Miranda Lambert

Rotation: Out Today

Chart Check

Big State, Big Ideas

Giddyup!: Full RodeoHouston Lineup Announced

ACL: Sunny Sweeney Yes, Vampire Weekend No

Chart Check: Texans on Billboard

A periodic look at how Lone Star natives are faring in the national music biz...Hot 100 (singles) 10. Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You" 12. Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain, "Blame It" 16. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" 21. Beyonce, "Diva" 41. Beyonce, "Halo" Billboard 200 ... More >>

Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd

A periodic look at how Lone Star natives are faring in the national music biz...Hot 100 (singles) 10. Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You" 12. Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain, "Blame It" 16. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" 21. Beyonce, "Diva" 41. Beyonce, "Halo" Billboard 200 ... More >>

Just How Texan are Hayes Carll and Miranda Lambert?

A periodic look at how Lone Star natives are faring in the national music biz...Hot 100 (singles) 10. Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You" 12. Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain, "Blame It" 16. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" 21. Beyonce, "Diva" 41. Beyonce, "Halo" Billboard 200 ... More >>

Chevy’s Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks presented by Shell

Celebrate your independence with your favorite brand names

Miranda Lambert

Celebrate your independence with your favorite brand names

Hello, Houston!

Noise breaks down the months of live music ahead

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Has Miranda Lambert Sparked a Revolution In Nashville?

If there is a ticking time bomb signaling the impending end of the '80s hair-band nature of mainstream country music, Miranda Lambert is probably lighting the fuse. Lambert's third album, Revolution, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart last week and sold 23 percent more (almost ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Dear Local Musicians, Grammy Consideration Is Not the Same Thing As Grammy Nominations

Ah, here we go again with local artists trumpeting "Grammy nominations." The latest is Atascocita-grown country singer Susan Hickman, who seems to fancy herself as a Miranda Lambert/Martina McBride type. We stumbled across Hickman accidentally through MySpace's "Status Updates," and our eye was imm ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: That Sucking Sound You Hear? It's KILT's Upcoming "Ten Man Jam"

What a something-for-everyone mish-mash local radio station KILT's annual "Ten Man Jam," its tenth, is this year. For one thing, the two performers that Lonesome, Onry and Mean would most like to see are women: Miranda Lambert and young Nashville phenom Michelle Branch. KILT might want to consider ... More >>

Beyonce Leads 2010 Grammy Field With 10 Nominations

Beyonce leads all nominees for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, reaping the benefits of her smash double album I Am... Sasha Fierce and her prominent role on the soundtrack to last year's Chess Records docudrama Cadillac Records, in which she appeared as an R&B diva from an earlier age, Etta Jame ... More >>

Somewhere Trouble Don't Go

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

Lonesome Onry and Mean: This Is Not (Really) a Best-Of-2009 List

​Lonesome, Onry and Mean saw a great comment from Dave Alvin on Facebook recently that went something like this: "I do not do Best of lists or End of the Decade lists, the only lists I do are 'crap I have to do' lists." We gladly second that, Dave, as there is nothing other than Christmas shopping ... More >>

Love and Theft

The decade with no name left behind plenty of memorable music.

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Nashville Scene Critics' Poll Lauds Brad Paisley's So-Called Edginess

Lonesome Onry and Mean didn't vote in Houston Press ex-sister paper Nashville Scene's annual Best of Country Music poll, but that doesn't mean we won't comment on the results. This year's poll essentially boils down to the Big Four: Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson. Com ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Nashville Veteran Has A Few Issues With Paper's Country Music Poll

Some people are downright up in arms about the Nashville Scene's Best of Country Music poll. One of LOM's correspondents who went ballistic is a longtime Nashville musician and producer. To say he thinks the whole argument that Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert deserve to be winners because they are ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: "Nowhere Man" and Houstonian-Turned-Superproducer Frank Liddell's Other Early Favorites

Houston native Frank Liddell, whose Nashville production credits include roots-rocker Chris Knight, Texas music phenom Jack Ingram, budding megastar Miranda Lambert, and his wife Lee Ann Womack, has a surprising set of early music impressions. "I can't remember the first one but there were a lot of ... More >>

Thanks, But No Thanks: See What Dallas Has to Deal With All the Time?

We know, we know... it's just too easy.​ Rocks Off would like to thank Force Field PR and, we suppose, Neon Indian for sending the above picture to our email this morning. It nearly made us spray coffee all over our monitor. We don't quite know where to start, except to venture a guess that if you ... More >>

Austin City Limits Festival Tickets On Sale Tomorrow At 10 A.M.

We're not saying Soundgarden is playing ACL, but you never know...​That's right. Now why would Rocks Off make something like that up? Hope you have $180 lying around and don't have any meetings or classes or anything like that tomorrow morning, because they're going to go quick. Better go ahead an ... More >>

Wrong Number

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

Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert Top Lilith Houston Lineup

​ If you missed Norah Jones Wednesday or Miranda Lambert a couple weeks back, don't worry - they'll both be back when the revived Lilith Fair hits the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 16. Also scheduled for Houston are Dixie Chicks Emily Robison and Martie Maguire's new band, Court Yard Houn ... More >>

The Expat

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

Hanson, Boys Like Girls Top Bamboozle's Pop-Punk Marathon

Photos by Matthew KeeverHanson signs autographs after the "Mmmbop" boys' Bamboozle set.​ As Aftermath made our way into Verizon Wireless for Bamboozle 2010 Friday night, we were greeted by Cady Groves' voice coupled with melodic guitar and salsa shakers. We knew Good Charlotte, Cartel, All Time Lo ... More >>

The Top 10 Coolest Music-Video Explosions

​We like fireworks and explosions, and with July 4th right around the corner, we are sure to get our fill. Things burning or blowing up are pretty cool, except of course if it's your house, car or business. In that case, it's an awful, horrible atrocity and God is a bastard for letting it happen t ... More >>

Lilith Fair's Top 5 Headline-Grabbing Moments

​Friday, while Rocks Off was enjoying a blissful if soggy day off, Lilith Fair canceled the final ten dates of this year's summer resurrection, including all three scheduled Texas stops. The news was hardly shocking: One headliner, Norah Jones, had already bailed, and The New York Times report ... More >>

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 >>

Miranda Lambert Added To Rodeo's 2011 Lineup

Trace Adkins, Martina McBride, Hideout schedule also announced ​Miranda Lambert, the Lindale native currently nominated for five Grammys, including four for her album Revolution, will return to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo March 16 at Reliant Stadium, the rodeo announced this morning. ... More >>

Guns N' Roses, Rolling Stones, Prince Coming In 2011?

Sind Axl und Slash wieder Freunde geworden?​Rocks Off is in the concert business for all intents and purposes. We scour Pollstar and other Web sites and almost hourly looking for new shows and tours to tell you about around the clock. In the span of writing this introduction we just listed Luc ... More >>

Upcoming: Boz Scaggs, Genitorturers, Lucero, Etc.

​The Adicts: Wed., March 23. Warehouse Live. Al Stewart: Fri., April 29. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. Badfish (Sublime Tribute), Full Service: Fri., Jan. 28. House of Blues. Black Veil Brides, DRUGS, I See Stars, Versaemerge: Sun., March 20. Warehouse Live. Bob Schneider: Fri., March 11. Hou ... More >>

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 >>

Championship BBQ Cook-Off

​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 >>

Miranda Lambert

​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 >>

Cage Match: Miranda Lambert Vs. Clockpole

Dave Hogg/Wikipedia​Ladies and gentlemen, Wednesday night a battle will be waged for your very musical soul. In this corner, sending diabetics into comas at the wheel with her saccharine sweetness is young country sensation Miranda Lambert. And in this corner, wearing... nothing... He is nude ... More >>

Slideshow: Gary Allan At RodeoHouston

Photos by Groovehouse​Rocks Off has the worst luck with Gary Allan. It's starting to give us a complex. It's ironic, because out of all the artists who get semi-regular play on country stations we hardly ever listen to like KILT and 93Q, Allan lines up the most with the kind of country we act ... More >>

Last Night: Miranda Lambert At RodeoHouston

Photo courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo​Miranda Lambert Reliant Stadium March 16, 2011 Shucks, ma. Our lil' ol' East Texas gal done all growed up. Sugar and spice and definitely everything nice, unless you piss her off, Miranda Lambert is a different kind of crossover act. A r ... More >>

Idol Beat: Democracy Doesn't Work

So, professor: would you say it's time for everyone to panic?​Well, I feel like an idiot. Flush with victory over my (sole) successful pick of the season in (finally) getting Jacob's booting correct, I was confident that James Durbin had the right combination of talent and appeal to the ladie ... More >>

Lyrical Life Lessons: Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned

straightpinkie.com​Blame it on the humidity, but there's something about Houston that makes women go off the deep end. In fact, the Bayou City is home to three of the past decade's most notorious female-perpetrated crimes. There was Dr. Clara Harris (2002), who responded to the news of her hu ... More >>

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

Photo By Jim BrickerZZ Top onstage in 2010.​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) toppi ... More >>

With a Rebel Yell: 10 Rockers Gone Country

Photo by Matthew KeeverAaron Lewis at the Verizon Wireless Theater in 2010.​When Staind singer Aaron Lewis rolls into Verizon Wireless Theater tomorrow night, odds are he'll leave his mudshuvel back at the hotel. As modern rock radio turns to the next generation of angst, the former Fred Durs ... More >>

10 Rock Stars the GOP Should Nominate for President

Now, we're talking!​As the 2012 presidential race begins to heat up in earnest, Rocks Off can't help but feel that the front-runners for the Republican nomination are lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. Call it star power. Call it sex appeal. Whatever it is, these guys ain't got it. If the G ... More >>

Nine Covers of "Heartbreak Hotel" on Its 58th Birthday

​Exactly 58 years ago, Elvis Presley released Heartbreak Hotel on RCA Records, which had just bought his contract from Sun Records for a measly $35,000. Heartbreak sold 300,000 copies in its first week and would eventually become the King's first certified gold record. Also, it's worth noting ... More >>

Elizabeth Cook

​Exactly 58 years ago, Elvis Presley released Heartbreak Hotel on RCA Records, which had just bought his contract from Sun Records for a measly $35,000. Heartbreak sold 300,000 copies in its first week and would eventually become the King's first certified gold record. Also, it's worth noting ... More >>

The Hair Balls Super Bowl Live Blog: Remember To Piss

Oh here go hell come. ​In some alternate universe, the streets of Houston are currently bathed in Miller Lite, Reliant Stadium and every bar in town is a watch party, with even the homeless folks are wearing soiled Texans jerseys. But alas, our Houston Texans only made it into the second round ... More >>

Super Bowl XLVI: M.I.A.'s Bird Is The Word

That's correct, M.I.A.: the Giants are #1.​On it's best day, you can say the musical portion of the Super Bowl ranks somewhere below the fifth time you see the latest Go Daddy commercial and somewhere above that pre-game segment featuring an offensive lineman and his mother. I mean, who really ... More >>

Five Great Middle Finger Moments In Music History

Photo via Idolator​Monday morning, the Internet was awash in consternation and jpegs after M.I.A. flashed her middle finger during Madonna's Super Bowl halftime performance Sunday, meaning Janet Jackson is finally off the hook after all these years. To be honest, Rocks Off watched the entire h ... More >>