Dierks Bentley

RIP George Jones: Texas-Born Country Legend Dies at Age 81

George Jones, the Southeast Texas-born Country Music Hall of Famer whom most agree would be a face on Nashville's Mount Rushmore, has died at age 82. According to Fox News, repeating information from Jones' longtime publicist Kirt Webster, the singer died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center late ... More >>

RIP George Jones: Texas-Born Country Legend Dies at Age 81

George Jones, the Southeast Texas-born Country Music Hall of Famer whom most agree would be a face on Nashville's Mount Rushmore, has died at age 81. According to Fox News, repeating information from Jones' longtime publicist Kirt Webster, the singer died early Friday at Vanderbilt University Medica ... More >>

Upcoming: Miranda Lambert, Hall & Oates, Public Enemy, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.

.38 Special: With Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult., Fri., May 31, 8 p.m., TBA. Arena Theatre, 7326 SW Freeway, Houston. Attack Attack!: With The Plot In You, Get Scared, Dangerkids, Closer to Closure., Thu., May 16, 6 p.m., $13.50/$17.00. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Bret Michaels: Sat., June 2 ... More >>

Last Night: Jason Aldean at Reliant Stadium

Jason Aldean Reliant Stadium March 11, 2013 Somewhere along the way Jason Aldean rubbed me the wrong way, and whenever I did have a stray thought about him, the words "massive tool" weren't far behind. I spent most of his RodeoHouston concert Monday night at (a packed) Reliant Stadium trying to fig ... More >>

Last Night: Dierks Bentley at Reliant Stadium

Dierks Bentley Reliant Stadium March 6, 2013 I never, ever do something like this, for reasons I hope should be obvious to our readers, but after watching Dierks Bentley (and the crowd) Wednesday night at RodeoHouston, I felt compelled to Google the words "Dierks Bentley girlfriend." Ladies love th ... More >>

Rocks Off's Rodeo Concert Guide for "Bros":
Dierks Bentley

The Rocks Off Rodeo Concert Guide is our annual helpful(?) primer for those of you unsure about your HLSR music choices for the big event at Reliant Stadium. Date: March 6 Name: Dierks Bentley AKA: "Rhymes with 'jerks.'"

The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Tianna Hall, Tom Russell, Bruno Mars, etc.

Tianna Hall Sambuca, March 4 You could argue that Tianna Hall is the best jazz singer in all of Houston. I mean, you could argue against it too, but it's like arguing that the moon landing was faked. Her smoky voice is a fine mix of skill and improvised magic, and it's landed her on the Grammy nomi ... More >>

Rodeo Houston Fun

Go Texan with this guide.

Dear Grammys, I'm Breaking Up With You

Dear Stupid Grammys, I have a bone to pick with you. I sat through Taylor Swift's uninspired opening act while she half-sung/half-yodeled at a guy on a spinning bullseye. It was complete with an insulting and transparent Alice in Wonderland costume ripoff (which I'm not getting, by the way... is s ... More >>

Eli Young Band: "We Like to Stay Busy"

Now more than a decade old, the Eli Young Band is the rare Texas country act whose lyrics are not dominated by their home state and its musical heroes. Their music is largely fiddle-free, rather cut from the same cloth as pop-rockers like Tom Petty, Matchbox 20 and the Wallflowers, and if someone in ... More >>

A Full Dance Card

The 2013 RodeoHouston lineup reflects Houston, not Texas.

Fair Play

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo wii do whatever it takes to keep its revolving stage from going dark.

Rodeo Touches Every Corner of Pop Universe, Almost Misses Texas

I live too far away from the coasts to care about Coachella all that much, and have done far too much time in both the ACL and SXSW trenches to get too excited about anything that happens in far west Houston anymore. So instead, I have started looking forward to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo's ... More >>

Rockin' the Rodeo: Pitbull, Bruno Mars, The Band Perry, Mary J. Blige Lead 2013 Names

Pop stars of both the R&B and Latin persuasions, Bruno Mars and Pitbull, join new country favorites Brantley Gilbert, The Band Perry and the Zac Brown Band in the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo's 2013 entertainer lineup, the rodeo announced this morning. Rodeo veterans Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Dier ... More >>

If Houston Restaurants Were Bands: Oxheart As an Oi! Punk Band, Plus More

In a recent story meeting, I mentioned The Pass & Provisions to my fellow staff writers here at the Press. Assistant music editor and all-around pop culture buff Craig Hlavaty quickly threw out there: "That sounds like a screamo band." "In fact," he continued, "a lot of these new restaurants have n ... More >>

Bon Iver, Hipster Doofus

The Cowboy Prepares to Ride Away: George Strait Announces His Touring Retirement

Today country legend George Strait -- King George around these parts -- announced during a live YouTube broadcast from Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame that he is hanging up his touring boots and saddle after decades on the road. Strait is still slated to close out RodeoHouston's 2013 seaso ... More >>

Which Fake Randy Travis Should You Follow?

The passion of Randy Travis has been one of the saddest and most compelling musical dramas of the past year. One of Nashville's most beloved and seemingly mild-mannered singers (now a North Texan) has suddenly gone full-on Johnny Paycheck, brawling in church parking lots, popping out to buy smokes w ... More >>

Austin's New (C)KOKE-FM Can't Beat The Real Thing

Lonesome, Onry and Mean had been hearing about the new KOKE-FM progressive country station in Austin for a few weeks. One friend in particular kept raving about the station, so today we finally sauntered over to KOKE-FM (99.3) on the world wide web. Back in the day when we were in Radio/Television/ ... More >>

"Pontoon": Most Insidious Song of the Summer, or the Best

I had a bit of medical trouble late last year, so I spent the entire first six or seven months of 2012 immersed in '80s alternative rock. I suppose it was a sort of cocoon of some kind. I was in a rotten mood most of the time, so anything by the Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen or the Smiths was perfect. M ... More >>

The 10 Funniest & Weirdest Country Song Titles

Country music has come a long way as far as popularity goes over the years, from the likes of such bygone greats as Ernest Tubb and Eddy Arnold to current favorites Sugarland and Dierks Bentley. But it has always had some rather... interesting-sounding song titles to grace listeners' ears. Shall we ... More >>

Saturday: 93Q's "A Day In the Country" at The Woodlands

93Q's "A Day In the Country" Featuring Dierks Bentley, Chris Cagle, Jana Kramer, Wade Bowen, Ronnie Dunn, Thomas Rhett, Dustin Lynch and Lost Trailers Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Saturday, June 16, 2012 For the most part, 93Q's "A Day In the Country" was one Texas-sized pleasant surprise Saturd ... More >>

John Michael Montgomery

Upcoming: Swans, Charles Bradley, Bonnie Raitt, Dwight Yoakam, Joe Ely, Etc.

"93Q's Day In The Country" With Dierks Bentley, Ronnie Dunn, Chris Cagle, Wade Bowen, Jana Kramer, Thomas Rhett, The Lost Trailers, Lunabelles: Sat., June 16, 7 p.m., $16.00-$99.50. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, Spring. Adam Hood: Fri., July 27, 9 p.m., $12. The Firehous ... More >>

Upcoming: Roky Erickson, Gucci Mane, Marc Anthony, Toby Keith, Daniel Johnston, Etc.

40 oz. to Freedom (Sublime Tribute): Fri., July 27, 8 p.m., $7/$10. Scout Bar Clear Lake, 18307 Egret Bay Blvd., Houston. Aesthetic Perfection: Sat., June 16, 9 p.m., $15. Numbers, 300 Westheimer, Houston. Alpha Rev: Sat., May 19, 8 p.m., $12/$15. Jet Lounge, 1515 Pease St., Houston. America: Thu ... More >>

Sunday: iFest in Downtown Houston -- Galactic, Jason Isbell, Etc.

Houston International Festival Downtown Houston April 22, 2012 With a slight north breeze keeping festival-goers from broiling under a cloudless sky, Sunday's iFest turned into a perfect laid-back Houston day of rest and entertainment excess. It didn't hurt that the music lineup was both diverse an ... More >>

MTV Unplugged's 10 Strangest Moments

Those of you fond of criticizing the lack of music on MTV, take note: The network's venerable Unplugged series returns on Sunday with a performance by British indie-poppers Florence and the Machine. It'll be the first of eight shows planned for this year, with The Civil Wars and Dierks Bentley alrea ... More >>

15 Things Rocks Off Learned Watching The ACM Awards

Sunday nights, I usually like to watch The Amazing Race after 60 Minutes. I don't usually watch much reality television at all, but something about the combination of total incompetence, vicious backstabbing and exotic locales as several, two-person teams race around the globe is completely intoxica ... More >>

Upcoming: Bun B, Chris Brown, Lucinda Williams, Maze, Saxon, Etc.

​"9th Annual Ziegenbock Music Festival" With Eli Young Band, Dierks Bentley, Roger Creager, Bob Schneider, Robert Ellis, Folk Family Revival: Sat., Oct. 29, 11 a.m. The Showgrounds @ Sam Houston Race Park. Austra, Cloud Nothings: Sat., Nov. 5. Fitzgerald's. Andrew Karnavas & Runaway Sun: Wed ... More >>

Jamey Johnson

Dierks Bentley

Upcoming: Wilco, Wilco, Jimmy Buffett, Wilco, Wilco, Etc.

​"Canned Acoustica II" With Robert Ellis, Roky Moon, Tyagaraja, Black Queen Speaks, Chase Hamblin, Winter Wallace, Sara Van Buskirk, Ancient Cat Society: Thu., March 3. Warehouse Live. The Canvas Waiting, Holy Fiction, Finnegan, The Shallows: Fri., Feb. 11. Fitzgerald's. Clan Of Xymox: Sat. ... More >>

Texans Have Down Year In Grammy Nominations

​Texas artists, or artists with Texas roots, scored fewer nominations than usual when the Recording Academy announced its choices for the 53rd annual Grammy Awards Wednesday night. Perpetual nominees Beyonce and George Strait were nominated for residual tracks from I Am... Sasha Fierce and Twa ... More >>

Chatter: Long Ball

Ex-ballplayer and busker George Thorogood: Now playing in a kid's movie near you.

Dierks Bentley

Anatomy of a Diss

Breaking Curfew, Houston rapper MC Kane explains the protocol for putting people down.

RodeoHouston 2010 Entertainer Lineup Includes Mary J. Blige, Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber and Some Country Folks You Can Probably Guess

​Monday morning, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced the remainder of its Reliant Stadium entertainment calendar for this year's rodeo, which begins March 2. Debuting on Reliant's revolving stage this year are Jason Aldean (March 6) and Texans the Eli Young Band (March 19). Returning fr ... More >>

Distant Early Warning: Al Di Meola, David Gray, Los Lonely Boys, Mike Doughty, Theory of a Deadman, Willie Nelson, etc.

​Al Di Meola: Sat., Feb. 13. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. Celtic Woman: Fri., April 30. Toyota Center. Citizen Cope: Sat., March 13. House of Blues. Cowboy Mouth: Tue., Feb. 16. House of Blues. David Gray: Thu., March 11. Verizon Wireless Theater. Dexter Romweber, Exene Cervenka: Wed., Jan. 27. The ... More >>

RodeoHouston Announces Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts and Gary Allan Dates Next March

​The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced three more performers for its 2010 concert series Monday morning, joining the previously announced Jonas Brothers (March 7), Tim McGraw (March 8), Brad Paisley (March 11) and Brooks & Dunn (March 20) dates. The performers announced Monday morning ... More >>

Complete List of Texas' 2010 Grammy Nominees

​Rocks Off was pretty sure we missed a few Texas (or Texas-connected) artists in Thursday's writeup of the 2010 Grammy nominees, and it turns out we were right. We don't even remember scrolling past some of these categories over at Grammy.com, to be honest, but thanks to the Texas Music Office's C ... More >>

Creep Show

O Pioneers!!! turns growing up into unrelenting punk rock.

Can't Get It Out of My Head: "Ain't Livin' Long Like This"

Waylon Jennings, "Ain't Livin' Long Like This," live in 1980 Rocks Off is a big musical-phase guy. It's not unusual for him to get stuck - if "stuck" is indeed the proper word - listening to an artist or genre for weeks or months at a time. This summer it was Tom Petty (which he's still& ... More >>

Tonight: Riff Tiffs, Cex, Max Stalling, Heybale! and More

Giddyup!: Full RodeoHouston Lineup Announced

Slamburgers

The care and feeding of reporters

Hope Springs Eternal

A northern suburb tops our third installment of rating greater Houston's taste in music

Vagina Music Roundup

A scintillating survey