Marcia Ball

Boogie, Blues & Brews

Upcoming: Bonnie Raitt, P.O.S., REO Speedwagon, Richard Cheese, Wiz Khalifa, Etc.

2 Chainz: Wed., Sept. 26, 8 p.m., $25-$150. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline, Houston. Above & Beyond: Sat., Sept. 22, 8 p.m., $20-$50. Stereo Live, 6400 Richmond, Houston. Alien Ant Farm: Fri., Oct. 12, 8 p.m., $14/$18. Scout Bar Clear Lake, 18307 Egret Bay Blvd., Houston. Allen Stone, Sister Sparr ... More >>

Top 5 Nearby Fall Festivals & County Fairs

As the recent weather has proved, there's no better time to be outdoors in Texas than fall. In springtime, there's always that lingering knowledge that summer is right around the corner, so this time of year there's nothing else to look forward to but Santa Claus. It's also harvest time, and the tho ... More >>

Upcoming: Converge, Heartless Bastards, Valient Thorr, Matisyahu, Kreayshawn, Etc.

Abandon All Ships: Wed., Oct. 24, 6 p.m., $13/$15. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Houston. Antibalas: Wed., Oct. 10, 8 p.m., $15. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Houston. Better Than Ezra: Thu., Dec. 20, 8 p.m., $23/$40. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline, Houston. Buxton: Fri., Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m., ... More >>

Michael Martin Murphey: The Cosmic Cowboy Years

Texas singer-songwriter and real by-god cowboy Michael Martin Murphey has already walked Rocks Off through a healthy bit of the past 100 years of American folk music this morning, as well as a good bit of his own. But dissatisfied with the folk scene he found out in late-'60s Southern California, he ... More >>

RIP Joe Gracey, Austin Media Giant

​Another Austin music legend, Joe Gracey, passed away this morning of cancer complications. He was 61. When Lonesome, Onry and Mean arrived in Austin in June, 1973 after having worked in radio in West Texas, Gracey immediately became our hero. A disc jockey at the notorious KOKE-FM, Gracey an ... More >>

Friday Night: Joe Ely Band At Rockefeller Hall

Photos by Jason Wolter​Joe Ely Band Rockefeller Hall February 11, 2011 Saturday night, almost exactly 24 hours after the Joe Ely Band's triumphant return to Rockefeller's Rockefeller Hall, Aftermath and a friend were chatting on Facebook about Houston's current bumper crop of up-and-coming in ... More >>

Joe Ely's Top Five Live Shots, By iFest's Rick Mitchell

Jason WolterJoe Ely (left) and David Grissom at iFest 2010​Next Friday, Feb. 11, the Joe Ely Band returns to Rockefeller Hall for the first time in more than a decade, since the legendary Washington Avenue showcase club stopped presenting live music to focus on the less risky business of priva ... More >>

iFest Aftermath: Joe Ely Band Almost Pulls A Michael Jackson

Photos by Jason WolterMarcia Ball (left) and Joe Ely get their "Fingernails" dirty.​ Terry Allen once told Aftermath that Joe Ely was his favorite performer. Allen related that Ely would come over to his house in Lubbock and sit on his couch and try out new songs. According to Allen, it didn't mat ... More >>

Houston International Festival

Aftermath: Texas Johnny Brown, Marcia Ball And An iFest Preview

Photos by Jody PerryTexas Johnny Brown​ After Friday's benefit for the Houston International Festival's education programs, Aftermath can understand why, in all the recent reminiscing about Rockefeller's we've been doing on Rocks Off, no one has ever had a bad word to say about the place. Never ha ... More >>

Marcia Ball, Texas Johnny Brown

Great Moments With Mr. Rockefeller: Ray Price, Bobby "Blue" Bland and the Kansas City All-Stars

[Ed. Note: To help spread the word about next Friday's benefit for the Houston International Festival's education programs at Rockefeller Hall, featuring Texas Johnny Brown and Marcia Ball, Rocks Off asked iFest director of performing arts and former Houston Chronicle music critic Rick Mitchell to r ... More >>

Great Moments With Mr. Rockefeller: Billy Harper, Garth Brooks and Sonny Rollins

[Ed. Note: To help spread the word about next Friday's benefit for the Houston International Festival's education programs at Rockefeller Hall, featuring Texas Johnny Brown and Marcia Ball, Rocks Off asked iFest director of performing arts and former Houston Chronicle music critic Rick Mitchell to r ... More >>

Nothing's Wrong

Scott H. Biram cuts back on the craziness...just not in his music.

Miss Rockefeller's? Marcia Ball and Texas Johnny Brown Headline iFest Benefit February 12

brides.com​Like many of you - we're guessing, anyway - Rocks Off never saw a show at Rockefeller's. We didn't get inside the Loop much during high school (too busy checking groceries) and, although we managed to go to Mary Jane's, the Satellite Lounge and maybe the Abyss (it's a little fuzzy) on v ... More >>

Ghosts of Washington Avenue

Noise goes whistling through the scenester artery's music venue graveyard.

A Musical Guide to Post-Secession Texas: "New Texas"

In the third in our continuing series on the music of the five states of Texas, we examine the fictional state of New Texas, comprising Austin and the Hill Country. See Part 1 here and Part 2 here. New Texas Capital: Austin Patron Saint: Willie Nelson ​Lesser Icons: Roky Erickson/Thirteenth Floor ... More >>

Aftermath: Miss Leslie and Heather Myles at Under the Volcano

Photos by Reg BurnsIt's not often the Wednesday-night act at Under the Volcano arrives with special guests in tow, but local songstress/honky-tonk goddess Leslie Sloan presented Californian Heather Myles to the Houston music crowd last night. If you call 25 totally mesmerized honky-tonk fanati ... More >>

iFest Unveils Complete Lineup

Photos courtesy of iFest BeogaSince we're already playing hangman today, here's another riddle: What do America's finest genre-hopping Latino band, Houston's best Guinness-chugging rockers, a daughter of the nation's premiere gospel family, a perennially unsung honky-tonker who sounds like th ... More >>

Doug Sahm Tribute Album Due March 24

Vanguard Records (Billy Bob Thornton & the Boxmasters, Kim Richey, the Watson Twins) announced today it will release Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm, a 14-song disc honoring the late musican known as Sir Doug, March 24. Artists include Delbert McClinton, Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo, Da ... More >>

A Musical Guide to Navigating the Economic Crisis

Down Payment Blues

Texans Score 30 Grammy Nominations

Allison Krauss, Robert Plant and T-Bone Burnett (far right) Texas artists landed 30 nominations in 20 categories when the contenders for the 51st annual Grammy Awards were announced today, including all five nominees for Best Tejano Album and four of the five Best Norteno Album contenders. All of ... More >>

Irma Thomas: Simply Grand

Janiva Magness

Texas Johnny Brown to Play Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Juneteenth Revisited

Two arts organizations attempt a new spin on an old event

Marcia Ball: Peace, Love & BBQ

Trombone Shorty and Glen David Andrews at Fado

Ring in the Holidays at Charles Brown Blues Fest

Irie iFest

Finding the coolest runnings at this year's Jamaica-themed Houston International Festival

Just Say Yes

People in the upper tax brackets can afford to ignore social mores

The Main Event

January 29 - February 1

Robert Earl Smith

Rearview Mirror (Muleshoe)

Emo-tional Music

Montrose music gets pushed out towards the Heights

Toni Price

Midnight Pumpkin (Antone's)

Still Howlin'

Omar Dykes keeps finding ways to push the blues out there

Jailhouse Rock

Clifford Antone looks to diva Barbara Lynn and others to help him regain some R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Lady Belts the Blues

Marcia Ball signs with Alligator and gets a new groove on

Amplified

Out In Sight

Lost Legends

Tary Owens helped rescue the early roots of Texas music. Then those songs saved Owens from himself.

Night & Day

October 15 - 21, 1998

Rotation

Press Picks

Static

Press Picks

Goodbye to Lanny Steele

Takin' the Lead

Quintessential backup man (and Stevie Ray mentor) Doyle Bramhall steps out in front