Lyle Lovett

20 Essential Texas Albums From 2012

One of the quiet pleasures of (finally) putting 2012 to bed is mop-up duty. All year, I tried to keep a running list of albums released by Texas-based or Texas-related performers that I enjoyed listening to. Sunday night, I tallied them up. For some reason, besides that we've already handled the ye ... More >>

Houston's Top 10 Unsung Music Venues

There's no other way to say this except to say it: Houston has a lot of music venues, a lot of music venues, but most of the high-profile shows around here get routed into a handful of places. This happens for any number of reasons, most of them financial: Very few promoters in town can afford to pu ... More >>

Bon Iver, Hipster Doofus

Pat Green

Meat Market

You'll probably be paying more for your rib eyes and Whoppers thanks to the great Texas drought of 2011.

Last Night: Robert Earl Keen At House Of Blues

Robert Earl Keen House of Blues December 28, 2011 It sucks when your college roommate is more successful than you. Heaven knows Rocks Off was pleased as punch to hear ours had ended up blowing merchant marines for salvia in Vladivostok (just kidding, Doug!), but Robert Earl Keen's old front porch p ... More >>

Crusty Texan Bounces Watch The Throne From Amazon's Top MP3 Album Spot

Now Kanye has something else to cry about.​Proving once again that old age and treachery beats youth and skill every time, grizzled Texas singer-songwriter emeritus Guy Clark has knocked Jay-Z & Kanye West's Watch the Throne from the top MP3 albums sales spot on Amazon.com. Employing the same ... More >>

Zoo Station: A Noah's Ark Of 75 Animal Songs

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee ... More >>

Mojo Working

Shock-rocker Nixon foresees baby-making future for his music.

ZZ Top To Receive Texas Medal Of Arts

Jim BrickerZZ Top at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, September 2010​While they take their sweet time getting around to record that long-anticipated, Rick Rubin-produced next album - which, at this point, could well come out a solid decade after their last, 2003's Mescalero - ZZ Top has be ... 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

Died And Gone To Houston: A Honky-Tonk Jukebox

​Besides the whomping pullout section with brief thumbnail sketches of every artist playing Saturday's Houston Press Music Awards showcase on Washington Avenue, in this week's print issue of the Press you'll find a feature story Rocks Off was proud to co-write called "Died and Gone to Houston. ... More >>

5 Songs About Being Eaten (Mostly By Sharks)

​Rocks Off is a big fan of the movie Jaws, though in spite of our affection for arm wrestling and sweet, sweet mutton chops, we always find ourselves sympathizing more with Chief Brody than with Quint. Given our druthers, we'd just as soon stay the hell out of the water. The better to avoid al ... More >>

Documentary On Anderson Fair Gets Thumbs-Up From Hollywood Reporter

​For the Sake of the Song , the documentary on Montrose's legendary Anderson Fair, is about to make the festival rounds; this week it had its world premiere at SXSW.The influential trade publication Hollywood Reporter reviewed the Austin showing and was enthusiastic, which is always a good thing.T ... 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 >>

Attention Houston: What To Do When a Beloved Music Venue Says It's Shutting Down

​Rocks Off is here to help. That's why we keep an eye out for stories that, while they may not have anything to do with Houston per se, can still provide a valuable lesson. So as much as we delight in poking fun at Austin, the recent plight of the Cactus Cafe - the on-campus acoustic venue that ha ... More >>

Looking for Trouble

Jemina Pearl breaks free of Be Your Own Pet on Break It Up.

Somewhere Trouble Don't Go

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

I Gave Her a Ring...: Musical Minutiae About Fingers and Birds

​Although we recently discovered how to access the primitive version of Facebook on our non-iPhone (so watch out), Rocks Off generally lives in an Internet-free bubble outside the office. And happily so, so it took until Monday's late local news for us to see - and subsequently laugh our fool head ... More >>

True Blood, Episode 10: Sister Gertrude, Bride of Christ, Soundtracks a Visit to the Vampire Queen

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. Though we're picking up midway through Season 2, from here on out as ... More >>

Houston (Kinda) Hitting The Big Screen Again

Chances have improved that we'll be seeing Open Road, a movie that takes place at least partly in Houston. The film picked up a distributor yesterday.And why shouldn't it? The cast includes noted motherlover Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges, Mary Steenbergen, Harry Dean Stanton and Lyle Lovett. Wim W ... More >>

Return to Radartown

"Credibility Scare" alumnus Mark Germino plugs in after seven years.

Could Alternative Country Work at the Rodeo?

Here Come The Chieftains

Dublin Calling

HPMA Aftermath: Small Sounds, Yoko Mono, Katie Stuckey and the Swagger, Espantapajaros, Buxton, Los Skarnales and Thee Armada

Last Concert Café

Hippie wolves haunt and howl at the former whorehouse

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Big State, Big Ideas

The Houston 100: From Sir Douglas Quintet to Guy Clark

Catfish Reef: Happy Woman Blues

Band of Heathens

Friday, July 28, at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk, 713-528-5999

Yin and Yang

The killing of Dimebag Darrell rains on Michael Haaga's Continental Club Plus and Minus Show parade

Playbill

U.S. Maple, G.W.A.R., Citizen Cope, AM60 and Radney Foster

Pop-Up Pop Stars

With the help of city government, Matthew Knowles hopes to find the next Destiny's Child. You got a problem with that?

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Houston Music Map

Queen Norah reigns, Josh Groban pains, and lots of Natalie Maines

Mando Saenz

Watertown (Plethorazine/Angus Records)

Mount Bonnell Breakdown

The South Austin Jug Band's swingy bluegrass is mullet-free music

Identity Crisis

Mary Cutrufello's leaving makes us wonder: Is your band a Krogers, Randalls or a Fiesta?

Yes, It Can-Can

The delightfully eccentric Moulin Rouge giddily juggles eras

Best Local Boy Made Good

Tilman Fertitta

Back in the Saddle

Clay Farmer

Children of the Korn

Rotation

Rotation

Trancey Groove

Famous Amos

Bad girl Tori becomes more than a Kate Bush manque

Flop Like an Eagle

Brad Tyer checks out of the Hotel California after five songs

Rotation