Jason Mraz

The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Iceage, Fleetwood Mac, Chubby Carrier, etc.

Iceage Mango's, June 3 Not even out of their teens, Denmark's Iceage caused quite a stir within the indie-punk world a couple of years ago with New Brigade, an album that was almost pure id. With one nihilistic fuzz-bomb after another, it caused some critics to suggest a latter-day Joy Division wit ... 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 >>

The Best Shows In Houston This Week: Tame Impala, Dropkick Murphys, Zac Brown Band, Nosaprise, Etc.

Tame Impala With The Growl Fitzgerald's, February 25, 8 p.m. Tame Impala's late-2012 effort Lonerism plays like the Beatles circa Abbey Road channeling T. Rex's The Slider, with a hefty helping of early '10s dream-fuzz. The Australian act has come along way from opening for MGMT in 2010, a tour in ... More >>

5 New Holiday Albums For Your Halloween Horror

Right now, as soon as you can either get to year nearest music retailer or click over to iTunes or Amazon, you can buy the first holiday-themed 2012 album we have heard of, Jason Gray's Christmas Stories: Repeat the Sounding Joy. If that sounds early to you, well, yeah, but we actually got the email ... More >>

10 Great Hal David Lyrics: "Enough Germs to Catch Pneumonia"

The music world truly lost one of the greats when songwriter Hal David passed away at age 91 following a stroke this past Saturday in Los Angeles. To borrow an old joke, the lyricist wasn't from the old school, he was from the school they tore down to build the old school: The artists who covered hi ... More >>

HPMA Showcase: Sunday's 12 Best Random Moments

Besides all the music, Rocks Off asked our writers to keep an eye out for the unusual at Sunday's HPMA showcase -- because it's everywhere -- and let us know if they found anything especially offbeat or otherwise noteworthy. HPMA Showcase: The 12 Best Artists of 2012 HPMA Showcase: Rocks Off's Top ... More >>

Pollstar: Woodlands Pavilion Now World's No. 3 Amphitheater

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, site of Sunday night's aromatic 311 show, has long been one of the country's busiest concert venues, usually ranking at or near the top in annual attendance. Now it's officially one of the busiest in the world. In concert trade publication Pollstar's new survey ... More >>

Mike Judge Directs An Animated Zac Brown Band Clip

Zac Brown Band's new album Uncaged hits shelves and the Interwebs next Tuesday, and ahead of that release the band collaborated with film director Mike Judge and animation crew Titmouse to make a clip for lead single "The Wind." Anyone who is a fan of the work Titmouse has done on Adult Swim's Met ... More >>

Jason Mraz

Hudson Moore

2012 Summer Guide: It's a Scorcher

A summer concert season to melt your face off.

Going The Distance: The Hot 100's 10 Longest-Charting Songs

Let us hop in our time machine and head back to a magical place in the past known as Dec. 23, 2010. Here is a snapshot of things going on at the time: Rocks Off was making wishes for the year 2011; Kanye West was knee deep in Album of the Year wins for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; Eddie Vedder ... More >>

Upcoming: Joe Cocker, The Cult, The Lumineers, The Slackers, Jason Mraz, Etc.

Blind Pilot: Sun., July 15. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. The Bouncing Souls, The Menzingers, Luther: Sat., June 23. Fitzgerald's The Bright Light Social Hour: Fri., May 25. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Houston. Broncho: Thu., June 28. Fitzgerald's Cassandra Wilson: Sat., Oct. 20. C ... More >>

The Handsomes

Last Night: Brett Dennen & Dawes At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Liana Lopez​Brett Dennen, Dawes Fitzgerald's May 5, 2011 While many celebrated Cinco de Mayo last night with margaritas and sombreros, Aftermath was at Fitzgerald's watching a folk-rock band and a pale, red-haired dude wearing a Golden State Warriors T-shirt. Nevertheless, we're use ... More >>

Out Today: Paul Simon Resurgent, Foos Get Loud, Isbell Kills

​It's New Release Tuesday, and this week's is one of the biggest days of the year, with new discs by the Foo Fighters, a reinvigorated Paul Simon and TV On The Radio leading the pack, plus a few other artists returning to the scene after a few years away from the limelight. Next week (April ... More >>

Tim Qualls Makes EP Melancholy On His Own

​One of the artists Rocks Off has most enjoyed getting to follow in the last couple of years is Tim Qualls. On the surface, his music is the same self-deprecating white guy acousti-pop that John Mayer and Jason Mraz are doing, but as we hear more and more of his work, we realize the depth of s ... More >>

What Is Classic Rock Today?

​What is classic rock in 2010? 15 years ago, it was was the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, anything Eric Clapton touched and every band your dad played in his car while he was making out with the girls he met before your mom. That's how we know classic rock: Big riffs, big voices, in ... More >>

Four Loko = Elton John: A Day In Alcoholic Energy-Drink Hell

​Last week for the Hair Balls blog, Craig's Hlist drank three cans of Four Loko to research just what has had all the kids freaking the hell out and going to the hospital in droves. It was a hellish experience, and we passed straight out after drinking three cans out of the four we originally ... More >>

Last Night: Jack Johnson At The Woodlands

Photos by Liana Lopez​Jack Johnson Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 18, 2010 Check out a slideshow from last night's concert. The dirty secret about Jack Johnson is that he may be the closest thing this generation has to the iconic singer-songwriters our parents grew up with in the lat ... More >>

The Ultimate Sandal-Rock Mixtape

​Tonight Craig's Hlist will drive all the way out the Woodlands to see Jack Johnson, one of sandal-rock's biggest superstars. He's like the Lady the Rolling Stones of sandal-rock. He's like the McDonald's of sandal-rock. He's James Taylor for people who shop at Whole Foods. He's the Sex Pistol ... More >>

Jimmy Needham

2010's Hottest Wedding Jams: Aventura, Lady Gaga, Pantera(!?)

​ In the immortal words of Vince Vaughan, "Tattoo on the lower back? Might as well be a bullseye" "It's wedding season, kid!" Whether you're taking the plunge yourself, in the bridal or groom's party or just crashing, Rocks Off thinks knowing what you'll be dancing to at the reception is just as i ... More >>

Go On & Do Your Thing Saturday With Scott McCurry & The Mercenaries

www.myspace.com/scottmccurry​After David Gray last month, Rocks Off has a newfound appreciation for blue-eyed singer-songwriter soul. So if Midlake is a little too fey for you, and Alicia Keys a little too pricey, allow us to introduce you to North Texas' Scott McCurry & the Mercenaries, whom ... More >>

Idol Beat: Big Mike the Guy To Beat?

Last night's American Idol, in which the top eight guys performed, felt a lot like the girls' episode from Tuesday in the way it clearly defined who should stay and who should go, with one singer standing above the rest as the one to beat. Just as Crystal Bowersox is the best and most interesting ... More >>

American Idol: Big Mike the Guy To Beat?

Last night's American Idol, in which the top eight guys performed, felt a lot like the girls' episode from Tuesday in the way it clearly defined who should stay and who should go, with one singer standing above the rest as the one to beat. Just as Crystal Bowersox is the best and most interesting ... More >>

You'll Fall In Love With James Caronna's Slacker-Pop

​ ​The latest release out of Red Tree Studios is a nine-song pop package by a slacker named James Caronna, Everybody Wants to Be in Love. If you were to put James Blunt and Jason Mraz in the telepod in David Cronenberg's The Fly, James Caronna is exactly what you would come out with. Alternating ... More >>

He Said She Said: "Fergitrocious" and the Worst Songs of the Decade

In a perfect world, The Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" would actually be called "My Bumps," and it would be an ode to Stacy Ferguson's rampant misadventures with meth addiction, because that would be the only thing that could make that horrible, horrible song bearable. You might think it's harsh for Sh ... More >>

Not Too Late for Half Price Live Nation Tickets

Rocks Off meant to post this as part of "Bayou Beat" Tuesday, but we got so excited about seeing Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten - which is excellent, especially if you like campfires - that, well, we forgot. Luckily, this week's Live Nation "All In" ticket deal requires minimal explanation: b ... More >>

Aftermath: Bamboozle Roadshow at House of Blues

Photos by Meredith Baker The Perfect Scene: Techno-pop rockers Mercy Mercedes radiate some "extra energy." This year's Bamboozle Roadshow, which passed through Houston Thursday night, fused together a variety of musical flavors among up-and-coming bands Mercy Mercedes, NeverShoutNever!, The C ... More >>

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demol ... More >>

Reviewing The Reviews with Tristan Prettyman

Bunnyface Killahs

A veteran Liverpudlian rock band and a kung-fu-obsessed Staten Island MC have more in common than you think

Hot Shows

Summertime concerts that will leave you sweating