes: Witness to War," "Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang," "Jenny Schlief Stock Photography: From the Woman Series"

Robert Ellis heads into the great wide open on his first New West LP.

Four More Years

After 1,661 days (and counting) of immersion in the Houston music scene, a look back.

Capsule Art Reviews: "The Clearing — Joey Fauerso" "Exurb: Input/Output" "George Gittoes: Witness to War" "Jenny Schlief Stock Photography: From the Woman Series" "Mitch Dobrowner: New Work" "Musicians Who Make Art"

After 1,661 days (and counting) of immersion in the Houston music scene, a look back.

Capsule Art Reviews: "The Clearing — Joey Fauerso" "Exurb: Input/Output" "George Gittoes: Witness to War" "Jenny Schlief Stock Photography: From the Woman Series" "Liz Hickok: Jiggling Geography" "Mitch Dobrowner: New Work" "Musicians Who Make Ar

After 1,661 days (and counting) of immersion in the Houston music scene, a look back.

Capsule Stage Reviews: Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep, Hardbodies, "Liz Hickok: Jiggling Geography", Lynda Benglis: Glass Masks, Marc Swanson: The Second Story, "Mitch Dobrowner: New Work", "Musicians Who Make Art"

After 1,661 days (and counting) of immersion in the Houston music scene, a look back.

Capsule Art Reviews: "Collections: Annual HSPVA Juried Show", "Dan Kopp: TIMEAWAY" and "Josh Bernstein: Galveston", Hardbodies, Marc Swanson: The Second Story, Mitch Dobrowner: New Work, Musicians Who Make Art

After 1,661 days (and counting) of immersion in the Houston music scene, a look back.

BestFest Adds Los Skarnales, The Last Place You Look, Umbrella Man & Honky Tonk Blood Trio

Half-price GA passes = today's "Deal of the Day" GroovehousePachuco Boogie: Los Skarnales' Nestor Serrano (left) and Felipe Galvan at the 2011 Houston International Festival​The first Best of Houston® BestFest is shaping up nicely. Today it gives Rocks Off great pleasure to announce four mo ... More >>

Friday Night: Sideshow Tramps CD Release At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Jason WolterHayes Carll (left) and Craig Kinsey go down the road.​Sideshow Tramps Fitzgerald's September 9, 2011 If Aftermath doesn't have to be at the office first thing in the morning, sometimes we let our personal hygiene slide a little. Some days stretch well into the afternoon ... More >>

Midtown Throwdown

Your guide to our very first Houston Press Best of Houston® BestFest.

Dig This: Dig Dug, Bang Bangz, Los Skarnales, The Wiggins & Craig Kinsey

The current volume of local music is staggering, so Rocks Off wants to help you (and ourselves) keep up. Dig Dug​Dig This is back with another round of gems following some successful mining of the Internet. Here's another handful of local music acts for you to explore, including a few that yo ... More >>

BestFest: Honky Tonk Brothers Draw Blood, Carolyn Wonderland Laps The Field

Photos by Jason WolterThe Honky Tonk Blood Brothers​The Home Brew stage served up a buffet of local talent with Johnny Falstaff, John Evans, Southern Backtones' Hank Schyma, and Craig Kinsey of the Sideshow Tramps, otherwise known as the Honky Tonk Blood Brothers. Each member of the quartet tu ... More >>

Upcoming: Beirut, Carl Cox, Hayes Carll, Three Six Mafia, Etc.

​Alexis Marceaux & the Samurai, Elaine Greer, Day Sailor:  Thu., Oct. 27. Rudyard's. DJ Ali Shaheed, Kashmere Reunion Stage Band: Sat., Oct. 22. House of Blues. Babyface: Sat., Nov. 5. Arena Theatre. Beausoleil: Tue., Nov. 8. McGonigel's Mucky Duck. Beirut: Mon., Oct. 31. Warehouse Live. ... More >>

30 Seconds With Astronautalis

Rocks Off hitched a ride on a space whale in order to hook up with Andy Bothwell, also known as Astronautalis to see what we could learn about our biggest hope for rap in 30 seconds. paperocean​Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Astronautalis: "Love in an Elevator" by Aerosmith. ... More >>

Locally Speaking

My Top Ten Local Albums of 2011