Guy Clark

Songza: Can a "Musical Concierge" Match Your Mood?

"Working? Relaxing? At the gym? Songza plays you the right music at the right time." Or so it thinks. I do a lot of weird stuff, Songza. As I write this, I am still nursing a swift kick in the feels after a brutally frustrating Sunday-evening Texans loss to the New England Patriots. Where is the ... More >>

The 30 Best Texas Albums

Ranking the 30 best Texas albums of the past 30 years seemed like an impossible task. We did it anyway.

Joe Ely at Dosey Doe Conroe: Not Your Average Shopping-Center Show

It has been said that the original Dosey Doe recalls a cozier, more tastefully curated Branson, Missouri. To that comparison I often joke that it's more like a giant Cracker Barrel or Saltgrass Steakhouse with world-class in-store performances. But Saturday night at Dosey Doe's new Conroe location ( ... More >>

Hot Band Alert: Lumineers Light Up Fitz Tonight

A few times a year, word of mouth about a band spreads at an unusually rapid pace. You can almost track the buzz in real time. First you hear a murmur or see a headline on some music blog this band or that one might be good, then somebody you know tells you they think you would like them. Then you s ... More >>

Health Department Roundup: Fast Times

"Islands made of cheese / And a sushi bar / Health inspectors say / That there's nothin' wrong..."​Fast food can be hard to resist. It's just so convenient and satisfyingly self-destructive. Plus, corporations put chemicals in that stuff to give you physical cravings for their processed crap. ... More >>

Balaclavas, Moccs, Fat Tony Place In Pazz & Jop Poll

Show of hands, everyone who is surprised this is No. 1.​Music writers all know that once they get their Village Voice Pazz & Jop ballot in their e-mail inbox, that it's time to tally their loves from the last year. It's sort of like the leaves changing or the first freeze of winter coming. You ... More >>

Hayes Carll

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 >>

Mickey Newbury: Houston's Forgotten Genius

"Hank Williams' pain songs, Newbury's train songs/ And 'Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain' - Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings, "Luckenbach, Texas" ​Lonesome, Onry and Mean was sitting around having a few cold pops the other night when we put on The Best of Mickey Newbury. It wasn't long before the ... More >>

For the Sake of the Song: Sanitized, Still Essential

​No discussion of Houston music history is complete without mentioning Montrose folk venue Anderson Fair. The list of performers alone is staggering, but there's more to the old spaghetti restaurant than just the people who've graced the stage, and that's what documentary For the Sake of the S ... More >>

For the Sake of the Song

PR maven Sarah Gish celebrates a decade of success

Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett Praise Houston On NPR

npr.org​Monday around lunchtime, local singer-songwriter and multiple 2010 HPMA nominee Lee Alexander emailed us that Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett were being interviewed together on NPR's World Cafe. Not only that, he added, both men were saying lots of nice things about Houston, where - in cas ... More >>

Anderson Fair Documentary Premieres At SXSW; Hits Houston Worldfest April 10

​ One of the cinematic highlights of SXSW was yesterday's world premiere of For The Sake of The Song: The Story of Anderson Fair. Produced by Houstonians Bruce Bryant and Jim Barham, the film documents the forty year history of one of the most storied Texas music venues. The old spaghetti rest ... More >>

Yes, We Admit It: We Have No Clue How To Judge A Two-Step Contest

Rocks Off has no idea how to judge a country two-step competition. A few weeks ago we were asked if we would take time out of our Friday night to judge Reliant Energy's Two-Step Showdown at Rebels Honky Tonk on Washington Avenue. Yes, that Washington Avenue. The one we spent our January mired in, r ... More >>

Still Not Sold On SXSW? How About Smokey Robinson, High On Fire, She & Him, Band Of Horses, Drive-By Truckers, Deer Tick, Anya Marina, Black Angels, Major Lazer...

Today the organizers of the SXSW Music Festival announced their showcase schedule for the music portion of the industry fest starting on March 17. This is the news Rocks Off has been looking for, so let's get it on. We are now one month away from Sixth Street and one of the world's biggest conglome ... More >>

Somewhere Trouble Don't Go

The best Texas albums of 2009...or what we could squeeze in.

American Central Dust: The Americana Class of 2009, Part 2

​5. Great Lake Swimmers, Lost Channels (Nettwerk) Great Lake Swimmers frontman Tony Dekker has written his fair share of heartbreaking, reverb-soaked ballads in the past, but Lost Channels finds him and his band also dabbling in Waterboys-style folk rock. What results is the Swimmers' most varied ... More >>

Darrell Scott

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Drive-By Truckers or the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe?

​Lonesome Onry and Mean is torn as to his whereabouts this evening. Drive-by Truckers will be knocking down walls and eardrums at House of Blues, and that's where we'll probably end up. But if Galveston was 70 miles closer - it's not the drive down, it's the drive back! - we would certainly be hea ... More >>

Tonight: Anderson Fair Vet Vince Bell at Brazos Books and Under the Volcano

​Vince Bell's Houston roots go way, way back. When Anderson Fair opened its doors in the early '60s, Bell was one of the troubadours who not only played the joint, he also lived in the Montrose. If you can believe him, he ate so many of his meals at the club that he often refers to Anderson Fair i ... More >>

This Just In: Dave Alvin, Darrell Scott Coming To Mucky Duck

We've just gotten an email alert from McGonigel's Mucky Duck about two stellar shows added to the fall lineup: Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women on September 19, and Darrell Scott on November 15. Undoubtedly, both of these shows will sell out. Tickets are on sale now. Alvin has just released a new a ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Good Trouble for Hayes Carll in 2008

We freely admit we are homers, as big a fans of Hayes Carll as Milo Hamilton is of the Astros, but the Press isn't the only media outlet in the country impressed by Carll's first Lost Highway album, Trouble in Mind. The album, which featured the Americana Music Association's song of the year, "She L ... More >>

Texas Music on Sirius/XM's Outlaw Country

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Darrell Scott's Modern Hymns

Texas Food at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.

The Wayback Machine: 15, Ten and Five Years Ago in Houston Music

Grand Theft Auto X: The Screwston Chronicles

Introducing…Lonesome Onry and Mean

Lyle Lovett, It's Not Big It's Large

www.lylelovett.com

The Houston 100: From Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown to Texas Johnny Brown

Darrell Scott

Live in NC

Playbill

A Clean Brake

After almost losing his voice, country rocker David Brake starts singing his own songs

Reckless Kelly

Saturday, July 12

F.Co

The King of Texas (F.Co Music Management)

The Whole Package

Medicine Show is packed with talent, youth, and charm

No Need for Nashville

Houston Marchman fights for our cool country culture

Gardeners of the Music World

Nightclub owners provide a feeding place for musicians

Racket

Pinpointing when Texas music jumped the shark

The Coffeehouse Kid

Stardom might be cool for Adam Carroll. But mainly he just wants to be your friend.

Scene But Not Heard

Houston's student shortage forces the indie scene to go the blue-collar route

A KIKK in the Pants

The new "Houston's Country Alternative" has got 'em waiting, worried at KPFT

Houston Kid

Rodney Crowell sets his topsy-turvy East End childhood to music

Once More With Feeling

Back to the Jungle

Night & Day

June 11 - 17, 1998

Press Picks

Lounge Act

A Way with Words

Inherited Road is another good thing from Houston's Kimberly M'Carver

Hot Koko