Daft Punk

Latino Music's Many Styles Charge Austin's Pachanga Fest

Pachanga Fest Latino Music Festival Feat. Los Lobos, Celso Piña, Intocable, 3BallMTY, y más Fiesta Gardens, Austin May 10 & 11, 2013 Since 2008, the annual, family-friendly Pachanga Fest Latino Music Festival has showcased the vibrant blend of Latino-created music and art and its impact on Americ ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend: Lost Bayou Ramblers, Daft Punk Tribute, etc.

Will Downing Bayou Music Center, May 10 Known for his rich baritone vocals and an unabashed devotion to romantic ballads, Will Downing may be the quintessential ladies man, so keep a close eye on your woman as he croons a blend of contemporary jazz and R&B that would make even Luther blush. With a ... More >>

Madman Across the Water

Sir Elton John piano-pounded Toyota Center March 28.

ACL 2013 Predictions & Rumors: Is This Jimmy Buffett's Year?

2013 marks the first year that the Austin City Limits Music Festival -- Texas' other large outdoor music festival, never to be confused with Houston's own Free Press Summer Fest -- expands to two consecutive weekends with identical lineups. At this point the lineup for the festival, scheduled for Oc ... More >>

Upcoming: Har Mar Superstar, Rodriguez, Andy Bell, The Dwarves, Todd Rundgren, etc.

Ace Hood & Twista: Sun., April 7, 6 p.m., $45-$100. Stereo Live, 6400 Richmond, Houston. Air Supply: Thu., May 9, 8:30 p.m., $158-$218. Dosey Doe, 25911 I-45 N., Spring. All the Dead Pilots: With Fault, A Traitor at Heart., $10. Scout Bar, 18307 Egret Bay Blvd., Houston. Allah-Las: With Infinite ... More >>

Top 20 Things We Need to See at SXSW Next Week

Next week the Rocks Off Action Team goes to Austin for Ess Ex Ess Dubya for another four days of fun, sun, eavesdropping, and live music. And swag, of the free kind, not the kind that Justin Bieber is still trying to make happen. This year at SXSW we're looking forward to many, many things, includ ... More >>

The Great Outdoors

Your 2013 music-festival outlook, Texas edition.

The Rocks Off 100: Cristina Acuna, Cactus Music's Twitter Fingers

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. Who? Although Social Media Person is just one of the many hats Cactus Music Store Mana ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: Cristina Acuna, Cactus Music's Twitter Fingers

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. Who? Although Social Media Person is just one of the many hats Cactus Music Store Mana ... More >>

Your 2013 Music Festival Outlook (Texas Edition)

I don't know about you, but I am not totally in love with winter weather. Yes, it affords you the ability to wear beanies and cool fingerless gloves and dress like a hoodlum, but it's the heat that I love the most. That's why I love thinking about music festivals, because that's where we all get t ... More >>

Firts Loook Inside Rice's New Swishahouse Library Archive

ACL 2013: What's Next For Texas' Other Big Music Festival?

As we close the books on ACL's 2012 festivities, full of mud -- but not too much mud, Iggy Pop's elastic skin, Neil Young's reverb, and light shows aplenty, we look forward to the 2013 edition of the Austin megafest. Rewind: ACL Festival Expanding to 2 Weekends in 2013 Rocks Off's Complete ACL 2 ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: DJ Gracie Chavez

Who: In a city abundant with talented DJs, Gracie Chavez shines bright above the rest. She began her career in 1999, spinning her first love: Drum 'n' bass music. She grew her dance-music repertoire through house and techno, rocking out raves and clubs such as Karma and Hyperia. From 2005-08, she pl ... More >>

RIP Adam Yauch: Beastie Boys' MCA Dead At 47

Well, damn. Adam Yauch, the gravel-voiced third of Noo Yawk '80s and '90s rap-rock superstars the Beastie Boys, has died at age 47, Rolling Stone reports. The exact circumstances of his death were unknown at press time, but Yauch had been battling cancer since being diagnosed with a tumor in his sa ... More >>

Ten Bands From the '00s Underground That Should Consider Reuniting

All right, so they haven't been broken up as long as the bands in April's excellent look at '90s underground bands who should get back together. We still miss 'em. You know how it is: you get to remembering that album you loved from a few years back and think to yourself "Huh, I wonder when The So-a ... More >>

Party Fowl Wins Wingtoberfest 2011

Photo by Rachel BohananSee more photos from Wingtoberfest in our slideshow.​"Those are good," laughed Jonathan Jones, chef at Xuco Xicana, as he pointed at Party Fowl's wings last night. "But you couldn't eat a dozen of them." Indeed, the breakfast-for-dinner wings that Party Fowl brought to ... More >>

Friday Night: Deadmau5 At Verizon Wireless Theater

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Check out more photos of Friday night's Mauskateers. Deadmau5, Excision, Tommy Lee & DJ Aero, Grrl Parts Verizon Wireless Theater September 16th, 2011 The last few times you've heard from this member of Rocks Off, we've brought you reports from major electronic and da ... More >>

Charlie Sheen: A Playlist Full Of Winning

Photo illustration by Monica Fuentes and Chris Gray"Heeeeeeeeeeere's Charlie!!"​The social media Hiroshima and Nagasaki that is the past two weeks of Charlie Sheen's life has led us to join the party by making our own playlist of Sheen songs. As if enough hasn't been written about this gonzo ... More >>

Devo And The 16 Other Best Bands In Uniform

Mark C. Austin​Devo hits Warehouse Live on March 25, the band's first Houston date since a 2006 appearance with the Psychedelic Furs - who, coincidentally enough, are also coming to Warehouse (April 23) to do all of 1981's Talk Talk Talk ("Pretty In Pink," "Into You Like a Train"), plus "Love ... More >>

Two Timing: The 11 Best Rock Duos

Todd Cole​Wednesday night, noisy indie duo No Age (above) pulls into Fitzgerald's. The two-piece of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer Dean Allen Spunt, starting making waves in 2007 with their debut Weirdo Rippers. 2008's Nouns brought them even more acclaim, and along the way they gained fo ... More >>

Wangcaster Rules: Rocks Off's Top 10 Stories Of 2010

Insert "wanking" joke here.​It's been a wild and crazy year. And while we're still wrapping up some of our personal favorite stories of 2010, Rocks Off throughout we'd take a look at the Top 10 most-read stories of the most recent solar rotation. Relive the magic with our links below... 10. N ... More >>

Guns N' Roses, Rolling Stones, Prince Coming In 2011?

Sind Axl und Slash wieder Freunde geworden?​Rocks Off is in the concert business for all intents and purposes. We scour Pollstar and other Web sites and almost hourly looking for new shows and tours to tell you about around the clock. In the span of writing this introduction we just listed Luc ... More >>

Friday Night: Ghostland Observatory At Warehouse Live

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Ghostland Observatory Warehouse Live October 29, 2010 For more photos from the show, see our wild 'n' crazy slideshow here. As Rocks Off approached Warehouse Live Friday, we were treated to a group of construction workers and cops...in true Halloween-costume fashion, ... More >>

The Ten Funniest Misunderstood Lyrics Ever

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn GrayJust another day of kicking the dancing queen...​Everybody knows that the part in "Purple Haze" where Jimi Hendrix (who died 40 years ago this month) sings "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky" sounds a lot like "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy." There's even ... More >>

Dave Wrangler Is Under The Influence... Before Our Washington Shore Party

Album art by Wyatt LittleRocks Off mentioned this right after Houston's main man on the mash-ups, Dave Wrangler, agreed to DJ tonight's Washington Shore party (8 p.m., rain or shine) at the Washington Avenue Drinkery, but it's worth repeating. Wrangler's got a new 18-track collection of mix-n-match ... More >>

He Said She Said: Ten Artists We Would Go Gay For

​It always happens: you and your friends toss back a few beers and the talk turns to what celebrities and models you find attractive. At first it starts out innocent enough, arguing the merits of Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, Marissa Miller or Paula Deen. Well that last name is actually just our ... More >>

Aftermath: Goodnight and Good Morning, Roman Candles, Timber!, Stove Blow and Scuba Steve at Super Happy Fun Land

Photos by Andrew BarcusTimber! (right) and Scuba Steve join forces. Going to a show at Super Happy Fun Land is always an out-of-this-world experience. The multicolored walls tell a story, one of a man capable of eating his own leg, another of just random tagging, although it is fairly new. These wal ... More >>

Idol Beat: The Final 13 Results

Ray Mickshaw/ Fox Nunez out: Don't let the door hit you where the Good Lord split you, Jorge (middle).A new wrinkle in the elimination curve! The return of a prodigal Idol winner! A performance from a self-important pop-rap blowhard! Two more contestants falling under the proverbial sword! Th ... More >>

A New Class of Rappers Finally Bucked Houston's Syrupy Stereotype This Year

It Is What It Is

2006 Houston Press Music Awards Supplement

Fresh Produce

With underground hip-hop or mass-appeal club records, RJD2 is a stickler for details

An ABBA to Zebra of Guilty Pleasures

Music figures tell all abou their most shameful faves

The Prince

At long last, the Godfather's son makes his first film, and it was not easy