Lady Antebellum

The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend: Bruce & Kelly, KTRU Outdoor Show, etc.

Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis McGonigel's Mucky Duck, March 8 Spouses tempting fate by naming their new record Cheater's Game? Nah, just the "First Couple of Texas Country Music" rewarding fans with the couple's first-ever full-album collaboration, to go with any number of guest spots on each other' ... More >>

Last Night: Lady Antebellum at Reliant Stadium

Lady Antebellum Reliant Stadium March 6, 2013 No doubt other critics do all sorts of mental gymnastics to rationalize listening to Lady Antebellum. This one decided the relentlessly sunny Nashville trio must function as some sort of control group, a way for folks like us to say of other pop-country ... More >>

Street Knowledge

The Geto Boys MC is also Rocks Off's brand-new advice columnist.

Rodeo Houston Fun

Go Texan with this guide.

Houston Needs a Real Country Station, Not More Bull

Somewhere in college those of us arts and humanities types who were passionate about music, but knew we were not talented enough to perform it professionally, eventually wandered into the journalism school or the student radio station. Everyone else must have wound up in a marketing classroom. Rewi ... More >>

Match the Anticipated Crowds For Selected RodeoHouston Concerts

This week's RodeoHouston lineup announcement officially kicked off 2013 for Houston's party people and rodeo fans. The lineup is dependable as always, with your standard country acts, classic-rockers, kiddie-pop acts, R&B, and norteño offerings making up the month of music. Sadly, once again this ... More >>

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 >>

Lady Antebellum

Tanya Tucker

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 >>

Rumor: Eminem To Perform At Tonight's Shady Records SXSW Party

Most of the world's biggest rappers - Jay-Z, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, T.I., 50 Cent - have performed in Austin within the past week, are about to perform, or are at least in the city partaking in the SXSW festivities. Rocks Off was leaving Stubb's late Thursday night and heard Snoop Dogg performing ... More >>

Last Night: Lady Antebellum At Reliant Stadium

Lady Antebellum RodeoHouston, Reliant Stadium March 1, 2012 Someone should put Lady Antebellum on TV every week. Let 'em guest-coach an episode of The Voice. Better yet would be a series like The Partridge Family or The Monkees (RIP Davy) that would blend concert footage and "behind the scenes" mom ... More >>

Alabama

Rounding It Up

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo brings a stellar 2012 lineup.

One More Hour To Vote In First Rodeo Rockstar Contest

It does not seem possible that the rodeo is almost here, but Rocks Off saw a trail ride on the news this morning, so it must be true. If we were a TV instead of newspaper reporter, we would definitely lobby for the trail-ride assignment. But besides trail rides, cookoffs, mutton-busting, the parade ... More >>

2012 RodeoHouston Lineup Features ZZ Top, Train, Kid Rock, John Legend, Enrique Iglesias

The Houston Livestock And Rodeo continues it's march it's non-country waters with today's musical announcement, with Houston's own ZZ Top (March 8), Train (March 16), Kid Rock (February 29), John Legend (March 2), and Enrique Iglesias (March 6) topping the pop and rock segment of this year's bill. ... More >>

Arcade Fire, Civil Wars, Taylor Swift to Pen Hunger Games Songs

You may or may not remember a week ago when we told you about how the head of the largest musicians' union in North America ripped into Lionsgate for farming out the score for the upcoming film Hunger Games to Europe despite the film's Appalachian setting and decidedly American style of music. Well ... More >>

Justin Bieber's Voice Changes Just In Time For Christmas Album

"Say shawty, Merry Christmas, or whatever year-end holiday greeting that makes you happy." ​Children and adults alike are getting their holiday wish granted early this year, and they don't have to wait until Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or even Christmas morning to receive it. Justin Bieber's v ... More >>

10 Songs That Helped Make Nick 13's Country Debut

​Tiger Army's Nick 13 delivered his self-titled solo debut this year, and the lead singer of one of the past decade's biggest psychobilly bands has made one of the most enjoyable traditional country records of 2011 not called Photographs. Yes, this 10-song set from the man you first met on t ... More >>

Houston Teen Payton Rae Scores 2.5 Million YouTube Views

"My haters are my motivators" ​As young female stars like Miley Cyrus exit their teen years and welcome young adulthood with open limbs, their boots are left behind for other starry-eyed aspiring musicians to fill. One of them might even be from Space City: A 15-year-old YouTube sensation nam ... More >>

Idol Beat: My Faith In A Just Universe Is Restored

You're paying for that suit now, kid.​60 million votes. That's how many it took to ensure karmic balance in the universe and send Jacob Lusk to the American Idol equivalent of hell... which is probably an alternate dimension where Simon Cowell never existed. Last night was so chock-full of en ... More >>

Idol Beat: Paul McDonald Got Voted Off, E-I-E-I-O

Idol's beard levels have now dropped by 50 percent.​I realized last night I've been writing about this damn show for nigh on three months now without making the obligatory comment about the size of Jennifer Lopez's ass. So here it is: During the introductions to this week's elimination show, I ... More >>

The Civil Wars

Friday Night: Lady Antebellum At RodeoHouston

Photos by Marco Torres​Lady Antebellum Reliant Stadium March 11, 2011 Less than a month after winning five Grammys, Lady Antebellum made their way to Houston for another stint at the Rodeo. Having been forced to listen to "Need You Now" countless times over the past year - half a dozen times ... More >>

The Woodlands, Arcade Fire Win Album Of The Year Grammy

city-data.com​ Congratulations to The Woodlands, that emotionally icy burb up I-45, for helping Arcade Fire when this year's Album Of The Year Grammy at Sunday night's awards show for their sprawling The Suburbs LP. The band, led by former Woodlands residents Win and William Butler, won over a hi ... More >>

Lyrics That Make Terrible Facebook Status Updates

DTF for sure.​Ever seen a nonsensical, irrelevant Britney Spears or Drake lyric on your Facebook news feed that made you cringe? We have - about 56, and the workday isn't even over yet. Some lyrics should stay on the radio and off the Facebook circuit. Perhaps instead of simply asking, "What' ... More >>

30 Seconds With The Hates' Christian Arnheiter

We sat down with legendary Hates front man Christian Arnheiter to find out what we could learn about Houston punk's elder statesman in 30 seconds. ​Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Christian Arnheiter: "Need You Now," by Lady Antebellum. "It's a quarter after one, I'm a little ... More >>

Hustle Town

Hustlers Brass Band brings hometown joie de vivre.

KISS, Kid Rock, Janet Jackson Head 2011 Rodeo Lineup

​KISS, Janet Jackson and Kid Rock head the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo's 2011 concert schedule, which the rodeo announced earlier Monday morning. Among the other 13 entertainers rounding out this year's lineup are recent rodeo stalwarts Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and Lady Antebe ... More >>

Music Sales Down 2.5 Percent In 2010

​Nielsen SoundScan released its annual report on music sales Monday, and the results were less than surprising. Physical sales continued to decline, digital sales continued to rise, and crap pop continues to reign supreme both at the cash register and on the airwaves. During the period of Jan ... More >>

Top 10 Worst Top 10 Lists Of 2010

​Now that's a headline, ladies and germs. It has the added benefit of being succinct as well. That's exactly what we're summing up here, the worst Top 10 lists our peers have written this year. Let's get started, as we've got a lot of ground to cover. 10. This One Not really, this is just t ... More >>

Katy Perry? For Album Of The Year? Seriously?

​Don't get Craig's Hlist wrong, we think that Katy Perry is extremely attractive. In fact, if we think about her long enough, it makes us want to cry and punch a wall. She's a buxom, bubbly, raven-haired pop star who dresses like she's expensive grandma candy. We even interviewed her last ye ... More >>

Taylor Swift's Top Nine Future Feuds

​Still the No. 1 album in the country, Taylor Swift's Speak Now is awash in lyrics bashing her former flames, friends, lovers and Kanye West. The pop-country singer knows how to turn a bitter phrase, and we can only hope that she keeps getting better and better at it. She's not yet 21, but S ... More >>

The Expat

Steve Steele finds a harder-edged sound on his debut album.

Wrong Number

Houston's Miss Leslie dials up more honky-tonk homilies on her new CD.

Idol Beat: So Long, Siobhan

​I think last night's American Idol was supposed to be country-themed, to go along with the Shania Twain songs the contestants sang on Tuesday, but as I should have known, any organization that thinks of Shania Twain as country is going to have some weird ideas about genre. Rascal Flatts stopp ... More >>

American Idol: So Long, Siobhan

​I think last night's American Idol was supposed to be country-themed, to go along with the Shania Twain songs the contestants sang on Tuesday, but as I should have known, any organization that thinks of Shania Twain as country is going to have some weird ideas about genre. Rascal Flatts stopp ... More >>

Yes, We're Going To Kenny G. Got A Problem With That?

​Yes, tomorrow night Craig's Hlist will be at Kenny G with your mother and your weird aunt who likes to buy you fertility crystals for the summer solstice. Kenny G intrigues us to the no end. Along with Michael Bolton, he was a part of a tag-team duo of pop culture musical dregs in the '90s. But t ... More >>

Before the Flood

West Texan Ned Sublette reflects on pre-Katrina New Orleans in a new memoir.

Aftermath: A Quiet Night At The Rodeo With Lady Antebellum, John Mellencamp (Sort Of) And Larry The Cable Guy

Photos by Jason Wolter​ On Monday night, Lady Antebellum performed to a crowd of a little more than 65,000. Having been in a band, the idea of playing in front of so many people is both exciting and nerve-racking, but by RodeoHouston standards it's about middle of the road, and felt like less. It ... More >>

Rocks Off's Rodeo Concert Guide: Lady Antebellum's Country Threesome

Date: March 15 Name: Lady Antebellum AKA: "Two Beards and a Babe" Genre: Threesome country Best Known Song(s): "I Run to You," "Need You Now," possible Juice Newton covers Key Demographic: Country fans who've longed for a redneck version of Black Eyed Peas, beginning piano players Previous HLSR Ap ... More >>

Chatter: Long Ball

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

Lonesome Onry and Mean: John Conquest Turns Both Barrels on Country-Music Poll

People have often referred to Lonesome, Onry and Mean as a curmudgeon (look it up), as a guy with a permanent hangover, bad temper and well... you get the idea. But compared to Austin-based 3rd Coast Music publisher (and main writer) John Conquest, LOM is a pussy cat, a cookie and a warm glass of m ... More >>

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 >>

Hell on Earth

Long Island hardcore quartet This Is Hell thrashes till the sun goes down.

Hello, Houston!

Noise breaks down the months of live music ahead

Aftermath: Lady Antebellum at RodeoHouston

Photos courtesy Houston Livestock Show & RodeoFrom one-night stands to missing the one that got away, love and country music go hand in hand. Monday night, fresh pop-country faces Lady Antebellum - reigning ACM Top New Duo or Group and CMA New Artist of the Year - rocked out to all of love ... More >>

Could Alternative Country Work at the Rodeo?

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. in Song

In the Name of Love